Updated U.S. import requirements for fresh peppers shipped from Canada

OTTAWA, October 23, 2009 – Effective Thursday, October 22, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will allow the importation of fresh peppers from Canada when accompanied by an industry-issued certificate of origin declaring that the peppers have been grown in Canada or in one of four approved countries - Belgium, Mexico, the Dominican Republic or the U.S.

This is a result of a recent U.S. interception of false codling moth (Thaumatotibia leucotreta) on an import of fresh peppers from the Netherlands. On October 1, the U.S. suspended the import of fresh peppers from the Netherlands and further increased precautionary measures by requiring that shipments of peppers from Canada were accompanied by a certificate of origin.

Peppers produced in any country other than Canada or the four approved countries listed above, regardless of where they are shipped from, will not be allowed entry into the U.S. The USDA will enforce their regulations for any shipments whose country of origin is incorrectly declared at the border. Under Canada’s Plant Protection Regulations, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) requires all exporters to comply with USDA’s import requirements.

The CFIA will review the USDA fresh pepper import requirements for other countries of origin, to expand the list of pepper producing countries for which Canada may re-export product to the U.S. The CFIA will need to assess the phytosanitary requirements for each country of origin to determine if certification for re-export to the U.S. is possible.

The CFIA continues to allow fresh peppers to be imported from the Netherlands. Inspection rates have been increased to one hundred per cent for these shipments to ensure they do not contain false codling moth. This inspection rate will remain in place until the phytosanitary requirements are consistently met by the Dutch plant protection authorities. In addition, the CFIA now requires that phytosanitary certificates accompany these shipments to specify that they are free from all living stages of false codling moth.

In many countries, false codling moth is considered a key pest as it is capable of damaging a wide variety of plants. It is not considered a quarantine pest in Canada.

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For more information:
National CFIA spokesperson:
Greg Wolff
A/Director, Horticulture Division
Ottawa, Ontario
613-221-4354