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What's New
The following updates were announced recently to the PQM manual; 1- Hawaiian Plant material, Pg. 105.2 only, 2. A correction for 3250 Citrus Fruit has been made on page 301.2 to requirements for Texas citrus; 3. QC Master Permit 1328 has been issued to Texas Department of Agriculture and shall be valid when no Federal Domestic Quarantine for Mexican Fruit Fly is in place. Effective January 13, 2012, all Mexican Fruit Fly Quarantine Areas were removed in Texas. The QC Permit allows Texas grown and packed citrus that would be regulated under CCR 3250 to be shipped into CA using the federal certification for SOS as evidence of meeting compliance for QC Permit 3154, and therefore CCR 3250. 4. 3280 Japanese Beetle, Pg. 323.1 – 323.2 (new) and Pgs. 323.3 – 323.4 (deleted). 5. 301.45 Gypsy Moth, Pgs 205.1 – 205.5 (all changed)
The Plant Quarantine Manual has been updated for Hawaiian Plant Material; specifically Section 105.2, the list of California/HDA Master Permit QC 650 numbers that are no longer valid. CSA has held a 24(C) SLN for Beleaf 50 SG for use on "alfalfa grown seed" to control Lygus Bug and aphid for several years. The previous label only allowed for use of Beleaf 50 SG on a seed crop production field and once used the treated field was not allowed to be harvested at any future time for hay. CSA has been working with FMC, CDPR, USEPA and several others involved with alfalfa seed production to resolve this and to allow for a hay cutting to be made from a seed production field after an appropriate interval of time. CSA received support from US EPA for this language change earlier this spring and an amendment was submitted to CDPR citing the US EPA support. We have received the final approved amended label for Beleaf 50 SG that allows a 7 month pre-harvest interval this week from CDPR. For many this has been a very long and at times frustrating road but this is a very important step that allows for the continued use of a critical tool for alfalfa seed production under the SLN category "crop grown for seed". This change was allowed due to the scientific review of Beleaf performed by US EPA this spring however this would not have taken place without the many of you who have been working on this issue for many years providing data and letters of support. This provides a good example of the agricultural industry working in partnership with CDPR and USEPA to support California seed production. We just learned that today Brazil MAPA published a revision to Normative 36 (please see the attached). Article 2 now states that phytosanitary field inspections are acceptable in lieu of laboratory tests for phytosanitary pests of concern. However, it appears that this revision is effective only until March of 2012. ASTA will continue aggressive efforts to work with APHIS and other stakeholders to seek a reasonable long term solution. You may need to obtain updated import permits to take advantage of this revision. To view the full Information please see link (attached doc) For more information please contact: Ric Dunkle, Ph.D
Attached is the Notice of Proposed Emergency Action, Text of Emergency Regulations, and Finding of Emergency. The documents are also available on DPR's Internet Home Page < http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/legbills/emergregs.htm >.
The department has entered into a pilot Origin Inspection Program with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) providing for up to five nursery participants. Each of the following approved nurseries has been visited by a department employee. Prior to shipping, each nursery submits a list of plant material to a FDACS inspector who then provides written verification to the department that the plant material meets California’s nursery stock cleanliness standards, any quarantine requirements and qualifies for shipment to California.
At the recent ASTA Annual Convention the updated version of the ASTA Statement on Field and Greenhouse Planted Seeds and Human Pathogens was adopted by the by ASTA Board on June 30, 2010 at the ASTA Annual Convention in San Antonio, Texas. Betsy Peterson who has chaired the ASTA Ad Hoc Food Safety Workgroup since its inception in January 2007, gave a presentation at the Phytosanitary Committee meeting held during the convention to request a resolution for ASTA Board adoption of the revised statement. Her presentation provided a brief overview of the origin of the statement, plans for continued monitoring and the revisions that were made to the 2008 statement. A copy of her presentation and the newly adopted statement can be found on the CSA website for your use.
ASTA Statement on Since 2006 significant progress has been made to prevent contamination of fresh produce and vegetables with human food borne pathogens through the development of additional safeguards for our Nation’s food supply from “the field to the dinner table.” Fruits and vegetables are essential components of a healthy diet, and ASTA is in agreement that providing a safe and sound food supply, beginning with the seed, is a fundamental priority. Therefore, the seed industry continues to be vigilant by closely monitoring food safety pathogen outbreaks, evaluating and incorporating quality management systems and procedures into its seed production programs where appropriate, and monitoring ongoing research activities to help ensure that seeds do not become exposed to, or contaminated with, human pathogens. As members of the seed industry, we believe it is important to emphasize that existing data has not shown that human pathogens are transmitted from seed planted for field or greenhouse production of fresh produce, to this produce. Therefore, the seed industry and ASTA continue to believe that there is no significant value in requiring testing of these seed lots for the presence of human pathogens and that such testing would not prevent future food illnesses emanating from produce. Procedures used to produce seed products for planting are continuously reviewed by seed industry members as new technology is developed, and these are optimized in accordance with individual company product quality and purity management strategies. Strict quality assurance and quality control procedures are applied to all seed production, and seed must meet product quality standards to be available for sale. Knowledge and technology gaps must be bridged in order to effectively minimize the risk of future human food borne disease outbreaks, and to improve consumer confidence in fresh produce. Therefore, ASTA continues to support science based research that prioritizes and focuses on areas of greatest exposure where human pathogens might enter the fresh produce supply chain. It is important that this research be a collaborative effort of industry, academic and regulatory groups, and that it produces the most practical and actionable impact on food handling and safety. (ASTA Food Safety Statement 6 2010 San Antonio)
First observed in U.S. commercial watermelon fields in 1989, bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) can be devastating for commercial watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew growers with losses reaching 100%. Over the last 20 years, academia and industry have come together to study the disease and have made considerable gains in the areas of BFB epidemiology and management. There is general agreement that while there is no cure, all parts of the production chain including seed producers, transplant growers and commercial growers can take preventative steps to avoid losses from BFB. This educational pamphlet is designed to provide commercial cucurbit (watermelon, melon, cucumber, pumpkin, squash, etc.) growers with information about BFB and to provide recommendations on how to reduce the occurrence of the disease in production fields and greenhouses. This information was compiled with contributions from academic and industry BFB experts and distributed by industry sponsors. This brochure is the most current educational material on BFB to date (June, 2009).
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