Country: Canada

Title: Blueberry Maggot (Rhagoletis mendax Curran) - Updates to Blueberry Certification Program and Domestic Phytosanitary Requirements

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The CFIA has revised its Policy Directive D-02-04: The Blueberry Certification Program and Domestic Phytosanitary Requirements to Prevent the Spread of Blueberry Maggot (Rhagoletis mendax) Within Canada. This directive sets out the phytosanitary requirements for the domestic movement of commodities regulated for blueberry maggot in order to prevent the introduction and/or spread of this pest into pest free areas of Canada. This directive also describes the Blueberry Certification Program (BCP), which is aimed at blueberry producers located in the regulated areas of Canada and the United States that ship blueberry fruit to non-regulated areas of Canada.

This is the first complete revision of Policy Directive D-02-04 since it was published in 2002. The following changes have been made:

• The regulated areas in Ontario have been amalgamated, as described in risk management document RMD-14-02: Revision of the Geographic Boundaries of the Regulated Areas for the Blueberry Maggot, Rhagoletis mendax Curran, in the Province of Ontario.
• The treatment options for managing the pest risk associated with blueberry maggot have been updated.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will continue to administer the BCP in Canada and will provide oversight. However, the responsibility for trapping and fruit sampling within the context of the BCP has been transferred to participants in the program.
• The requirements of the BCP have been clarified and streamlined and the trapping and fruit sampling requirements have been updated.
• The phytosanitary import requirements for commodities regulated for blueberry maggot from the United States have been removed and transferred to other documents. The import requirements for regulated host plants from the United States are now described in Policy Directive D-08-04: Phytosanitary Import Requirements for Plants and Plant Parts for Planting. The import requirements for fresh blueberries, huckleberries and lingonberries from the United States are described in Policy Directive D-95-08: General Phytosanitary Import Requirements for Fresh Temperate Fruits and Tree Nuts. However, the requirements of the Blueberry Certification Program, which are used by blueberry producers in both Canada and the United States, remain in Policy Directive D-02-04 (Appendix 3).

For more information please visit the CFIA website: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/plants/plant-protection/directives/horticulture/d-02-04/eng/1320046578973/1320046655958

Posted Date: July 13, 2015, 9 a.m.