Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

India requires GM-Free Certification of Apple Shipments
Effective January 1, 2021

October 27, 2020

Current Situation: On August 21, 2020, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued an order requiring shipments of apples (and other food products) to include a GM-free certificate, issued by a “Competent National Authority,” effective shipment arrival on or after January 1, 2021.

The order may be found here.

Background: With the order scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2021, shipments departing the U.S. after November 15, 2020, will arrive in Indian ports after that date.

It is unclear why India has proposed this order and what concerns are being addressed by it.  FSSAI does not address any safety-related issues nor do they offer any scientific justification for requiring non-GM certification.  FSSAI requires certification from a “Competent National Authority.”  No such certifying body exists within the government of the United States.

No apple shipped to India from the Pacific Northwest is genetically modified.  More than 90 percent of U.S. apples exported to India are of the Red Delicious variety.  There are no genetically modified Red Delicious apples in existence.  USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have approved two GM apple events available under the trade name of Arctic® Golden and Arctic® Granny.  These apples belong to one company, Okanagan Specialty Fruits, that maintains strict control of its limited production.  The apples are in processed form (not whole apples) and are not exported.

The NHC is working with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to avoid a market closure resulting from the FSSAI order.

Contact: If you have any questions, please contact Northwest Horticultural Council vice president for scientific affairs, David Epstein, or Fred Scarlett, vice president for export programs at 509-453-3193.

Northwest Horticultural Council

Current Open Staff Positions

• No Current Open Staff Positions

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

Canada Consumer Prepackaged Produce – New Labeling Requirements for Fruit

March 24, 2020

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) made a final decision regarding the specifics of lot code options required on consumer prepackaged produce to comply with Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR).  The compliance date is January 15, 2020.  (Note: CFIA has granted an extension until January 15, 2021, for the industry to use up existing packaging material.)

The following outlines the decision of CFIA:

• Lot Code:  The term “lot code” is not specifically defined in the Safe Food for Canadians Act nor in the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR). In general terms, “lot code” when used in Part 5 – Traceability of the SFCR refers to a code that can be used to identify a lot that was manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, graded, packaged or labeled, under the same conditions. A lot code can be numeric, alphabetic or alphanumeric. Examples of lot code include: production date, best before date, establishment number, or SFCR license number. In addition, for fresh fruits or vegetables, the lot code may also be the harvest date, grower identification number, growing region or any other code that may be used for traceability purposes.
• Growing Region can be province/state or another sub-national division within a country, or any other commonly accepted region of production as determined by industry and/or government.
• On January 15, 2020, consumer prepackaged food will need a label which includes the following information:
  • The common name
  • The name and principal place of business of the person by or for whom the food was manufactured, prepared, produced, stored, packaged or labeled
  • The lot code (lot code guidance is available in the SFCR: Glossary of key terms)
• The current guidance document, Regulatory requirements: Traceability will be revised to include examples of Growing Region although the list will not be exhaustive.

For additional information about CFIA consumer prepackaging requirements for produce, please see the Northwest Horticultural Council Export Manual here.

Contact: For more information contact the Northwest Horticultural Council at (509) 453-3193.

Northwest Horticultural Council

Country Alerts

European Union (EU) Implements New Additional Declarations for Use on Phytosanitary Certificates

September 16, 2019

Current Situation: The EU implemented phytosanitary Directive 2019/523/EC on September 1.  This new Directive names specific pests and requires one of several protective measures to be documented on the Federal Phytosanitary Certificate by new Additional Declarations (AD).

Pacific Northwest apples, pears and cherries remain eligible for export to the EU.  However due to the complexity of navigating, and selecting, the appropriate new ADs required to document applicable protective measures within the Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance and Tracking System (PCIT), the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) has submitted a request to the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for a guidance document to assist industry when drafting phytosanitary certificates that will ensure consistency across the industry.  For additional information, contact the local state department of agriculture representative.

Background: Directive 2019/523/EC declared that protective measures must be taken against the introduction of specific quarantine pests found in the United States (see below).  Exporting countries were required to notify the EU which option would be taken to protect the EU: country freedom, pest-free areas, pest-proof structures, or treatments.  The European Commission (EC) confirmed to APHIS that a systems approach qualifies as a treatment option under the new regulation.  The Northwest Horticultural Council (NHC) worked with APHIS to identify pest-free areas, treatments currently in use, and general horticultural and packing facility practices that could be included as part of a systems approach for the individual fruits of the Pacific Northwest.  The systems approaches were presented as treatments by APHIS and accepted by the EC prior to the September 1 implementation date.

A second EU Directive is scheduled to be implemented on December 14.  The second Directive will replace the comprehensive EU Plant Health Law Directive 2000/29/EC; and will require all ADs to be written in “plain language”, which means the ADs will change again in three months.  (The current AD system uses EU Directive Annex points.)

Pests of concerns for cherry, apple, and pear that occur in the production areas of the Pacific Northwest:

Cherry (Prunus)

• Cherry fruit worm (Grapholita packardi)
• Non-European Tephritidae, which includes the following:
  • Black-bodied cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis fausta
  • Western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens
  • Apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella

Apple (Malus)

• Apple maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella)
• Lesser apple worm (Grapholita prunivora / Enarmonia prunivora)
• Apple curculio (Tachypterellus quadrigibbus)
• Cherry fruitworm (Grapholita packardi)

Pear (Pyrus)

• Apple curculio (Tachypterellus quadrigibbus)
• Cherry fruitworm (Grapholita packardi)

Contact: If you have any questions, please contact Paul McCarthy or Fred Scarlett at (509) 453-3193.

Northwest Horticultural Council

U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

On September 30, 2018, Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America reached an agreement to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  The new agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), will enter into effect only after legislative approval in each country and at some future, yet to be determined, implementation date.

The Northwest Horticultural Council supports ratification by Congress of the USMCA. The trade agreement achieves the NHC’s principle negotiating objectives and provides a solid foundation from which Pacific Northwest tree fruit growers, packers, and shippers will continue their positive and overwhelmingly beneficial trading relationship with customers in these critically important countries.  

The text of the agreement may be found here.  A fact sheet describing the USMCA as it pertains to agriculture may be found here.