All shipments of domestic and foreign tomatoes bound from Canada to the U.S. will need to have a new “certificate of origin” when they show up at the U.S. border starting Monday (June 7).
The certificate, which is not an official Canadian Food Inspection Agency document but will be available from local CFIA offices and grower associations, must verify the tomatoes’ country of production, CFIA said in a notice Friday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has put up the new requirement with the aim of preventing tomato leafminer from establishing itself in the U.S.
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The damaging insect pest is “rapidly spreading” in several countries, CFIA said Friday. It originates in South America but has spread through the Mediterranean basin and more recently established in greenhouse environments in northern Europe.
Now officially a regulated pest in Canada, tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) is a small moth that mainly attacks tomato crops but has also been reported on potato, aubergine and common beans.
It can “severely” damage tomato crops and render fruit unmarketable, posing risks both for Canada’s export status with the U.S. and for Canada’s hothouse tomato crops, although it can’t survive Canadian winters, CFIA said previously.
Tomatoes imported from countries where tomato leafminer is known to occur should not be brought anywhere near production greenhouses, CFIA said.
“It is very likely that if a Canadian greenhouse were to become infested, that T. absoluta would successfully spread to surrounding greenhouse operations during the summer months.”
Same as for peppers
Starting Monday, tomatoes produced in Canada may continue to be exported to the U.S. as long as they travel with a certificate verifying the country of production.
Also starting Monday, tomatoes produced in the Dominican Republic, Mexico or the U.S. can be re-exported from Canada to the U.S. as long as they’re accompanied by the same certificate. Tomatoes from any other country are not permitted to enter the U.S. through Canada.
The new certificate of origin for tomatoes is very similar to the certificate required for peppers exported to the U.S. since October last year, CFIA noted. The certificate must be completed and signed by the exporter.
If a shipment contains both tomatoes and peppers, a separate certificate of origin must be provided for each commodity, CFIA said.
The agency also recommends exporters keep copies of all their certificates of origin and related documentation (invoices, packing slips) for verification purposes.
While fresh tomatoes entering Canada must meet Canada’s import requirements, CFIA said, tomatoes entering Canada from a country regulated for tomato leafminer do not meet U.S. import requirements and are, therefore, not allowed to be re-exported to the U.S.
The new requirement is a reworking of previous U.S. rules, announced in February, by which any tomato shipment from an affected country would need to carry a phytosanitary certificate.
That certificate had to declare the tomatoes originated from a place where tomato leafminer doesn’t occur and were inspected and found free of the moth.
CFIA said at the time that those temporary requirements were to remain in place until “more permanent measures” were developed.
