tomato leafminer

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has revealed that regulations are being put into place to tighten up tomato imports from countries where a known pest is present.

From this week, tomato-exporting countries where the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) is known to occur will have to meet new interim requirements, with shipments having to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate including a declaration that the fruit has been inspected and is free from the pest.

These measurements will remain in place until more permanent measures can be developed by the CFIA, the body announced in a statement.

Concurrently, the US has enforced new import requirements for tomatoes, with fruit imported to Canada from countries infested with tomato leafminer now not allowed entry unless they have met additional requirements.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has said that tomatoes from Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Uruguay and Venezuela must now meet special requirements to enter the country.

These requirements include a phytosanitary certificate and either a declaration that the tomatoes are grown in an area free from tomato leafminer, or a declaration that the tomatoes were grown in accordance with a US systems approach and have been inspected.

The new US import requirements also prohibit the entry of host plants of tomato leafminer for planting from affected countries, until a Pest Risk Analysis is completed and appropriate mitigation measures are implemented.