March 1, 2001
The working group of the International Plant Protection
Convention (IPPC), an international treaty for plant protection
(which is currently made up of 113 governments under the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization), met in
Mexico City from February 12-15, 2001. The meeting was held
to discuss acceptable treatment methods of non-manufactured
wood packaging materials for which a general consensus was
reached.
The recommended treatment methods agreed upon are heat
treatment and methyl bromide fumigation.
Heat treatment (via pasteurization, kiln drying or chemical
pressure impregnation) is the preferred process, as materials
treated in this manner will not require re-certification
after the initial treatment approval, i.e. once materials
have been subjected to this process they will be marked
accordingly and would not pose a future threat. Whereas,
treatment by methyl bromide fumigation is a temporary measure
as the materials must be re-treated and re-certified with
each use.
The working group will present these recommendations to
the IPPC in April 2001. If the proposal meets each country’s
needs, following a six month country review, a decision
will be available in November, 2001 as to whether or not
implementation of the recommendations will be possible by
the IPPC’s target date of June 2002.
Following is background of the case along with current
treatment methods accepted by the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA) as well as the plans of the North American
Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO):
Background
In 1997, the CFIA found numerous insect infestations in
Canada that had the potential of causing significant damage
to our forestry and agricultural resources. As a result,
in mid-1998 the CFIA implemented an import control program
to avoid infestation in Canada of insects that do not naturally
occur in this country.
Two insects are of major concern:
The Asian Long-Horned Beetle,
which has no known natural enemies in North America, is
a direct threat to hardwood forests. Although infestation
has not been detected in Canada, the pest has been found
in a warehouse in Waterloo, Ontario and in wood crating
in Vancouver. However, the beetle has established itself
within (5) forests in the USA, and (3) communities in the
Chicago area were quarantined due to infestation.
The Brown Spruce Long-Horned
Beetle, which is native to Europe, has been identified
to be the cause of the major destruction of red spruce trees
in the Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, NS. In July, 2000,
the CFIA began removing and burning infested areas in an
effort to combat this pest. Of the 60,000 trees in the Point
Pleasant Park, over 10,000 are thought to be infested with
the pest. This is the first discovery of this wood-boring
beetle in North America.
The import control program requires that all wood materials
and products used for pallets, crating, dunnage, packaging,
securing and bracing devices, must be free of bark, free
of insects and other exotic species, and free of any signs
of insect damage and disease.
Effective January 4, 1999, all shipments from China (and
Hong Kong) that were packed using untreated wood packaging
were banned in order to eradicate this beetle. All non-manufactured
wood packaging products must be treated in China to prevent
insect infestation, and be accompanied by a Phytosanitary
Certificate (issued in China) stating compliance with the
treatments, or with a government issued Fumigation Certificate.
All treated non-manufactured wood packaging products from
countries other than the USA, China or Hong Kong, must be
accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the
National Plant Protection Agency of the exporting country
certifying the treatments done.
Accepted Methods of Treatment
According to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the following
treatments of wood dunnage, pallets, crating or other wood
packaging materials are accepted and must be completed and
certified prior to the shipment departure (e.g. no intransit
fumigations allowed):
- Fumigation with methyl bromide at normal atmospheric
pressure, at the rate of 48 gms/m3 (3 lbs/1000 ft3) for
16 hours at 21°C (70°F) or above, or at the rate of 80
gms/m3 (5 lbs/1000 ft3) for 16 hours at 4.5 to 20.5°C
(40 to 69°F);
- Sulphuryl fluoride fumigation at the following rates:
| Temperature |
Dosage Rate |
| 15.5°C or above |
64g/m3 for 24 hrs |
| 4.5°C to 15.5°C |
80g/m3 for 32 hrs |
| OR 4.5°C to 15.5 ° |
104g/m3 for 24 hrs |
- Heat treatment
or kiln dried to attain a minimum core temperature of
52° Celsius for 30 minutes; or at a time-termperature
schedule that will kill the target organism as determined
on a case by case basis.
- Chemical impregnation
treatment with preservative solution of chromated copper
arsenate (CCA) at strength of 1.7-2.0% oxides containing
0.58 to 0.68 % arsenic acid and 0.80 to 0.95% chromium
trioxide;
- Other effective
treatment methods approved in writing by the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency.
For those shipments which do not include
any non-manufactured wood packaging, an exporter's statement
is required on the commercial invoice that no non-manufactured
wood dunnage, pallets, crating or other packaging materials
accompanies the shipment.
The North American Plant Protection
Organization (NAPPO)
NAPPO is a Regional Plant Protection Organization
of the International Plant Protection Convention and is
comprised of 3 member countries, Canada, USA and Mexico.
NAPPO is currently developing a global standard phytosanitary
measure to protect North America's forests and trees from
the threat of infestation and spread of foreign pests. Due
to the far-reaching impact of this standard, it is not expected
to be implemented before October 2002.
Quote of September 25, 2000 from Mr. Ian
McDonell, Executive Director of NAPPO:
"Experience has shown us
that wood dunnage and other wood packing materials represent
a significant pathway for the entry of quarantine pests.
In the last couple of years we have seen expensive eradication
efforts involving the Asian Longhorn Beetle in Chicago and
New York . Canada is now facing a similar problem with the
Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle in Halifax. It is believed
that wood dunnage was the pathway for these beetles to enter
North America for the first time.
Eradication of these wood-boring
beetles requires destruction of trees since no other treatments
are currently available. Widespread removal of trees causes
severe damage to urban landscapes and potentially devastating
effects on North American forests."
Wood packaging materials must not contain
bark. Many shipments from Europe and the Far East have been
found to contain bark and evidence of living pests. Under
these scenarios the shipments in question are subject to
additional expenses, delays for shipment fumigation or ordered
removed from Canada.
Brian Rowe, General Manager
– Customs and Consulting
Universal Logistics Inc.
Telephone: 905-882-4880
Email: browe@universallogistics.ca
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