New Canadian biosecurity standards for greenhouse production as well as for fruit and tree nut production

Thursday, March 10, 2016

by SUSAN MANN

Ontario greenhouse vegetable growers will use the new government and industry-developed national biosecurity standard in their operations as added information for their existing plans, says an industry spokesperson.

Greenhouse growers already have biosecurity protocols they must follow, says Rick Seguin, general manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers. Furthermore, growers and marketers must submit their biosecurity plans along with a completed food safety audit annually to the greenhouse vegetable growers organization as part of renewing their licence.

The organization reviews the plans submitted annually to ensure they’re protecting the grower and the industry, he notes.

Seguin says his organization was involved in the development of the new national standard. The Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Biosecurity Advisory Committee, comprised of representatives from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, industry and provincial governments, developed the voluntary biosecurity standard for the three sectors to protect them from plant pests.

The new standard “would be additional information for growers to use in their plans they submit to us annually,” Seguin says.

In CFIA’s March 8 release, Linda Delli Santi, chair of the Canadian Horticultural Council’s greenhouse committee, says some provinces already have comprehensive standards. However, the new national voluntary standard “provides a basis for all regions to adhere to a common practice.”

The advisory committee is also developing three sector-specific producer guidance documents to support the new standard.

In a related development, CFIA worked with the federal agriculture department and industry organizations to develop a new voluntary biosecurity standard to help protect Canada’s fruit and tree nut industries from plant pests and diseases.

CFIA also released that standard on March 8. Similar to the greenhouse, nursery and floriculture standard, fruit and tree nut growers can adopt the entire new standard for their operation or use portions of it to supplement existing biosecurity programs.

In CFIA’s March 8 news release, Brian Gilroy, Ontario apple grower and Canadian Horticultural Council chair of the apple and fruit committee, says the standard “helps you in assessing your current biosecurity measures and, where applicable, in adopting additional measures to safeguard your farm and those around you against the introduction and spread of pests, diseases and unwanted weeds.”

Funding to develop the standards came from Growing Forward 2, Canada’s agricultural policy framework. BF