Ownership of intellectual property rights

1.25Operational system for the maintenance and verification of phytosanitary status

A system of operational procedures are already in place to maintain and verify the phytosanitary status of table grapes from California. This ensures that risk management measures have been met and are maintained.

Details of the operational system, or equivalent, will continue to be determined by agreement between DAFF and USDA APHIS, prior to the season commencement.

1.25.1Registration of export orchards by USDA-APHIS

The objective of this procedure is to ensure that table grapes are sourced from registered export orchards producing export quality fruit, as the pest risk assessments are based on existing commercial production practices.

This procedure provides DAFF with assurance that USDA-APHIS can trace consignments back to the vineyard should any non-compliance be found.

1.25.2Registration of processing facilities and auditing of procedures

The objectives of this procedure ensure that:

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  packed table grapes are stored and treated in USDA-APHIS registered facilities, processing export quality fruit,
  
• 
  references to the packing house (by registration number or reference code and packing house name) are clearly stated on crates destined for export of table grapes to Australia for trace-back and auditing purposes.
  

USDA-APHIS must provide DAFF with a list of registered facilities prior to season commencement each year and inform DAFF of any changes to registrations during the season. This list must be maintained as current by USDA-APHIS in order to facilitate trace-back of any consignment.

USDA-APHIS, or an authorised officer, is required to audit these facilities at the beginning of each season to ensure that they are suitably equipped to carry out the specified phytosanitary tasks and are able to conduct acceptable treatments. Records of USDA-APHIS audits are to be made available to DAFF on request.

1.25.3Packaging and labelling

The objectives of this procedure ensure that:

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  table grapes recommended for export to Australia and all associated packaging is not contaminated by quarantine pests or regulated articles (e.g. trash, soil and contaminant seeds)
  
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  unprocessed packing material (which may vector pests not identified as being on the pathway) is not imported with fresh table grapes
  
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  timber packaging and pallets are treated in accordance with a DAFF approved method (or are ISPM15 compliant)
  
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  secure packaging is used during storage and transport for export to Australia and must meet Australia’s general import conditions for fresh fruits and vegetables (C6000 General requirements for all fruit and vegetables, available at http://www.aqis.gov.au/icon/)
  
• 
  the packaged table grapes are labelled with the packing house name for the purposes of trace-back
  

1.25.4Storage and movement

The objectives of this procedure ensure that:

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  product for export to Australia that has been treated and/or inspected is kept secure and segregated at all times from any fruit for domestic or other markets, untreated product to prevent mixing or cross-contamination elsewhere
  
• 
  the quarantine integrity of the commodity during storage and movement is maintained.
  

1.25.5Freedom from trash

All table grapes must be free from trash (e.g. extraneous materials, twigs/stem and leaf material, seeds, soil, animal matter/parts or other extraneous material), foreign matter and pests of quarantine concern to Australia. Freedom from trash will be confirmed by the inspection procedures. Export lots or consignments found to contain trash, foreign matter, or pests of quarantine concern to Australia are withdrawn from export unless approved remedial action is available and applied to the export consignment.

1.25.6Pre-export phytosanitary inspection and certification by USDA-APHIS

The objectives of this procedure ensure that:

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  all consignments have been inspected in accordance with official procedures for all visually detectable quarantine pests and other regulated articles (including soil, animal and plant debris) at a standard 600 unit sampling rate per phytosanitary certificate
  
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  consignments that contain live quarantine pests or trash will be rejected
  
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  an international phytosanitary certificate (IPC) is issued for each consignment upon completion of inspection and treatment to verify that relevant measures have been undertaken
  
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  each IPC includes:
  
  • 
    a description of the consignment (including quantity, grower lot reference, packing house details);
    
  • 
    details of disinfestation treatments (e.g. fumigation) which includes date, concentration, temperature, duration, and/or the fumigation certificate (as appropriate); and cold treatment details when undertaken offshore.
    
  • 
    any additional declarations required.
    

1.25.7Phytosanitary inspection by DAFF

The objectives of this recommended procedure are to ensure that:

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  all consignments comply with Australian import requirements
  
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  consignments are as described on the phytosanitary certificate and quarantine integrity has been maintained.
  

To ensure that phytosanitary status of consignments of table grapes from California meet Australia’s import conditions DAFF completes a verification inspection of all consignments of table grapes.

On-arrival in Australia, DAFF undertakes a documentation compliance examination to verify that the consignment is as described on the phytosanitary certificate, that required phytosanitary actions have been undertaken and that product security has been maintained.

If the cold treatment is undertaken in-transit, DAFF will complete a phytosanitary inspection of the consignment on-arrival in Australia.

1.25.8Remedial action(s) for non-compliance

The objectives of remedial action(s) for non-compliance are to ensure that:

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  any quarantine risk is addressed by remedial action, as appropriate
  
• 
  non-compliance with import requirements is addressed, as appropriate.
  

Any consignment that fails to meet Australia’s import conditions must be subject to a suitable remedial treatment, if one is available, re-exported from Australia, or destroyed.

Separate to the corrective measures mentioned above, there may be other breach actions (ie investigation of possible treatment failures or post-treatment security) necessary depending on the specific pest intercepted and the risk management strategy put in place against that pest in the protocol.

If product repeatedly fails inspection, DAFF reserves the right to suspend the export program and conduct an audit of the risk management systems. The program will recommence only when DAFF is satisfied that appropriate corrective action has been taken.