Alerts
Rodent dropping contamination tolerance for seed for sowing
Effective from 24 August 2019The purpose of this notification is to provide updated advice on rodent faecal contamination in imported seed for sowing – Updated 24 August 2019.
Who does this notice affect:
Importers and exporters of seed for sowing.
Summary:
Seed for sowing imported from the United States
The department has finalised the policy in relation to rodent faecal contamination for consignments exported from the United States. A tolerance level of up to and including 0.01% has been set to manage animal biosecurity risks associated with rodent droppings from the United States. Additionally, consignments are subject to visual inspection by a biosecurity officer to verify the consignment is not grossly contaminated, and to verify freedom from live rodents. There is no tolerance for consignments detected with live rodents.
Seed imported from all other countries (excluding United States)
Any other rodent faecal contamination (from any country, excluding the United States) must be referred to Plant Import Operations, for a case by case assessment by Animal Biosecurity.
Certification requirements:
Where an ISTA laboratory report indicates ‘rodent droppings’ on the certificate, the certificate must state the level of rodent contamination droppings as a percentage.
If the reported percentage is above the tolerance of 0.01% on a seed analysis certificate, consignments must be referred to Plant Import Operations, for a case by case assessment by Animal Biosecurity. Importers are advised that the department is currently unable to provide a defined timeframe for these assessments, and therefore importers are strongly advised to ensure contaminated consignments are not shipped to Australia, until assessment advice is provided. Please note that the assessment outcome may result in rejection of consignments, and be subject to export or disposal directions (where goods have already landed in Australia).
If the reported percentage is below 0.01% on a seed analysis certificate, consignments will be inspected onshore by a biosecurity officer to verify consignment is not grossly contaminated with droppings, and free from live rodents. There is no tolerance for consignments detected with live rodents.
Consignments with rodent dropping contamination and no ISTA certification:
The seed lot will be subject to an onshore sample being drawn in accordance with ISTA methodology and forwarded to a department approved laboratory for purity testing to determine the percentage of rodent droppings. Consignments will be processed as per procedures outlined above.
Seed contaminants and tolerance tables
The departments webpage for ‘Seed contaminants and tolerance tables’ has been updated to include the approved 0.01% rodent faecal contamination tolerance for seed exported from the United States only.
Background:
For the purposes of biosecurity, contamination risks of imported seed consignments include: soil, live insects/snails, seed species that have been assessed as a weed risk, unidentified seeds, fungal mycelium (sclerotia), animal faecal matter and plant material. It is an import requirement that imported seed is free of animal faecal contamination, as this contamination poses an unacceptable risk to animals.
Further information:
For any enquiries, please contact imports@agriculture.gov.au or call 1800 900 090.
This Alert applies to the following Cases:
- Vangueria infausta seed for sowing
- Telfairia occidentalis seed for sowing
- Hibiscus cannabinus seed for sowing
- Cassava seed for sowing
- Seed for sowing products
- Permitted seed for sowing
- Solanum tuberosum seed for sowing
- Pinus spp. seed for sowing
- Prunus spp. seed for sowing
- Pea seed for sowing
- Cucurbit seed for sowing requiring testing for plant viruses
- Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum hosts as seed for sowing
- Daucus carota seed for sowing
- Pennisetum spp. seed for sowing
- Lens spp. seed for sowing
- Triticum spp. seed for sowing
- Leymus spp. seed for sowing
- Chloris spp. seed for sowing
- Pascopyrum smithii seed for sowing
- Centrosema spp. seed for sowing
- Banana seed for sowing
- Sorghum spp. seed for sowing
- Brachiaria spp. and Urochloa spp. seed for sowing
- Restricted legume seed for sowing
- Leucaena spp. seed for sowing
- Avena spp. seed for sowing
- Setaria spp. seed for sowing
- Oryza spp. seed for sowing
- Papaver somniferum seed for sowing
- Orchid seed for sowing
- Ribes spp. seed for sowing
- Catharanthus roseus seed for sowing
- Mangifera spp. seed for sowing
- Conifer (excluding Pinus spp. and Pseudotsuga spp.) seed for sowing
- Dutch elm disease host seed for sowing
- Coffee seed for sowing
- Lolium spp. seed for sowing
- Rutaceae seed for sowing
- Moko hosts seed for sowing
- Palm seed for sowing
- Roegneria spp. seed for sowing
- Pseudotsuga spp. seed for sowing
- Secale cereale seed for sowing
- Brassica spp. seed for sowing
- Myrtaceae seed for sowing
- Colocasia spp. seed for sowing
- Carthamus tinctorius seed for sowing
- Tomato seed for sowing
- Daylily rust host seed for sowing
- Panicum spp. seed for sowing.
- Digitaria spp. seed for sowing
- Zea mays seed for sowing
- Linseed seed for sowing
- Vicia spp. seed for sowing
- Sesame seed for sowing
- Allium spp. seed for sowing
- Encephalartos spp. seed for sowing
- Helianthus spp. (sunflower) seed for sowing
- Phaseolus spp. seed for sowing
- Fagopyrum esculentum seed for sowing
- Vaccinium spp. seed for sowing
- Xanthosoma roseum seed for sowing
- Medicago spp. seed for sowing
- Cocos spp. seed for sowing
- Carica papaya seed for sowing
- Ziziphus jujuba Mill. (Chinese jujube) seed for sowing
- Cannabis spp. seed for sowing
- Arabidopsis spp. seed for sowing
- Ricinus communis seed for sowing
- Humulus spp. seed for sowing
- Azadirachta indica seed for sowing
- Persea americana seed for sowing
- Nuts and woody tree seed for sowing
- Chestnut seed for sowing
- Hordeum spp. seed for sowing
- Elymus spp. seed for sowing
- Aneurolepidium spp. seed for sowing
- Zeia spp. seed for sowing
- Cenchrus spp. seed for sowing
- Gossypium spp. seed for sowing
- x Triticosecale spp. seed for sowing
- Helictotrichon sempervirens seed for sowing
- Nicotiana spp. seed for sowing
- Capsicum spp. (requiring testing) seed for sowing
- Annona spp. seed for sowing
- Vitis spp. (grape) seed for sowing
- Mixed seed for sowing (permitted species)
- Agropyron spp. seed for sowing
- Dactylis spp. seed for sowing
- Camellia sinensis seed for sowing
- Biomat products containing seed for sowing