Alerts

Update to definitions of acceptable commercial processing for permitted plant fibre articles

Effective from 23 October 2020

The department has reviewed the BICON case and will be clarifying import conditions by referring to definitions of acceptable processing methods found in the International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 32 ‘Categorization of commodities according to their pest risk’ (ISPM 32).

For this, the department will add the below table to the appendices of the BICON case, based on Annex 1 from ISPM 32. This table lists acceptable commercial processing methods with descriptions and examples. Importers of processed plant fibre articles will need to provide documentary evidence that their goods have been processed with at least one of the listed commercial processes (the current types of evidence document found in the existing case will apply). Specific details of the processing will not be required. Importers should note that mechanical processing alone is not considered sufficient to address biosecurity risk.

In addition, a new question will be added to the case to allow for redirection of goods to appropriate BICON cases that are animal foods, fertilisers, or for growing purposes.
In conjunction with the update to the import conditions, the department will include permitted plant fibres onto the Automatic Entry Processing for commodities (AEPCOMM) approved arrangement.
The case will be updated on 7 December, 2020. Goods exported on or after this date must meet the new requirements.

COMMERCIAL PROCESS	DESCRIPTION	Additional Information
Bleaching	The process of immersing a plant fibre or plant fibre article in a bleach solution
Dyeing	Colouring of textile fibres and other materials by which the colour becomes an integral part of the fibre or material under the influence of pH and temperature changes plus interaction with chemical products	Dyeing does not include painting or dyeing techniques that occur without the influence of temperature and/or pH change
Extraction	Physical or chemical process to obtain specific components from plant-based raw materials, usually through mass-transfer operations	Normally done under high temperature conditions
Fermentation	Anaerobic or anoxic process changing food/plant material chemically, often involving micro-organisms (bacteria, moulds or yeasts) and e.g. converting sugars to alcohol or organic acids	May be combined with pasteurisation
Heat Treatment	Process of applying elevated heat to plant fibre or plant fibre articles as part of manufacture. Includes kiln drying, dry heat treatment and wet heat treatment	Acceptable synonyms Cooking; boiling; microwaving; roasting.
Pasteurisation	Thermal processing in order to kill undesirable or harmful micro-organisms
Pureeing	Process of making homogenised plant tissues by high speed mixing, screening through a sieve or using a bender.	Pureeing could be accompanied by pressing, moulding, or shaping of a final product. Nb. pressing, moulding, or shaping alone are not considered adequate.
Sterilisation	Process of applying heat (vapours, dry heat or boiling water), irradiation or chemical treatments in order to destroy micro-organisms

Who does this notice affect:
Assessment Services Group, Inspections Group, Importers and Brokers.

Background:
Feedback received by Plant Import Operations from both external and internal stakeholders about the Permitted Plant Fibres case highlighted that there is a need for clearer terminology for what constitutes acceptable commercial processing methods of permitted plant fibre articles.

Further information:
For additional information please email Plant Import Operations Branch at imports@agriculture.gov.au or phone 1800 900 090.

This Alert applies to the following Cases:

Permitted plant fibres