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Annex

Procedure: Operational procedures to maintain and verify the phytosanitary status of the goods

Effective 25 March 2020 to 13 October 2021

The exporting National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) has responsibility to ensure the following operational procedures are implemented:

  1. Goods must be produced in commercial orchards.

  2. Goods must be traceable through all stages of the export supply chain including to the orchard where goods were grown and the packing house where goods were packed. The exporting NPPO is responsible for ensuring that export growers are aware of pests of biosecurity concern to Australia and the mandatory pest risk management measures.

  3. Packing houses must be registered with the NPPO before the commencement of harvest each season. The NPPO is required to ensure that the registered packinghouses are suitably equipped and have a system in place to carry out the specified phytosanitary activities. The list of registered packinghouses must be kept by the NPPO and made available to the Department of Agriculture upon request. Records of NPPO audits of registered packing houses must also be made available to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment upon request.

  4. Goods must be inspected prior to export and found free from:
    4.1. live pests and diseases of biosecurity concern to Australia
    4.2. trash (for example, loose stem and leaf material), contaminate seeds, soil, animal matter and any other biosecurity risk material.
    All consignments must be inspected prior to treatment in accordance with official procedures for all visually-detectable quarantine pests and other Regulated Articles (including soil, animal and plant debris). Australia requires sampling and inspection methods to be consistent with ISPM 31 and provide a 95% percent level of confidence that infestations greater than 0.5% will be detected. This is equivalent to a random 600 unit sample per phytosanitary certificate.

  5. If live pests are found, during pre-export inspection, remedial action is required. Remedial action includes either treatment of the consignment using an approved treatment to ensure that the pest is no longer viable or withdrawing the consignment from export to Australia.

  6. An original phytosanitary certificate must be issued for each consignment upon completion of pre-export inspection and treatment (if required) to certify the goods as per ISPM12.

  7. Goods must be protected from pest contamination at all times following harvest, during and after packing, storage and movement between locations. Product inspected and certified by the exporting NPPO must be maintained under secure conditions to prevent mixing with fruit for export to other destinations or for the domestic market.