Ownership of intellectual property rights

Pest risk management

1.15Pest risk management measures and phytosanitary procedures

In addition to Fiji’s existing commercial production practices for the production of ginger and minimum border procedures in Australia, specific pest risk management measures are proposed to achieve Australia's ALOP. Finalisation of the quarantine conditions may be undertaken with input from DAFF Biosecurity and the Australian states and territories as appropriate.

1.15.1Management for yam scale

The major risk from Aspidiella hartii is the importation of live scales on ginger rhizomes that are subsequently diverted from their intended use for human consumption and used as planting material. Infested rhizomes could also be discarded in the vicinity of suitable host plants, although most life stages are immobile and unlikely to establish.

The proposed risk management measure is:

• 
  inspection to ensure that ginger rhizomes infested with Aspidiella hartii are identified and subjected to appropriate remedial action.
  

1.15.2Operational system for the maintenance and verification of phytosanitary status

All consignments must have adequate labelling or other means of identification so that they can be traced to critical points of the pathway.

Registration of export farms

• 
  fresh ginger is sourced from registered commercial export farms producing ginger rhizomes, as the pest risk assessments are based on standard commercial production and harvesting activities
  
• 
  farms from which export ginger is sourced can be identified so investigation and corrective action can be targeted rather than applying to all contributing export farms in the event that live pests are regularly intercepted during on-arrival inspection.
  

Registration of packing house

• 
  ginger rhizomes are sourced from commercial packing houses, as the pest risk assessments are based on standard commercial packing activities
  
• 
  packing houses from which ginger is exported can be identified so investigation and corrective action can be targeted rather than applying to all contributing packing houses if live pests or other regulated articles are regularly intercepted during on-arrival inspection.
  

Packaging and labelling

• 
  fresh ginger exported to Australia is not contaminated by quarantine pests or regulated articles (e.g. trash, ants, soil and weed seeds)
  
• 
  unprocessed packing material (which may vector pests not identified as being on the pathway) is not imported with the ginger rhizomes
  
• 
  all wood used in the packing of the commodity complies with relevant DAFF Biosecurity conditions (see the publication ‘Cargo containers: Quarantine aspects and procedures’)
  
• 
  secure packaging is used.
  

Specific conditions for storage and transport

• 
  product for export to Australia is secure to prevent mixing or cross-contamination with produce destined elsewhere
  
• 
  maintain the quarantine integrity of the commodity during storage and movement.
  

Pre-export phytosanitary inspection and certification

• 
  an International Phytosanitary Certificate (IPC) is issued for each consignment, consistent with ISPM No. 12 Guidelines for Phytosanitary Certificates (FAO 2001), to provide formal documentation to DAFF Biosecurity verifying the relevant measures have been undertaken offshore
  
• 
  ensure the goods have been inspected for quarantine pests and other regulated articles by the NPPO
  
• 
  each IPC includes a description of the consignment (including grower number and packing house details).
  

Additional Phytosanitary Certificate declaration

The ginger rhizomes have been inspected and found to be free of yam scale (Aspidiella hartii).

On-arrival DAFF Biosecurity inspection

The detection of live quarantine pests or regulated articles during an inspection will result in the failure of the inspection lot.

The objectives of this procedure are to ensure that:

• 
  each consignment as defined by a single phytosanitary certificate, is inspected at the first port of entry for quarantine pests and regulated articles
  
• 
  consignments are inspected using the standard inspection protocol, which includes optical enhancement where necessary
  
• 
  a sample size for ginger rhizomes of 600 units (single ginger rhizome pieces) is inspected from each consignment. If a consignment has less than 1000 units, then 450 units are to be inspected. For consignments of less than 450 units, all units must be inspected
  
• 
  if no live quarantine pests, disease symptoms or other regulated articles are detected in the inspection lot, the consignment will be released from quarantine
  
• 
  consignments will fail if quarantine pests and/or regulated articles are detected during on-arrival inspections. Remedial action is to be taken when this occurs
  
• 
  if product continually fails inspection, the export program may be suspended and audited, with reinstatement after DAFF Biosecurity is satisfied that appropriate corrective action has been taken.