The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) recently announced the finalization of a revised greenhouse-grown plant certification program with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
The United States–Canada Greenhouse-Grown Plant Certification Program (GCP) is a bilateral export certification program for greenhouse-grown plants shipped between Canada and the continental United States (US).
The revised program will streamline the shipping process to facilitate the movement of greenhouse-grown plants between Canada and the U.S., improving efficiency and providing cost savings to all parties.
The GCP allows authorized facilities to ship plants using a GCP sticker in place of a phytosanitary certificate, relating to the control of plant pests. The revised GCP strengthens oversight of plant movement, requires consistent implementation of the program, and reflects current business practices.
There will be a two-year period for currently registered facilities to transition to the new GCP. Facilities that have not completed the transition may continue to ship under the current program until the end of the transition period.
Some key changes to the program include the following:
- The current lists of excluded plants are replaced by a requirement for plants to meet both countries’ phytosanitary requirements;
- Authorized facilities will prepare and use a written Pest Management Plan;
- There is a mechanism for items like bamboo stakes – which currently require a separate phytosanitary certificate – to be included under the GCP sticker.
The full article including associated links can be found in the Notice to Industry on the CFIA Website.
Please contact your Livingston account representative should you have any questions.