20 August 2021
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise industry of the in-transit cold treatment (ITCT) certification requirements for the export of fresh fruits to the Philippines under the Specific Commodity Understanding 2 conditions for export of fruit fly host fruits from Australia to the Philippines (SCU2) protocol.
Summary of changes and key points
Exporters, shipping companies, freight forwarders and plant export authorised officers (AOs) must consider the following when exporting ITCT fruit consignments to the Philippines:
- The calibration process must be completed as specified in the SCU2.
- Temperature probes must be placed into the fruit pulp as specified in the SCU2.
- Exporters must provide a copy of the ‘certificate of loading and calibration for cold treatment in self refrigerated containers to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), Department of Agriculture, Republic of the Philippines on arrival in the Philippines.
Background
Fruit exported to the Philippines must comply with the standards stipulated in the SCU2.
The SCU2 is available in the ‘Documents’ section of the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor). To access these documents, you must be a registered Micor Plants user.
AO responsibilities
AOs are responsible for supervising and verifying that all steps of the ITCT process are correctly applied in accordance with the Work Instruction: Initiating an in-transit cold treatment for plant exports and the SCU2.
AOs must record their ITCT calibration in the Plant Export Management System (PEMS).
Exporter responsibilities
Exporters must notify ASG via email that their calibration certificate and supporting documentation are available for verification in PEMS at the time of requesting their RFP authorisation.
Exporters must also ensure that all supporting documents, including the ‘certificate of loading and calibration for cold treatment in self refrigerated containers’, are provided to BPI for clearance of the consignment on arrival in Philippines.
Exporters are encouraged to communicate with their importer/shipping line to supply all the relevant data associated with ITCT consignments to BPI to facilitate clearance on arrival.
Shipping company responsibilities
Shipping companies must meet the following documentation requirements:
- Submit ITCT data logger or file (soft copy) of all fruit sensors/probes to BPI for clearance of the consignment on arrival in Philippines.
- Data downloads must include all readings at the time of sealing the container as required by BPI.
- Data printouts must be made available to BPI upon arrival of the shipment in the approved port of entry, to verify maintenance of temperatures for the specified period.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN please email Horticulture Exports.
David Ironside
Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch