US: Authorizing the import of spinach and celery from Colombia

After two years of management by the Colombian Farming and Livestock Institute (ICA) with its US counterpart, the Service of Inspection for Animal and Vegetable Sanity (APHIS) notified its decision on 18 of May of 2012 on the United States Federal Code.

An obvious opportunity for vegetable producers and exporters, as according to María Cristina Torres, sub-manager for Sanity and Health Plan Regulation by ICA, "this is the moment for national producers of celery, rucola and spinach to take advantage of the 0% deduction, with the end result of focusing efforts and exploiting this market. They should make the effort to use better practices and plagues handling to assure the fulfilling of the sanitary requirements and that ICA can certify its condition as free of the plagues pointed out by APHIS".

The US Federal Code is explains that celery, rucola and spinach imports must go under the following sanitary measures:

- Must be imported solely with a commercial end.

- Each lot must have a sanitary certificate by ICA.

- The certification for celery and spinach must include a declaration showing that each shipment was inspected and it's plague free.

- The additional declaration for celery must show: "This shipment was inspected and it's free of Copitarsia decolora, Planococcus".

Author: Henry Plazas