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June 8, 2010

New U.S. requirements for tomatoes shipped from Canada

Effective June 14, 2010, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will require all shipments of tomatoes from Canada to be accompanied by an industry-issued "certificate of origin." This requirement is primarily based on the USDA's efforts to prevent the entry of tomato leafminer to the U.S.

According to a notice from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) tomatoes produced in Canada may continue to be exported to the U.S. as long as they are accompanied by a certificate verifying the country of production. The same applies to tomatoes produced in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, or the United States which are re-exported to the U.S. as long as they are accompanied by this same certificate. Tomatoes from any other country are not permitted to enter the U.S. through Canada.

This new certificate of origin for tomatoes is very similar to the certificate of origin that has been required for peppers exported to the U.S. since October 2009.

The certificate must be completed and signed by the exporter. The CFIA is not involved in issuing the certificate of origin. However, blank certificates of origin for both tomatoes and peppers are available from local CFIA offices and grower associations.

More details are available on the CFIA's website.