2nd IPPC Working Group on Inspection Methodology
Riverdale, US, 2004-03-01/04
The purpose of the meeting was to formulate a new draft of an international standard for phytosanitary measures on inspection methodology. The meeting was assisted by the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) and hosted in their Headquarters offices in Riverdale, Maryland, USA.
Mr. Griffin opened the meeting by providing historical background, including a discussion of key concepts in the existing draft. The experts agreed that the concept of MAP was valid but psychologically awkward. The meeting suggested replacing the term with a more neutral technical term: “Detection Threshold” (DT). In addition, text was modified to emphasize that the DT represented a probability for detection (a positive point of view) rather than an upper limit for infestation (considered a negative point of view). The experts also agreed that the concept of an “acceptance level” should be removed and avoided – not because it was believed to be technically incorrect, but because the experts thought the concept would be difficult for phytosanitary authorities to understand, accept, and implement. Likewise, text regarding the concept of “tolerance” was markedly reduced from the earlier draft in order to cover only the most relevant points form a phytosanitary perspective. Substantial discussions and effort were devoted to covering other aspects of inspection besides sampling. It was noted that the recently completed draft ISPM for Import Regulatory Systems described inspection in three steps; (1) review of documents, (2) checking phytosanitary integrity, and (3) phytosanitary inspection, including phytosanitary compliance and the physical examination of commodities for the detection of pests. The draft was significantly modified to reflect this format and include discussions on these processes. Flowcharts were developed to illustrate relationships. The experts had some difficulty agreeing on the concept of “visual inspection” and whether this included microscopic examination. It was agreed that a definition would be proposed to ensure a common understanding on this point. Other definitions were proposed for clarification of certain concepts.
Participants
Mr. Fuxiang Wang (China – steward)
Ms. Alejandra Elizalde (Mexico)
Mr. Bert Rikken (Netherlands)
Mr. Nelson Francisco da Silva (Brazil)
Mr. Narcy Klag (USA – host)
Mr. Robert Griffin (IPPC facilitator)