G/SPS/GEN/1285  
15 October 2013  
(13-5618)  Page: 1/5  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: Spanish  
 
  ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL 
ORGANIZATION FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA) 
RELATING TO THE WTO AGREEMENT ON THE 
APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND 
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES, 
16 AND 18 OCTOBER 2013 
The following communication, received on 12 October 2013, is being circulated at the request 
of OIRSA. 
 
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1  TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AN D DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES RELATING 
TO AGRICULTURAL HEALTH AND TRADE 
1.1.  OIRSA, together with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), FAO and IICA, 
coordinated a regional workshop on risk management of campylobacteriosis and salmonellosis 
in chicken meat, in order to strengthen the management of programmes for the control and prevention of these diseases in the poultry production chain. Officials from ten countries 
(nine OIRSA members and Cuba) and technicians from Panamanian and Honduran private 
enterprises in the poultry sector took part. 
1.2.  In coordination with the Food Safety Department (DEPA) at the Panamanian Ministry 
of Health, OIRSA held a workshop in Panama  on monitoring veterinary drug residues 
and on reviewing procedures for the inspection and control of fishing boats. 
1.3.  In Honduras, as part of the project to stre ngthen safety certification schemes for agricultural 
products from small and medium-sized producers and in coordination with the Food Safety Division 
and the Plant Phytosanitary Certification Programme (PROCEFVE/SAVE) of the National Agricultural 
Health Service (SENASA), OIRSA ran an advanced course on good agricultural practices (GAP), 
which was attended by 89 Honduran enterprises. Four training sessions were also given on good 
manufacturing practices (GMP) and sanitary control procedures (SCPs) for the fishing 
and aquaculture sectors. 
1.4.  In Guatemala, OIRSA, in coordination with the Vice-Ministry of Agricultural Health 
and Regulations attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (VISAR/MAGA), 
and officials from the Hydrobiological Commissi on of the Guatemalan Exporters Association 
(AGEXPORT), held a seminar on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) for fishery and aquaculture products: new guidelines of the United States Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA). 
1.5.  The updated food safety regulations of the United States of America (Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), Food Safety  and Inspection Service (FSIS), Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA), the European Union (DG-SANCO)), the Co dex Alimentarius and the OIE were compiled 
and circulated to the OIRSA member countries. This information was shared with officials from the 
public and private sector (producers, processors, exporters, trade unions and associations) and from academia. G/SPS/GEN/1285 
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  1.6.  OIRSA coordinated a technological mission to Colombia for countries of the region, focusing 
on successful experiences in the control of coffee rust ( Hemileia vastatrix  Berk), and organized 
a technological mission from the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation to visit OIRSA member countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador) and interview producers, 
representatives of coffee institutions and Ministries of Agriculture. 
1.7.  At the OIRSA headquarters in San Salvador, officials from the National Plant Protection 
Organizations (NPPOs) in OIRSA member countries were given training on the International 
Standards for Phytosanitary Measures on pest risk analysis (ISPMs 02/2007 and 11/2004) 
and phytosanitary certification (ISPMs 07/2011 and 12/2011). 
1.8.  Mexico held a workshop for OIRSA member countries on using the PCR technique to detect 
Huanglongbing (HLB) in citrus fruits. The FAO- OIRSA project on HLB funded the participation 
of nine technicians specialized in monitoring and controlling HLB in OIRSA member countries in the 
International Workshop on Citrus Quarantine Pests. 
1.9.  As part of OIRSA's HLB joint project wi th the International Cooperation and Development 
Foundation (Chinese Taipei), phytosanitary expe rts advised producers and technicians from the 
OIRSA region on using technology from Chin ese Taipei to control HLB and its vector. 
1.10.  In Panama City, training sessions were given on field identification, laboratory diagnosis 
and the application of phytosanitary surveillance of Fusarium guttiforme , and were attended 
by pineapple producers, exporters and traders. 
1.11.  OIRSA financed the participation of veterina ry drug registration officials from the region 
in seminars on quality control of veterinary biol ogicals, good manufacturing practices for animal 
feed and safety of veterinary drugs, organized by the Committee of the Americas for Veterinary 
Medicines (CAMEVET/OIE) in Panama. The manual of good practices in the use of veterinary drugs 
was presented and distributed at the event. 
1.12.  OIRSA funded the participation of officials fr om the public sector and academia in a training 
course on bee traceability and developments  in the control of the small hive beetle 
(Aethina tumida ), held in Mexico. 
1.13.  As part of the project on the harmonized sy stem of bovine traceability in Central America, 
Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic (BID-OIRSA) the following activities were carried out in El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic: a presentation on the technical equipment used in a pilot project to control cattle movements; an induction day 
on the development of a regulatory framework, an  implementation plan and support tools for the 
establishment of the official bovine traceability system; and a session on using and applying a single format to record cattle movements, and the importance of controlling movements for 
traceability purposes. 
1.14.  As part of the Regional Avian Disease Programme (PREA) and the Regional Health 
Programme for Backyard Poultry (PRESAAT), funded by the Chinese Taipei Government, 
OIRSA organized 12 training events in El Salvador and Guatemala on poultry management 
and health and a training workshop on biosecurity for farm directors and managers. Five education, health communication and vaccination campaigns were carried out in El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. 
1.15.  A simulation exercise on Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) was undertaken in Nicaragua 
and involved lectures and field activities. 
1.16.  In Belize, El Salvador and Guatemala, OIRSA trained quarantine officials to manage the 
regional early warning quarantine system. 
1.17.  In El Salvador, OIRSA's International Quarantine Treatment Service (SITC) organized 
regional courses on pest risk analysis and aircraft inspection. G/SPS/GEN/1285 
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  2  SUPPORT FOR THE HARMONIZATION AND EQUIVALENCE PROCESS 
2.1.  OIRSA and its member countries are in the process of formalizing regional regulations for the 
certification of citrus fruit nurseries. The Dominican Republic is the first country to have published these regulations under Decree No. 238-13 of 15 August 2013. 
2.2.  Under the FAO-OIRSA technical cooperation project TCP/RLA 3311, a manual on taking, 
forwarding and processing samples for the detection of HLB and a protocol for monitoring the HLB vector insect were drawn up for the OIRSA memb er countries. A manual on collecting, forwarding 
and processing samples for the diagnosis of HLB ( Candidatus Liberibacter spp) in leaves and the 
presence of associated bacteria in the vector insect, and a field sheet were also prepared. 
2.3.  OIRSA and 200 delegates (OIE focal points , public and production sectors and academia) 
attended the 6
th meeting of the OIE Aquatic Animals Commission on facilitating cooperation 
between production sectors, the public sector an d academia in the field of aquaculture health, 
held in Mérida, Mexico. 
2.4.  Pursuant to the agreement on the Harmoniz ed System for Bovine Traceability in Central 
America, Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic (BID-OIRSA), El Salvador, Guatemala, 
Honduras and the Dominican Republic were provided with individual identification and data reading devices and equipment for cattle. Through the sale of these tools, OIRSA will create a revolving 
fund in order to sustain the programme. 
2.5.  OIRSA and its member countries established a panel of experts in order to compile a list 
of quarantine pests in the OIRSA region. 
2.6.  OIRSA held a regional workshop for th e revision of draft International Standards 
for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM-IPPC). It also financed the participation of a delegate from the 
National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) of OIRSA member countries in the regional workshop for Latin America and the Caribbean organized by the Regional Plant Protection 
Organizations (RPPOs). 
2.7.  OIRSA drew up a contingency plan for an outbreak of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cubense  
tropical race four in an OIRSA member country. 
3  SUPPORT FOR REGIONALIZATION (ESTABLISHMENT OF PEST-/DISEASE-FREE AND 
LOW-PREVALENCE AREAS, DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOCOLS FOR THEIR RECOGNITION) 
3.1.  OIRSA provided technical assistance to the Costa Rican and Nicaraguan Ministries 
of Agriculture, in order to develop a protocol on exports of fresh tomatoes from Costa Rica 
to Nicaragua. 
3.2.  Under the FAO-OIRSA technical cooperation project TCP/RLA 3311 to assist OIRSA member 
countries with the control of Huanglongbing in citrus fruits, an early warning IT platform 
was created to map citrus plantations and detect the presence of HLB and its vector insect. 
The system is based on the use of smartphones,  yellow traps and QR codes. This technology, 
which is designed to facilitate decision making in the control of HLB and its vector, could also be 
applied to other pests and crops. The platform will indicate areas that are HLB-infected, HLB-free, 
or that have a low prevalence of the disease on the regional map. 
3.3.  In Nicaragua, technical and financial support is still being provided for the programme 
to maintain the area north of Lake Xolotlán as an area free from the Mediterranean fruit fly 
(Ceratitis capitata ), the citrus leprosis-free area programme and the programme to maintain 
Nicaragua's status as a country  free from the pink bollworm. 
3.4.  In Honduras, procedures to gain recognition of the Aguan Valley as an area free from the 
Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitata ) are on-going. The technical file was accordingly 
submitted to the authorities in Mexico and the Unit ed States to enable both countries to recognize 
the area's pest-free status. G/SPS/GEN/1285 
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  4  PREVENTION, CONTROL AND ERADICATION ACTIVITIES (PROGRAMMES OR 
CAMPAIGNS) 
4.1.  With the participation of the Ministries of  Agriculture of Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, 
Honduras, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, a monitoring programme using trapping 
and exploration techniques for the early detection of the "tomato leaf miner" ( Tuta absoluta ) 
was introduced in the countries of the region. Field sheets on the tomato leaf miner and the Bactericera cockerelli -  Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum  complex were also prepared. 
4.2.  OIRSA, in coordination with technical staff from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock 
in El Salvador, who organized the national campaign against coffee rust, gave a workshop on establishing the epidemiological surveillance circuit through the creation of sentinel plots in the coffee-growing area of El Salvador. 
4.3.  In connection with the implementation of the regional programme to provide support for the 
control of coffee rust, OIRSA presented an earl y warning system model to coffee institutions 
and the Ministries of Agriculture of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, 
Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic, which takes into account the epidemiology 
of coffee rust, the phenology of coffee plants and relevant climate variables. OIRSA also drew up 
a protocol to establish sentinel plots for coffee rust surveillance in its member countries. 
4.4.  OIRSA, in coordination with the Honduran Coffee Institute, held a workshop to plan 
a communication campaign on integrated management of the coffee berry borer in Honduras. Furthermore, a seminar on coffee rust and outreach activities in Colombia was organized together with the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation and was attended by producers, technicians, 
directors and other actors in the coffee chain in Honduras. 
4.5.  OIRSA funded the participation of member countries in a workshop on laboratory twinning. 
Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and staff fr om the OIE and the World Reference Laboratory 
in Hannover, Germany, took part. 
4.6.  In coordination with authorities from its member countries, OIRSA developed a regional 
emergency plan for the prevention, control and er adication of the early mortality syndrome (EMS) 
in shrimps. 
5  STRENGTHENING OF NATIONAL INSTITUT IONS IN ORDER TO FACILITATE TRADE 
5.1.  With the support of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF/WTO), OIRSA 
launched the draft regional veterinary legislation project (STDF/PG/358) for OIRSA member 
countries. The aim of the project is for OIRSA member countries to include necessary technical 
elements in their legislation to strengthen their national veterinary services through the development of programmes to control and eradicate selected diseases (in accordance with OIE 
standards). The project is being carried out with the support and cooperation of the OIE and FAO. 
5.2.  OIRSA supported the participation of three delegates from National Codex Alimentarius 
Committees in the 36th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and at meetings 
of the Codex Coordinating Commi ttee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC), and also the 
participation of OIRSA's Food Safety Regional Coordination. Health authorities belonging to the National Codex Committees of Honduras, Panama and the Dominican Republic took part in the event which was held in Rome, Italy. 
5.3.  With the help of the Netherlands CBI project, the Salvadoran Exporters Corporation 
(COEXPORT), the Association of Producers and Expo rters of Nicaragua (APEN) and the Guatemalan 
Exporters Association (AGEXPORT), OIRSA coordinated the second working group meeting for the 
marketing of honey and apiculture products in the European Union, which was attended 
by enterprises from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and by producer and exporter associations. 
5.4.  Within the framework of the Harmonized System for Bovine Traceability in Central America, 
Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic (ATN/OC-11843-RG), dissemination and communication materials (posters, banners, roll-up banners, leaflets, maps, etc.) G/SPS/GEN/1285 
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  were produced as support tools for training and promotional activities relating to official bovine 
traceability systems. Audio-visual communication, dissemination and training tools (traceability videos) were also developed in order to raise awareness and provide training on the implementation of the official traceability systems. 
6  STRATEGIC ALLIANCES FOR THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH AND TRADE 
6.1.  For the benefit of the Ministries of Agriculture of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama 
and the Dominican Republic, and also producers of Solanaceae , OIRSA carried out a joint project 
with the Antonio Narro Agricultural University in Mexico to research the Bactericera cockerelli - 
Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum  complex in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama and the 
Dominican Republic and to establish sentinel plots in Nicaragua. 
6.2.  OIRSA provided technical and financial su pport for a study on determining the presence 
or absence of American foulbrood in El Salvador, with the participation of the public sector and the 
Salvadoran Alberto Masferrer University (USAM). The second certification programme on apicultural health, safety and production, target ed at producers, was also conducted jointly with 
the University. 
6.3.  In July, an agreement was signed between OIRSA and the Australian Department 
of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) on cooperation in biosecurity initiatives. 
 
I n  o r d e r  t o  c o m m e n t  o n  t h i s  r e p o r t  o r  o b t a i n  a d d i t i o n a l  i n f o r m a t i o n ,  p l e a s e  c o n t a c t :  Edmundo Omar Toro, e-mail: eotoro@oirsa.org . 
For more information on food safety, please contact: Oscar García, e-mail: ogarcia@oirsa.org.  
For any queries on animal health activities, please contact: Abelardo de Gracia, 
e-mail: adegracia@oirsapanama.org.pa . 
For further information on plant health, please contact: Jimmy Ruiz, e-mail: jruiz@oirsa.org . 
We invite you to visit our website at: http://www.oirsa.org . 
 
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