Import Health Standard  
Commodity Sub -class: Fresh Fruit/Vegetables  
   
 
 
 
Onions ( Allium cepa L. ),  
 
from the People’s Republic of China  
 
 
ISSUED 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Issuance: XX XXXX 2013 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
   
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 2 Issuance 
This import health standard for fresh onions for consump tion from the People’s Republic of 
China has been issued pursuant to section 24A of the Biosecurity Act (1993).  
 
 
 
 
  
 
Signature of Group Manager, Plant Imports & Exports Group  
Acting pursuant to delegated Director -General authority  
 
 
Date: XX XXXX 2013  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 3  
IMPORT HEALTH STANDARD: FRESH FRUIT/VEGETABLES  
 
Onions ( Allium cepa  L.) from the People’s Republic of China.  
 
Contents  
Part A. Background  ......................................................................................................... 4 
Part B.  General phytosanitary import requirements for all fresh fruit/vegetables for 
consumption  .................................................................................................................... 5 
Part C.  Additional requirements for onions from the People’s Re public of China  ........... 5 
Part D. Phytosanitary certification  ................................................................................... 6 
Part E.  Regulated organisms list for onions from the People’s Republic of China  ........... 8 
Appendix 1: Verification activities on arrival in New Zealand  ......................................... 9 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 4 Part A. Background  
Scope 
This document describes the requirements to be met to enable biosecurity clearance to be 
given for fresh onions ( Allium cepa  L.) for human consumption imported into New Zealand 
from the People’s Republic of China.  
Commodity description  
The commodity description “onions” for human cons umption is defined as commercially 
produced cured onion bulbs in their skin, of any size, with minimal root material still attached and the pseudostem removed to within 1 -1.5cm from the bulb.  
 
Definitions  
The definitions of relevant phytosanitary terms us ed in this standard are consistent with the 
terms stated in the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No.5: 
Glossary of phytosanitary terms (2007) produced by the International Plant Protection 
Convention (IPPC), unless the context othe rwise requires or the definition is stated below.  
Additional declaration pests -  means regulated pests that require specific pre- export  
phytosanitary measures that are attested to using an additional declaration on the export 
phytosanitary certificate.  
Import health standard (IHS) - a document issued pursuant to section 24A of the Biosecurity 
Act 1993 on behalf of the Director General, permitting entry to New Zealand of a specific product under certain conditions.  
Inspection pests – means regulated pests on  the IHS pest list, for which the commodity is 
requiring freedom from at phytosanitary inspection that are attested to by issuance of the 
export phytosanitary certificate.   
MPI - the Ministry for Primary Industries which is responsible for regulatory bios ecurity 
functions.  
Unit - one onion bulb.  
Regulated pest  - those organisms for which phytosanitary actions would be undertaken if 
they were intercepted/detected.  
 
Outcome  
The agreed pre- export phytosanitary measures for additional declaration pests have been 
undertaken and the onions are free of other regulated pests. The specified regulated pests listed in 
Part E  require specific phytosanitary measures. Visual inspection is required for all 
regulated pests.  
At a 95% confidenc e level, not more than 0.5% of the units in the consignment are infested 
(this equates to an acceptance level of zero units infested by regulated organisms in a sample 
size of 600 units).  
Verification activities associated with this performance measure are found in Appendix 1 .  
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 5 Equivalence 
Under section 27 of the Biosecurity Act 1993, measures, different from those in this IHS 
may be applied to manage risk arising from non -compliance.  
MPI may consider a pre- export application for an equivalent phytosanitary measure to 
maintain at least the same level of protection assured by the measures in this IHS. 
Equivalence is determined in accordance with ISPM No.24: Guidance for the determination 
and recognition of equivalence of phytosanitary measures (2011).  
Part B.  General phytosanitary import requirements for all fresh 
fruit/vegetables for consumption  
The import health standard 152.02: Importation and Clearance of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables into New Zealand contains the phytosanitary requirements that must be met for 
all fresh fruit and vegetable commodities that are allowed to be imported into New Zealand.  IHS 152- 02 outlines transit requirements, verification activities on arrival in New Zealand 
and actions undertaken upon pest and disease interceptions  
 
The IHS 152.02 can be found at the MPI website  
(
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/ihs/152- 02.pdf ). 
Part C.  Additional requirements for onions  from the People’s 
Republic of China  
 
Phytosanitary measures  
MPI requires the People’s Republic of China National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) to undertake pest control activities that are effective against additional declaration pests prior  
to the  commodity arriving in New Zealand, and phytosanitary certification will need to attest 
to this accordingly.  
 
The additional declaration pests are:  
- Delia antiqua  
- Delia floralis  
- Pantoea ananatis  
- Puccinia asparagi  
 
Inspection of the consignment  
 Once the ph ytosanitary measures have been undertaken for the pests specified in the 
regulated pest list (
Part E ), the People’s Republic of China NPPO is required to sample and 
visually inspect the consignment according to official proce dures for all the regulated pests 
to ensure it conforms with New Zealand’s current import requirements.   
 
A phytosanitary certificate should not be issued if live regulated pest(s) are detected, unless 
the consignment is effectively treated.  If organisms  are found which are not listed in the 
IHS, the People’s Republic of China NPPO must establish their regulatory status by consulting the MPI “Biosecurity Organisms Register for Imported Commodities” (BORIC), online at 
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/registers/boric .  
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 6  
If an organism is found during export inspection by the People’s Republic of China NPPO that is not listed in BORIC, the People’s Republic of China NPPO must contact MPI  to 
establish the regulatory status of the organism.  
Part D. Phytosanitary certification  
 
Activities required for phytosanitary certification  
A completed phytosanitary certificate issued by the People’s Republic of China NPPO 
must accompany all onion con signments exported to New Zealand in accordance with 
ISPM No. 7: Phytosanitary certification system (2011). The phytosanitary certificate must be in English and must be an original. Bilingual certificates are acceptable as long 
as English is one of the languages. The phytosanitary certificate also requires the 
following certification statement as aligned to ISPM No. 12: Guidelines for 
phytosanitary certificates (2011).  
“This is to certify that the plants, plant products or other regulated articles described  
herein have been inspected and/or tested according to appropriate official procedures 
and are considered to be free from quarantine pests specified by the importing 
contracting party and to conform with the current phytosanitary requirements of the 
import ing contracting party, including those for regulated non -quarantine pests.’  
Before a phytosanitary certificate is issued, the People’s Republic of China NPPO must 
be satisfied that the following activities required by MPI have been undertaken.   
The onions  in this consignment have:  
 
(i) been visually inspected according to appropriate official procedures and found free from the regulated pests specified by the  New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (NZ MPI).  
 AND  
 
(ii) undergone pest control activities t hat are effective against : 
Delia antiqua  
Delia floralis  
Pantoea ananatis  
Puccinia asparagi  
 
Additional declarations to the phytosanitary certificate  
 If satisfied that the pre- export phytosanitary measures have been undertaken effectively, 
the People’s Republic of China NPPO must confirm this by providing the following additional declarations to the phytosanitary certificate:  
 
The onions in this consignment have:  
 
(i) been visually inspected according to appropriate official procedures and 
found free from all  regulated pests specified by the New Zealand Ministry  
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 7 for Primary Industries  
 
     
AND  
 
(ii) undergone appropriate pest control activities that are effective against Delia 
antiqua, Delia floralis , Pantoea ananatis and Puccinia asparagi in accordance 
with the  Official Assurance Programme  
 
 
   
 
 NOTE: This additional declaration is not required if the phytosanitary certificate  
issued by the People’s Republic of China NPPO is in accordance with the ISPM 12 
model phytosanitary certificate.  
 
NOTE: “appropriate pest c ontrol activities” is a broad term that is inclusive of a range 
of phytosanitary measures. Examples of these measures include sourcing of high 
health material, in -field pest controls and post -harvest processing .  
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 8  
Part E.   Regulated pest list for onions from the People’s 
Republic of China  
 
Scientific name  Organism type  Common name  Actions on 
interception  
Erwinia chrysanthemi pv. 
chrysanthemi  Bacteria  
lettuce marginal leaf b light 2 
Pantoea ananatis  Bacteria  fruitlet rot of pineapple  2a 
Alternaria palandui  Fungi  leaf spot  2 
Cladosporium oxysporum  Fungi  seedling blight of passion fruit   2 
Davidiella allii -cepae  Fungi  black mould  2 
Penicillium oxalicum  Fungi  blue mould  2 
Phytophthora capsici  Fungi  soft rot  2 
Puccinia asparagi  Fungi  asparagus rust  2a 
Atherigona orientalis  Insect  pepper fruit fly  2 
Bradysia odoriphaga  Insect  Chinese chive maggot  2 
Delia antiqua  Insect  onion fly  2a 
Delia floralis  Insect  turnip maggot  2a 
Meloidogyne graminicola  Nematode  rice root -knot nematode  2 
Rotylenchulus reniformis  Nematode  reniform nematode  2 
 
 Actions on interception  NA No actions as pest is non regulated        
 0 No action due to low risk pathway         
 1 Removal of trash – pests are associated with other plant parts  
(e.g., leaves, stems, flowers)  
 2 Treat, reship or destroy          
 2a Treat, reship or destroy.  Suspend pathway       
 3 Reship or destroy.  Suspend pathway        
NOTE: The suspension of the pathway could be at the packhouse, production area, 
province or country level depending on the significance of the pest and the interception.   
IHS Fresh Fruit/Vegetables: Allium cepa  from the People’s Republic of China   XX XX 2013  
(Biosecurity Act 1993)      
 9  
Appendix 1: Verification activities on arrival in New Zealand  
 
MPI will inspect documentation on arrival in New Zealand.  In addition, MPI may inspect a 
sample from each lot on arrival in New Zealand to verify requirements of the IHS have been 
met.