WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/806 
11 October 2007 
 
 (07-4383) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGIONAL 
ORGANIZATION FOR PLANT AND ANIMAL HEALTH (OIRSA) 
RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION 
OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
 
Report to the Fiftieth Meeting of the Comm ittee on Sanitary and Ph ytosanitary Measures  
18 and 19 October 2007  
  
 The following communication, received on 9 October 2007, is being circulated at the request 
of OIRSA.  
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1. At its fifty-first extraordinary meeting held l ast May, the International Regional Council for 
Plant and Animal Health, made up of the Ministers and Secretaries of Agriculture and Livestock of 
the nine OIRSA member countries, decided to appr ove the new organizational structure and strategy 
for operationalizing support for agri-food chains. 
2. It will thus be possible for OIRSA activities in the area of plant and animal health and food 
safety to have a more direct impact on the production sector by strengthening its competitiveness. 
3. Priority has been given to the following agri-food chains: 
• Phytosanitary support programme for the citrus and fruit agri-food chain; 
 
• support programme for the aquaculture chain; 
 
• regional support programme for the poultry production chain; 
 
• regional support programme for the bovine production chain; 
 
• phytosanitary support programme for the agri-food vegetable and plant chain; 
 
• regional support programme for the pig production chain; 
 
• programme to strengthen the quarantine system in the OIRSA region. 
 
Training and dissemination activities in the areas of agricultural health and trade  
 
4. In support of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), a workshop was held in 
Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala, with the particip ation of all member countries, for the purpose of G/SPS/GEN/806 
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  reviewing the following draft International Standa rds for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs), released 
for consultation in 2007 by the IPPC: 
• Annex to ISPM No. 27 (Diagnostic protocols for regulated pests) Thrips palmi ; 
 
• amendments to ISPM No. 5 (Glo ssary of phytosanitary terms); 
 
• supplement to ISPM No. 5; 
 
• supplement No. 3, Debarked and bark-free wood; 
 
• establishment of areas of low p est prevalence for fruit flies ( Tephritidae ); 
 
• classification of products in categories according to their phytosanitary risk; 
 
• development of a strategy to reduce or replace the use of methyl bromide for 
phytosanitary purposes; 
 
• sampling of consignments. 
 5. With the support of the Spanish International Cooperation Agency (AECI) and the technical 
assistance of Spain's Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAPA), an international course was 
developed in the OIRSA regional framework on selected plant health topics, which included 
consideration of the following: 
• Plant health in the international framework; 
 
• organization of plant health in Spain; 
 
• regulation of the entry and movement of plants in the European Union:  
Directive 2000/29/EC; 
 
• plant quarantine; 
 
• phytosanitary inspection methodology; 
 
• phytosanitary information. 
 6. OIRSA member countries were also provided with training and support in pest risk analysis. 
7. The OIRSA prepared a draft OIRSA Regional Standard on Plant Health:  "Phytosanitary 
measures for the control of Thrips palmi ", which was released for member country consultation. 
8. As a Regional Plant Protection Organization (RPPO), OIRSA participated in the 
19
th Technical Consultation among RPPOs convened by the Director General of FAO, which 
addressed a number of topics including the role of the RPPOs in the review and the implementation of International Standards for Phytosanitary Measu res (ISPMs), and the exchange of phytosanitary 
information. 
9. Risk analysis courses were given for official st aff of the veterinary services of the Dominican 
Republic and Guatemala.  G/SPS/GEN/806 
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  10. Within the framework of activities for the prevention of avian influenza, and under the 
"Training for trainers" strategy, sanitary communication and dissemination activities were 
implemented in order to strengthen the biosecurity  culture and promote the notification of avian 
diseases in OIRSA member countries. 
11. A further element of avian influenza prev ention activities between March and September 
involved the coordinated organiza tion, with the United States De partment of Agriculture, of 
seven seminars on biosecurity in live bird markets, with the par ticipation of the Ministries of 
Agriculture, Health and Labour, as well municipal au thorities, poultry producers, live bird market 
traders and NGOs.  This resulted in the establishmen t of a follow-up group in each country to submit 
recommendations emanating from the seminars to the competent authorities.  The relevant follow-up 
activities are currently being coordinated. 
12. In the context of the USAID-PAHO Project of  Cooperation on Avian Influenza and Pandemic 
Influenza, support was given to a workshop on avia n influenza geographical risk analysis conducted 
by the panel for the identification of critical ri sk factors for the introduction and spread of H 5N1 avian 
influenza in the region. 
13. At the request of the United States Depart ment of Agriculture, support was provided for 
"Training on packaging and consignment of infec tious substances", resulting in the accreditation of 
ten employees of the public and production sector in Honduras to send samples to the United States 
National Veterinary Services Laboratory. 
14. A regional workshop for trainers in the a uditing of GMP, SSOP and HACCP systems was 
organized and coordinated jointly with PAHO and the IICA's ILRI-CFC project.  Practical auditing 
exercises were conducted in four establishme nts that process products of animal origin. 
15. A course on the latest international market tre nds and requirements, organized by the Costa 
Rican Association of Agricultural Engineers, dealt with traceability in agricultural products and was 
attended by 60 technicians. 
Support for the dissemination of in ternational and regional standards 
 
16. The competent authority in the Dominican Republic was issued with the interpretation of the 
chapter on surveillance for bovine spongiform encepha lopathy (BSE) of the OIE Terrestrial Animal 
Health Code, with the aim of establishing a points system for different sizes of adult bovine population in countries in which no cases of BSE have been detected. 
17. Support was provided for the participation of a Be lize delegate in the OIE General Session, in 
his capacity as Secretary of the OIE Regional Commission for the Americas. 
18. Proposed amendments to the chapters on av ian influenza and Newcastle disease of the 
OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code were revi ewed at the meeting of the Regional Technical 
Commission on Poultry Health in San Salvador, El Salvador. 
19. Coordination and support was provided for the participation of El Salvador, Honduras, 
Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua in the thir teenth CAMEVET Seminar on Harmonization of 
Registration and Control of Veterinary Medicines. 
20. Support was provided for the process of drafting the regulation to the new Mexican Federal 
Law on Animal Health through the "Regional Gu ideline for inspection and approval of animal 
product processing or slaughtering establishments".  The Guideline was prepared  as an instrument to 
aid compliance with Annex C to the SPS Agreement on "Control, Inspection and Approval G/SPS/GEN/806 
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  Procedures".  The above-mentioned document is ava ilable to interested parties at the following 
electronic address: http://www.oirsa.org/aplicaciones/subidoarchivos/DirectricesRegionales/DirectrizinspaprestBelize.pdf
 
 
Support for the prevention, control a nd eradication of pests and diseases 
 
21. Three preparatory seminars were held for the eradication phase of classical swine fever in 
El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.  Particular  emphasis was placed on regionalization concepts. 
Transparency of animal health information 
 22. The monthly Regional Epidemiological Bulletin c ontinued to be distributed, with information 
on the incidence of animal diseases in the coun tries of the OIRSA region, in order to support 
transparency in epidemiological  information and surveillance. 
Strengthening national institutions in order to facilitate trade 
 23. In relation to poultry surveillance, within  the framework of the United States-Central 
America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreem ent (CAFTA-DR) OIRSA collaborated with the 
US Department of Agriculture in a round tabl e on "Central American Poultry Trade, Disease 
Surveillance and US and International Standards"  and in a round table on "Next Steps for the 
Establishment of Poultry Health Systems", in orde r to provide guidance on the requirements to be met 
by the countries of Central America for the entr y of poultry products into the United States market. 
Specific support for production chains for agricultural products 
 
Bovine chain 
 
24. The seminar on Standards and Sanitary Inspecti on of Dairy Products at the Sixth Nicaraguan 
Dairy Sector Congress organized by the Nicaraguan Chamber for the Dairy Sector (CANISLAC) was 
attended by 200 producers, processors, students and government officials. 
25. The seminar on the importance of implemen tation of the Handbook of Good Dairy Farming 
Practices for Central America, Panama and Belize,  held during the third Central American Dairy 
Farming Congress organized by PROLECHE, was attended by 150 producers, processors, students 
and government officials. 
26. A regional workshop on traceability was organized and coordinated jointly with the IICA and 
the IICA's ILRI-CFC project in San José, Costa Ri ca, from 22 to 24 May 2007.  It was attended by 
200 participants from 15 Latin Ameri can countries, Canada and Spain. 
27. Work was completed on the preparation, design, publication and distribution to member 
countries of the Handbook of Good Dairy Farming Prac tices for Central America, Panama and Belize. 
28. Work was completed on the preparation, d esign and publication of posters on good manual 
milking practices and good mechanical milk ing practices for Guatemala and Honduras. 
29. Technical farm inspection visits were made in  connection with milking and hygienic handling 
of milk and the inspection of small-scale chees e processing plants, under the Ciudad Dolores project 
of El Salvador's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock;  a plan of action to improve the dairy sector in Ciudad Dolores was also developed and followed up.  G/SPS/GEN/806 
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  Fisheries and aquaculture production chain 
 
30. A Latin American workshop on certification of programmes on toxic residues and 
aquaculture traceability was organized and coordina ted jointly with the Ibero-American Programme 
of Science and Technology for Development (CYTED ), the Panamanian Ministry of Agricultural 
Development (MIDA), the Panamanian Aquatic Resources Authority (ARAP) and the OIE, and was 
held in Panama City from 7 to 10 May 2007, with the participation of 60 public and private sector 
delegates from 13 countries. 
31. A regional workshop-seminar on the identifi cation of areas of cooperation for the 
improvement of health and production as an aid to marketing fisheries and aquaculture products in the 
OIRSA region was organized and coordinated join tly with MAPA, MIDA and the Organization for 
the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of the Cent ral American Isthmus (OSPESCA), and was held in 
Panama City with the valuable participation of  the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Food 
(MAPA).  It was attended by 45 technicians from member countries. 
32. A regional course on health and food security in  aquaculture was held jointly with MAPA, 
AECI and OIRSA.  The 36-hour course, attended by 37  public sector technicians, dealt with aquatic 
health, residue analysis laboratories and the safety of fisheries and aquaculture products. 
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