United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Risk Management Document

Spinach, Spinacia oleracea L, from Colombia into the 

Continental United States

March 31, 2010

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Dorothy Wayson
Version 1 31 March 2010

Introduction

In response to a request for market access to import fresh spinach, Spinacia oleracea L., from 

Colombia into the Continental United States, the Center for Plant Health Science and 

Technology (CPHST) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) (USDA, 2007) 

as per the Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment (USDA, 2000). 

This pest risk assessment identified the following quarantine pests in the pathway of fresh 

spinach imported into the Continental United States:

Copitarsia incommoda Walker (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Diabrotica speciosa (Germar) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Liriomyza huidobrensis Blanchard (Diptera: Agromyzidae)

For these species, the ratings for the consequences of introduction, the likelihood of

introduction, and the overall Pest Risk Potential were estimated to be high. Specific

phytosanitary measures are strongly recommended for pests rated high. 

Risk Management Measures for Spinach from Colombia

• Spinach must imported as commercial shipments only

• APHIS requires a phytosanitary certificate be issued by the Colombian NPPO for each 

shipment to assure that the spinach is free of pests, with an additional declaration stating: 

“This shipment has been inspected and is free from Copitarsia incommoda, Diabrotica 

speciosa, and Liriomyza huidobrensis”.

• Each shipment is subject to inspection upon arrival at port of entry to the United States.

Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pest of Concern from the Pathway

By restricting the importation of fresh spinach to commercial consignments only, we will ensure 

that appropriate sanitation practices are in place to prevent the introduction of contamination and 

hitchhiker pests discussed in the PRA.

Requiring a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration that the shipment is free of 

Copitarsia incommoda, Diabrotica speciosa, and Liriomyza huidobrensis ensures that the NPPO

of Colombia will inspect the commodity for the pests of concern. The additional declaration will 

also alert Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors to the pests of concern.

Currently spinach can be imported from many countries of the Caribbean and Central America 

into the United States subject only to inspection at the port of entry (USDA, 2009). The 

interceptions to date indicate that inspection is effective in finding the three pests of concern 

(USDA, 2007). 
Version 1 31 March 2010

Therefore, the measures described above would effectively remove the pests of concern from the 

pathway of fresh spinach from Colombia. 

Conclusion

APHIS believes that the phytosanitary measures proposed in this document will result in the 

effective removal of potential quarantine pests associated with the importation of fresh spinach

from Colombia. Inspection is considered effective at finding external feeding pests and 

excluding infested shipments from entering commerce (McCullough et al., 2006).

References:

McCullough, D.G., T.T. Work, J. F. Cavey, A.M. Liebhold, and D. Marshall. 2006. 

Interceptions of nonindigenous plant pests at US ports of entry and border crossings over a 17-

year period. Biological Invasions 8: 611–630.

USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02. USDAAPHIS, PPQ; http://oars.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/commodity/cpraguide.pdf

USDA. 2007. Importation of Fresh Spinach (Spinacia oleracea Linnaeus) from Colombia into 

the Continental United States. Qualitative, Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment. USDA, 

APHIS, CPHST, PERAL, Raleigh, NC. 36 pp.

USDA. 2009. Fresh fruits and vegetables manual. 626 pp. 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/online_manuals.shtml Accessed July 

2009. 

Walter P. Gould

Senior Risk Manager