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Plant importing
For the last few years I’ve been buying heirloom plant seeds from all over the world to increase my personal inventory of rare plants and vegetables. I’ve always assumed that if they could be shipped to me, then it must be okay with whatever inspection agency that Canada has in place. I was surprised to find out that this isn’t exactly true. So I think its time to set the record straight on what you can and can’t bring into the country when travelling abroad.
There are a couple of online resources that you can use when in doubt, including the National Import Service Centre (NISC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Both of these have complicated websites that go into detail as to what is prohibited from crossing our borders. Here are the big no-nos.
Fruits and vegetables are absolutely blocked. So much so, that they are included in your declaration documents that you fill out when you are abroad. The big reason is cross-contamination and insect infestations to our own agricultural crops. Even plants like bananas have insects, diseases and pathogens that can spread to other crops and infest them. The big threat today is Panama disease, which infects the roots of the banana tree. It also happens to be a strain of Fusarium wilt that attacks wheat and sorghum crops. Ensuring that these new strains of diseases don’t cross-contaminate our crops is a major concern with more travellers doing resort excursions to farms and plantations while on vacation.
Another serious problem with vacationers going down south or even to other continents is when they smuggle plants and roots back into Canada that have soil on them. Soil is called a “High Risk Pathway” by the CFIA because many invasive insects lay their eggs in and around the roots of plants, which are then transported all over the world. Every day, the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) finds items like little palm trees, small grape vines and even little pepper plants in luggage and carry-on baggage. These non-native species can quickly become a massive infestation because they have no natural predators here in Canada. A perfect example of this is the Asian long-horned beetle, which made its way into Canada via wood products that were not fumigated and are now killing thousands of trees in North America.
Sometimes the plant itself can be the problem. When a plant grows in its natural environment, there are checks and balances that help control the plant. When we bring plants into areas that are not native, they can spread uncontrollably. For example; Rosa Rugosa (the Sea Spray rose or the Salt Rose) has been on the invasive species list for Atlantic Canada for years because of its ability to spread via roots and through rose hips. This rose, introduced in the 1800s is choking out native species of roses and helping to destroy our native ecosystem.
So before you decide to bring home that cute little plant from the Caribbean or those plump figs from Italy this winter, consider the bigger picture first. Canada is special in part because of our native trees and plants. Humans have created new pathways for foreign life to invade our eco-systems. Don’t bring back more than you counted on.
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