CANADIAN CERTIFICATION

Seed potato certification in Canada is a national program which is administered and implemented by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

The regulatory authority of the certification of seed potatoes is contained under Part II of the Seeds Regulations (Registered SOR/2002-198, May 23, 2002).

Canada’s seed potato certification program is designed to regulate the variety, purity and health of seed stocks. You should know:

ì Disease-Free Nuclear Seed: All seed potatoes produced in Canada originate with nuclear stocks which are produced under sterile conditions from tissue culture that has been subjected to laboratory tests and found free of disease pathogens.

í Limited Generation: Seed potatoes produced can remain in the certification program for no more than seven years. The first field generation is Pre-elite, which is produced from nuclear stock. Sequentially, the seed annually moves downward through the classification system. This results in a “flush-through” system which minimizes the risk of disease build-up.

The seed classes from the highest to the lowest are as follows:


a) Nuclear - produced from potato tissue culture material which has been tested in the laboratory and found to be free of all disease pathogens;
b) Pre-elite - produced from nuclear stock;
c) Elite I - produced from nuclear stock or Pre-elite seed;
d) Elite II - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
e) Elite III - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
f) Elite IV - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
g) Foundation - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
h) Certified - produced from nuclear stock or any of the previous classes;
i) Disease and Variety Purity Standards: Disease freedom and variety purity are maintained through a program consisting of multiple field inspections, laboratory testing, post-harvest testing and sound agronomic practices.

The Pre-Elite, Elite I, II, III, IV, Foundation and Certified classes of seed must undergo and pass two field inspections. All field inspections are made during a time most opportune for the visual detection of disease symptoms and foreign varieties in the growing plant.

The standards for certification of all clases of seed are set out in sections 47.1.1 - 47.8 of the Seeds Regulations. The maximum levels (%) of detectable disease on the final inspection for the main commercial classes are summarized below:

Disease
Elite III
Elite IV
Foundation
Certified
Bacterial Ring Rot
0
0
0
0
Potato Spindle Tuber Viroid
0
0
0
0
Total All Viruses
0.2
0.3
0.5
2
Total of Blackleg, Wilts & Viruses
0.3
0.5
1
2
Vareital Mixes
0.05
0.1
0.2
0.5

Note: Inspection for the purpose of certification is made either visually or through laboratory testing of samples, or both. Certification does not constitute a warranty by either the Canadian Food Inspection Agency or the grower that the seed potatoes meet the applicable standards set out in sections 47.1.1 - 47.8 of the Seeds Regulations.