The IPPC's open-ended working group on electronic certification of phytosanitary standards decided to develop a global standard for electronic certification and established three working groups to prepare a draft standard by the end of 2011.
The initiative is expected to be integrated into IPPC members' animal health and food safety electronic certification systems.
10 June 2011: Participants in the first open-ended working group on electronic certification systems for phytosanitary standards of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) agreed to develop a global standard for electronic phytosanitary certification.
The standard will be based on the existing International Standard on Phytosanitary Measures for Certificates (ISPM 12), and aim to facilitate the inter-governmental exchange of phytosanitary certificates with improved security and efficiency. Participants agreed to establish three working groups to develop a draft standard for field testing by the end of 2011. Once such testing has been completed successfully, the draft standard will be considered further in the IPPC standard setting process. It is expected that IPPC members will integrate the initiative into their animal health and food safety electronic certifications systems.
The working group meeting took place from 7-10 June 2011, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, and was attended by participants from 27 countries and 2 regional plant protection organizations. [IPPC News Release]