Seen something unusual? MAKE A REPORT
KVH continues to advocate strongly on behalf of the industry for strict biosecurity border controls and backs Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) action around new treatment and cleaning rules for imported vehicles and machinery, which will make it harder for Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs (BMSB) to make their way across our borders.
The updated Import Health Standard (IHS) comes into force 1 September and has a focus on Japan following biosecurity issues earlier this year with contaminated vehicle carriers. There are also new restrictions on imports from many European countries, where the stink bug is rapidly spreading.
Under the Standard:
· 14 more countries have been added to the list requiring mandatory treatment of vehicles and machinery during the stink bug season. This requirement previously only applied to vehicles from the United States and Italy.
· Used imports from Japan will need to be both treated and cleaned offshore as part of an approved system during the season.
· All other new and used imports (during the stink bug season) from other countries covered by the standard will need to be treated or go through an approved system.
· Vehicle manufacturers will have the option of applying to MPI for biosecurity approval of their supply chain processes, avoiding the need to treat each new unit. This involves having strict controls in place to reduce the risk of contamination.
· Used machinery from any country must have a certificate proving it has undergone thorough cleaning and treatment before arrival in New Zealand. There must be evidence the machinery was disassembled for cleaning. It must also arrive with a sticker showing how and when it was treated.
· MPI can approve alternative treatments, but only if there is proof they can produce the same outcome as the approved methods.
Read more detail about the IHS here.
KVH investigates reports of unusual symptoms to identify and manage any biosecurity risks.
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