Vitis Hot Water Treatment Program

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) requires all grapevine propagative material imported from countries where grapevine phytoplasmas occur, such as flavescence dorée and bois noir, to undergo hot water treatment prior to entry into Canada. The Vitis Hot Water Treatment Program allows CFIA-approved facilities to conduct this treatment upon arrival in Canada. Facilities wishing to participate in the program must be approved in advance by the CFIA, and program-specific import conditions will be included on the permit to import.

On this page

• 1. Application process
• 2. Approval process
• 3. Canadian approved facilities
• 4. Facility responsibilities
• 5. Requirements of a preventive control plan
• 6. Inspection of facilities
• 7. Non-conformances

1. Application process

To become an approved program facility, the facility must:

• be located in Canada
• complete and sign an application form for facilities indicating that the applicant is willing and able to comply with the terms and conditions of the program
• designate a qualified individual to be the official contact person
• develop a preventive control plan

Download the Application form for facilities for authorization under the Vitis Hot Water Treatment Program (PDF – 591 kb)

Form description

A. Facility information

• Name of facility:
• Name of owner/operator in possession (name of person signing this agreement):
• Address:
• Telephone:
• Email:
• Fax number:

Contact information of the facility manager and alternate:

• Primary contact:
  • Position/Title:
  • Telephone:
  • Email:
• Alternate contact:
  • Position/Title:
  • Telephone:
  • Email:

B. Conditions for approval

• The facility must develop, implement, document and maintain a preventive control plan that complies with the program directive, and that describes the systems-based approach in place at the facility accepted by the CFIA: D-22-03: Phytosanitary requirements for the importation and domestic movement of grapevine material for propagation or decorative use from all origins
• The facility must carry out hot water treatments during regular business hours upon request by CFIA (typically for the purposes of inspection)
• The facility must ensure that all hot water treated plant material meets the requirements of the program and must notify the CFIA if any non-conformances are detected or suspected
• The facility must immediately stop distributing grapevine material under the program if the facility suspects the grapevine material has not been properly hot water treated, or if the facility is suspended by the CFIA
• The facility must notify the CFIA immediately of any change in ownership of the facility, or in the identity of the official contact person
• The name and address of all approved facilities will be listed on the CFIA website. Should a facility be suspended from the program, the information related to that facility will be removed from the list

C. Applicant's statement

I am the owner/operator in possession, care or control of the above-named facility. I have read, understood and agree to comply with all terms, conditions, obligations, and requirements of the Vitis Hot Water Treatment Program.

I agree to immediately suspend shipment and treatment of regulated commodities if notified by the CFIA that the designated facility is in non-compliance with the program. I will immediately notify the CFIA if viruses or any other regulated pests are found in the facility. I will allow the name and location of my facility to be included on a publicly accessible website list of facilities approved under the program.

• Applicant signature:
• Printed name:
• Date:

D. Approval statement from the CFIA (to be completed by a CFIA official)

The preventive control plan for the above facility has been approved.

• CFIA inspector name:
• CFIA inspector signature:
• Date:

The authorization inspection has been completed and the facility is recommended for participation in the Vitis Hot Water Treatment Program:

• CFIA inspector name:
• CFIA inspector signature:
• Date:

The above facility has been approved for participation in the program for Vitis spp.:

• CFIA inspector name:
• CFIA inspector signature:
• Date:

The facility registration number information:

• Authorized facility name:
• City:
• Individual registration number

2. Approval process

It is recommended that interested facilities contact their local CFIA office in advance of starting the application process to express interest in participating in the program and discuss the approval process.

A signed program application form and preventive control plan must be submitted to the local CFIA office for review. Once the documentation review has been completed, an authorization inspection of the facility will be scheduled and completed by a local CFIA inspector. The inspection will evaluate the facility's structure, organization and capacity to meet the hot water treatment requirements as described by the preventive control plan.

Deficiencies identified during the authorization inspection must be addressed before a facility may enter into the program. Once approved, the facility will receive a program registration number, which must be recorded in their preventive control plan.

3. Canadian approved facilities

4. Facility responsibilities

The facility is responsible for implementing the procedures and processes described in the preventive control plan and ensuring that the preventive control plan is followed by all employees that handle material and equipment related to the program. Any non-conformances which jeopardize the program, or any associated regulated material must be reported to the CFIA.

The facility is responsible for conducting internal quality control inspections on a weekly basis during active treatment season to ensure that the procedures and processes are in compliance with the program. Details on these procedures and the frequency of internal inspections must be described in the preventive control plan.

The preventive control plan must be kept current and any amendments to the preventive control plan that affect treatment standards must be submitted and approved by the CFIA prior to their implementation. The date of change must be recorded.

Copies of the preventive control plan and all associated records must be kept on file for a minimum of 5 years. These documents must be made available to the CFIA upon request.

5. Requirements of a preventive control plan

It is the responsibility of the facility management to develop and implement a preventive control plan for the handling, treatment, and inventory control of all regulated grapevine material being managed under the program. The preventive control plan must be accessible to all employees involved in the delivery of the program. The following elements are required to be described:

• Facility information – name, address, program registration number (once provided by CFIA)
• Develop a map of the facility (including storage and treatment areas) or diagram clearly showing the pathway from receiving to treatment to distribution
• Name and job title(s) of:
  • the official contact person who will be responsible that the preventive control plan is followed throughout the entire hot water treatment process, and must be present during CFIA inspections
  • an alternative official contact person
  • all staff members involved in the hot water treatment process
• Detailed descriptions of:
  • training given to all staff members
  • hot water treatment procedure, including temperature(s) and immersion time(s), in accordance with the treatment requirements for material originating from outside of destined to anywhere in Canada (Appendix 4.2, D-22-03)
  • all equipment used for hot water treatment, including maintenance and calibration schedule
  • procedures for tracking and labelling material throughout the entire process, including:
    • inventory of all regulated material, including import and distribution records
    • how untreated regulated material is segregated from treated and non-regulated material (for example, with flags, paint, area markers, etc.)
    • how storage of untreated material is kept separate from treated material and any waste is hot water treated before disposal
    • storage and disposal of any untreated regulated material
  • guidelines for cleaning vehicles and containers used to transport untreated material
  • internal inspection schedules and details, including frequency of inspections and how they will be conducted
  • an action plan for reporting and correcting any procedures and activities that fail to comply with the conditions of this program
• Record retentions of:
  • training records of employees responsible for activities under the preventive control plan
  • traceability from import to distribution (including shipping and movement) of all regulated material (treated and untreated)
  • hot water treatment procedure details (date, time, equipment and temperature calibration)
  • vehicle and container clean up
  • all internal quality control inspections and all corrective action requests
  • amendments to the preventive control plan

6. Inspections of facilities

The CFIA will conduct regular inspections of the facility to ensure that the measures outlined in the preventive control plan are being implemented. These inspections may include, but are not limited to:

• an authorization inspection prior to approval of the facility or to evaluate any required corrective actions
• preventive control inspection(s) at varying frequencies to ensure that the system is still compliant with the hot water treatment standard. The CFIA may request advance notification of hot water treatment in order to be present during the treatment process

7. Non-conformances

Classification of non-conformances will be at the discretion of the CFIA. Upon detection of a non-conformance, the facility must propose corrective actions, which are to be approved, monitored and evaluated by the CFIA. Any non-conformance which jeopardizes the integrity of the program may result in the CFIA suspending the facility from this program.