With vintage upon us, we present a timely reminder of the requirements for importing grapes and grape-related materials into South Australia with respect to the quarantine pest, phylloxera.
These requirements are outlined in Condition 7 Clause 4 of the Plant Quarantine Standard South Australia (version 17.4). Anyone planning to import grapes or grape-related materials into SA from interstate must understand and abide by these entry requirements.
Entry of wine and filtered grape juice into SA
- Both wine and filtered grape juice are classified as non-regulated products under the SA Plant Quarantine Standard (PQS), and as such, may enter unrestricted.
Filtered grape juice is defined as that which has been processed (filtered, centrifuged, cold settled or other) to a 50-micron filtration rating or tighter.
Entry of winegrapes into SA
- Winegrapes from interstate PEZs are allowed entry with proof of origin. This is in the form of either a PHC obtained from the interstate biosecurity department, or a PHAC issued by an interstate ICA-33 Accredited Business.
- Winegrapes grown in an interstate PRZ/PIZ/PIBZ are prohibited entry.
Entry of table grapes into SA
- Table grapes grown in an interstate PEZ are allowed entry with proof of origin. This is in the form of a PHC or PHAC.
- Table grapes grown in an interstate PRZ are allowed entry if free of all vineyard soil and leaf matter and sterilised via fumigation with methyl bromide, or fumigation with a mixture of sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide, or for packed table grapes only – through the inclusion of sulphur pads. The consignment must be accompanied by a PHC, or if sterilised by methyl bromide, accompanied by either a PHC, or PHAC under ICA-04.
- Table grapes grown in an interstate PIZ are allowed entry if free of all vineyard soil and leaf matter and sterilised via fumigation with methyl bromide, or a mixture of sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. The consignment must be accompanied by a PHC, or if sterilised by methyl bromide, accompanied by either a PHC, or PHAC under ICA-04.
Entry of must and unfiltered juice into SA
- Must and unfiltered juice produced from grapes grown in an interstate PEZ are allowed entry with proof of origin. This is in the form of a PHC.
- Must and unfiltered juice produced from grapes grown in an interstate PRZ/PIZ/PIBZ are allowed entry where moved either by an Accredited Business under ICA-22 with a Product Movement Declaration accompanying the load, or is moved under a PHC.
Unfiltered juice is defined as the liquid fraction from must, excluding skins, seeds and other large solids, but may contain some suspended solids (particle size is greater than 50 microns). Also includes clarified juice not filtered to 50 microns.
Entry of grape marc and destemmer waste from fresh grapes into SA
- Grape marc and destemmer waste produced from grapes grown in an interstate PEZ are allowed entry with proof of origin. This is in the form of a PIRSA Biosecurity Declaration.
- Grape marc and destemmer waste produced from grapes grown in an interstate PRZ/PIZ/PIBZ are prohibited entry.
Grape marc is defined as grape material discarded after juice is extracted through pressing of white, rose and sparkling wine styles, and after wine is extracted through pressing of must fermented for at least four days on skins. Consists of grape skins/pulp, seeds, stems (bunch and berry stalks) and unfermented grape juice or wine.
Destemmer waste from fresh grapes is also known as ‘stalks and stems’, and is a winery waste of grape bunch stalks (rachis). Commonly a separate waste stream from grape marc where it has arisen from handpicked grapes that are destemmed prior to crushing and/or pressing.
Importer registration and direct inspection
A reminder that all regulated imports into SA, including those made under Condition 7 are subject to Importer Registration and Direct Inspection.
The importer registration provides the importer with authorisation to import the regulated item for commercial purposes to ensure they understand and can meet all importation requirements.
- If the importing business is conducting a single import of a regulated item under Condition 7 Clause 4 (table grapes, winegrapes, must, unfiltered juice, or grape marc) in a year, this authorisation can be requested through application of a PHIC.
- For importing multiple consignments in a year of must or unfiltered juice from an interstate PRZ/PIZ/PIBZ, the importing business must hold ICA22 accreditation.
- For importing multiple consignments in a year of grapes or other grape-related materials, importer registration can be applied for through IR01 or Import Verification Compliance Arrangement (IVCA). For information on IVCA, refer here and for the IVCA application form, refer here.
The direct inspection step involves inspection and formal clearing on arrival into SA of the imported items. It can be performed either by a PIRSA Inspector, or by an accredited business holding IVCA.
Terms
- PHC – Plant Health Certificate
- PHAC – Plant Health Assurance Certificate
- PHIC – Plant Health Import Certificate
- ICA-04 – Fumigation with methyl bromide
- ICA-22 – Transfer of Grape Must and unfiltered juice from a PIZ or PRZ for winemaking in a PEZ. For further information on ICA22, refer here.
- ICA-33 – Movement of wine grapes (grape phylloxera and fruit fly)
- PEZ – Phylloxera Exclusion Zone
- PRZ – Phylloxera Risk Zone
- PIZ – Phylloxera Infested Zone
- PIBZ–- Phylloxera Interim Buffer Zone