Seed Importations and US Residents Accredited as Seed Graders

With the implementation of the Seed Grader Program for Residents of the US and the Memorandum of Understanding between the CFIA and the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Services (USDA-AMS),signed on December 19, 2007, US residents can be evaluated and recommended by the (USDA-AMS) to be accredited by the CFIA to assign a Canada pedigreed grade name to certified seed destined for sale in Canada. US graders are issued grader numbers by the CFIA; all US grader numbers begin with the number '7' (i.e. GD7XXX).

US graders are considered GD graders. A GD grader is a grader accredited to review the analytical information on Certificates of Analysis and assign a Canada pedigreed grade name to all crop kinds set out in one or more of the following groupings of Grade Tables: Grade Table I to VI and XVIII, and/or Grade Table VII, and/or Grade Tables VIII-X, and/or Grade Tables XI-XII, and/or Grade Tables XIII-XV and/or Grade Tables XVI-XX of Schedule I to the Seeds Regulations.

Prior to the establishment of the Seed Grader Program for Residents of the US, US residents were not permitted to be accredited as graders to apply a Canada pedigreed grade name to seed. Before the sale of seed in Canada, the imported seed from the US was to be graded by an accredited Canadian grader.

Are US graders allowed to apply Canada pedigreed official tags?

No, US graders are not permitted to apply Canada pedigreed official tags. Nevertheless, tags from the official state certifying agency applied to the seed to be imported are not required to be replaced by inter-agency certification tags in order to be sold in Canada. The grade name assigned by the US grader may appear somewhere on a label attached to or printed directly on each package of seed. It is expected that state certifying agencies will not allow the Canada pedigreed grade name to appear on their tag and, therefore, it will likely appear on a different label either attached to or printed directly on each package of seed.

Is a seed import release decision required for seed that has been graded by a US grader?

Yes, a seed import release decision is still required to be made by a GI Grader (synonymous with SIRA (Seed Import Release Agent)) or by the CFIA's Saskatoon Laboratory on lots imported from the US with a grade assigned by a US grader (subsection 40(7) for authorized importers; subsection 40(4) for non-authorized importers). The GI Grader or the CFIA Saskatoon Lab is not required to verify the accuracy of the grade but must verify that the grade of the seed has in fact been assigned by a US grader. Submitted information must be reviewed in order to verify compliance with the information requirements pertaining to subsections 40(1), 40(2), and 40(3) so as to make the seed import release decision.

Labelling Requirements

If the grade name is applied to seed before import into Canada, then the Canada pedigreed grade name and the accredited grader number must appear on a label attached to or printed directly on each package of seed (paragraph 34(5)(c)). This applies:

1. where the grade of the seed is assigned by an accredited Canadian grader and the information is provided to the labeller of the seed outside of Canada so that the seed is already labelled prior to import and is ready for sale upon import into Canada; and
2. where the grade is assigned by an accredited US grader and the seed is already labelled in the US prior to import and is ready for sale upon import into Canada.

In the case of bulk seed to which a grade name is applied before import into Canada, the Canada pedigreed grade name and the accredited grader number must appear on the bulk seed certificate.

If the grade name is applied to seed in Canada, the Canada pedigreed grade name may appear on a document that accompanies the sale of the seed and does not necessarily have to appear on a label attached to or printed directly on each package of seed (paragraph 34(5)(b)). This applies:

1. where the seed is imported without a Canada pedigreed grade name (but meeting minimum import requirements), the grade is assigned by an accredited Canadian grader, and the grade is applied to the seed prior to sale in Canada; and
2. where the grade is assigned by an accredited US grader and the information is provided to the labeller of the seed in Canada so that it can be labelled and be ready for sale after it arrives in Canada. This situation is not likely to occur frequently, but it is theoretically possible and permissible.