The export of Spanish tomatoes to Canada is already possible thanks to the approval of a phytosanitary protocol signed on April 15, 2019, which aims to prevent the spread of the Tuta absoluta.
The Tuta, or tomato moth, was detected for the first time in Spain in 2016 in productions from Castellon, and it has spread exponentially across the country and the rest of Europe. In 2009, the Tuta had already arrived in Portugal, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
For the certification of the Spanish productions that will be exported to Canada, we have counted on the help of the MAPA, which together with the Canadian phytosanitary inspection agency, has kept all processes related to cultivation, storage and packaging under its strict control and supervision.
Since the Tuta absoluta is transmitted not only by the fruits, but by plant material and infected soil, so one of the requirements is that the exported tomatoes are free of all these materials.
The control of the pest will be carried out by physical methods, with the placement of mosquito nets, and through chemical methods, such as the use of pheromone traps.
In the packaging lines, the boxes of tomatoes have also been required to be covered by mosquito nets, and the packaging staff needs to be properly trained to identify tomatoes affected by Tuta.
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