b'CSI / CSI-ICS.COM / REGULATORY MODERNIZATION IS A CHANCE TO ASK SOME GOOD QUESTIONSDOES THE PEDIGREED SEED DECLARATION NEED MODERNIZING?EVERY SEED ESTABLISHMENT acrossseed from another country into the Canadian market.Canada is busy these days clean- The pedigreed seed declaration is a legislated record, ing, testing, grading and labellingrequired to be completed within 30 days of conditioning pedigreed seed for sale this spring.or grading seed according to section 93 (4) of the Seeds A lot of work goes into the seedRegulations. Each RSE is responsible for ensuring a pedi-that is sold in a bag or loaded intogreed seed declaration is completed for each lot of seed a customers truck and labelled withthat is graded and labelled.a Government of Canada tag, and itThe requirement for completing a pedigreed seed dec-is all summarized on the pedigreedlaration is not flexible, but how the record is completed is seed declaration. a choice made by each RSE. An operator may still pur-The Canadian Seed Institute (CSI)chase paper booklets of declarations from CFIA, which Jennifer Scott,is recognized by the Canadian Foodwork perfectly for RSEs who grade a few seed lots a year. Canadian SeedInspection Agency (CFIA) as theCSI has electronic versions in multiple formats that can be Institute Programsconformity verification body (CVB)used within an RSEs electronic systems, where there is a Manager responsible for the oversight of themore formal office setup. CFIA has an official electronic registered seed establishment (RSE)version that can be downloaded from their website. All program in Canada. That meansformats are acceptable.every approved conditioner, bulkPedigreed seed declarations are checked when RSEs storage facility, authorized importer,are audited according to a regular schedule by CSI audi-licensed operator and accreditedtors. Incomplete declarations, missing declarations, or grader falls under CSIs supervi- declarations that have incorrect information all result in sion. Thats around 1,000 RSEs, 1,700the auditor issuing non-conformances.operators and over 1,000 graders whoThe trust and flexibility granted to RSEs in keeping work according to quality manage- this record allows each establishment to be responsible ment systems they have designed tofor their own seedwhether you are an independent demonstrate they are able to meetseed grower/retailer with your own varieties, or a mem-the requirements of the Seeds Actber-owned seed company that contracts production, or and Seeds Regulations when pedi- a multinational company with sophisticated records and greed seed is sold, or when seed isinventory systems.imported into Canada.As the seed industry gears up for seed regulatory One of the key pieces of themodernization discussions with CFIA, the pedigreed seed record-keeping system that allowsdeclaration is a good topic for discussion. Does it need to each RSE to trace the pedigreed seedremain a legislated record? Is the industry comfortable with they sell back to the crop certificaterequiring this kind of summary record for each seed lot, or and pedigreed seed grower is theis the completion too burdensome? Is there anything the pedigreed seed declaration. Thisindustry wants to do with the information collected and one-page record summarizes a wholesummarized on the pedigreed seed declarations? season of planting, roguing, inspect- These are all good questions to ask about a record that ing, harvesting, storing, cleaning,has been around for decades to test the pedigreed seed grading, labelling and sale of a vari- declarations validity in a modernized seed system and ety of seed. Pedigreed seed decla- decide what the best format may be. rations are also used to record the import, grading and sale of pedigreed 50GERMINATION.CA MARCH 2020'