Key takeaways:
- The potato wart finding led to a devastating U.S. export embargo.
- A prohibition on exports of P.E.I. potatoes to the U.S. last fall directed demolishing hundreds of millions of pounds of potatoes.
With testing conducted on 5,000 P.E.I. soil samples gathered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency from March to June, no potato wart fungus has been seen.
CFIA ordered almost 17,000 soil samples from March 5 to June 30, and testing on those pieces continues. One model with potato wart was seen among nearly 3,500 taken from October 7 to March 4.
The testing started after two potatoes from a quarantined field were seen to have potato warts in October 2021.
Also read: Auto-repair stores on P.E.I. are busier than expected this summer
The discovery started an export embargo for table potatoes to the United States that stayed from November through March, cost the industry tens of millions of dollars, and led to the collapse of hundreds of millions of pounds of potatoes.
The export of seed potatoes outside the region remains under a veto.
A representative for CFIA told C.B.C. News the agency is preparing to hire approximately 70 staff to complete the collection and testing of soil samples. The work is anticipated to continue till late November.
Source – CBC News
