Lesson 2: Identifying Risk Management Options

Topic 3: Inspection

In this topic, you will be introduced to inspection as a management practice.

Objectives:

  • Be able to define inspection.
  • Understand when inspection may be an appropriate risk mitigation strategy.
Inspection

Inspection is the physical examination of a commodity for pests or stages of a pest that indicate infestation or infection. It is by far the most commonly applied measure worldwide and is an important part of nearly all risk management strategies. Every day, phytosanitary officials make hundreds of decisions based on inspection, but the significance of inspection as a risk management measure is often misunderstood.

Inspection may be broadly interpreted to include many types of activities, processes, and methods. For instance, verifying documentation is often part of inspection. Likewise, examining a site or facility for compliance under phytosanitary requirements may fall within the broad interpretation of inspection. Inspection may also be used to gather information or to monitor phytosanitary programs. But this module is concerned mainly with inspection as a risk management procedure.

Remember, procedures by themselves do nothing to change pest status. It is the actions taken as a result of inspection that ultimately change the risk. At an operational level, the results of an inspection generally lead to one of three actions:

  1. Acceptance of the commodity (no action)
  2. Rejection of the commodity
  3. Application of other measures, such as culling or treatment

In risk management analysis, first you need to understand which of these three actions is most appropriate and what level of detection should trigger action. Your goal should always be to link inspection to the acceptable level of pest risk and to the operational feasibility of using inspection to manage risk.

In the following exercise, let us see if you can determine which pests and commodities would be appropriate for inspection.

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Inspection is based on the assumption that the pest of concern is detectable. The organism or its signs/symptoms must be visually discernible and distinct enough to minimize the potential for confusion with non-pest organisms or other conditions.

Inspection might be a good option
if any of the following are true:
  • The pest is large, external and easily recognized.
  • The pest causes visible damage or has distinct signs/symptoms.
  • The pest has limited mobility or lacks mobility.
  • The pest is highly unlikely to be associated with the commodity in question.
  • The pest is generally eliminated by harvesting and packing procedures.
Inspection should not be considered
if any of the following are true:
  • The pest or its signs/symptoms are not detectable.
  • The potentially infested commodity is difficult or unsafe to inspect.
  • The pest is high risk and establishes easily with a few individuals.

To continue, select Topic 4 from the Topics menu above or click here.