People died. They died senseless deaths.

When is this nation going to realize why these deaths occurred? When is it going to come to terms with the merchanizing of death for the sake of profits? If no one was making money there would be profoundly different outcomes. The USA is a pitifully immoral nation. It prefers profit over life.

For those seeking information of a safe food supply there is a government agency that meets regularly to decide safe food policy. These are the current regulations. 

The case with ISPM is that dates change with each publication and not whether or not there was a change within the regulation. Legal precedent has been abandoned for a moving baseline. There is literally no way of telling if the regulation was written today or 100 years ago.

ISPMs (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures) (click here)

 ...2013-08-26: The year of copyright for ISPM 15 has been changed to 2013: it changes every time that a modification to the entire ISPM text is made (including re-formatting of any parts of the standard). This is to keep track of all text and format modifications of an ISPM. On the other hand, the year of adoption remains 2009: a change to the year of adoption of an ISPM only occurs when the main text of the ISPM is modified....

The USA Standards are not a moving baseline. They are updated and recorded. There is a name, address and phone number at the bottom of the entry. The USDA - APHIS standards and regulations are an ongoing process without an end date. I suggest those so inclined take an interest and assist the USDA in upgrading the standards.

USDA - APHIS (American Plant Health Inspection Services) (click here)

The online Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary Program Manual (click here) has been revised to update Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Appendix B, Appendix E, and to add new Appendices F, G, and H. The manual numbering system has also been changed from 3-digits to 2-digits.
Revisions, indicated by black change bars in the left page margins, are on the following pages:

Chapter 3: Procedures: Pages 3-3 through 3-6.

Chapter 4: Roles and Responsibilities: Pages 4-1 through 4-6.

Appendix B: Federally Recognized State Managed Phytosanitary 

Programs/Links to State Program Websites: Page B-1.

Appendix E: Analysis Aid for States (formerly Audit Checklist): Pages E-1 through E-10.

Appendix F: Supporting Action, Program Process, and Program Flow: Pages F-1 and F-2.

Appendix G: Audit Checklist: Pages G-1 through G-7.

Appendix H: Online Resources: Page H-1.

Bruce Attavian
Technical Manuals Writer
USDA-APHIS-PPQ-RPM-ISMU
92 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 200

Frederick, MD 21702-4593
Phone: 240-529-0355
bruce.n.attavian@aphis.usda.gov