Benefits to Shipping States
- Focus resources to reduce pest risk and enhance existing programs
- Enable plant production facilities to create cleaner end product, reducing time spent on traditional inspections
- Plant production facilities gain a marketing opportunity by selling SANC-certified material
Benefits to Receiving States
- Plant material from SANC-certified facilities addresses systemic plant health at every level
- Lessens risk of quarantined pest introduction
See Benefits of SANC for more information.
State Responsibilities
- Verify that facilities meet SANC standards
- Interview facility staff
- Review records
- Inspect plants
- Verify that the facility’s documented processes are being used
- Verify that the Critical Control Points (CCPs) and Best Management Practices (BMPs) adequately reduce the pest risks
Expectations of States Entering into SANC
(Also available in PDF version)
Below are the steps states need to complete for facilities entering the SANC program. These steps are the state certifying authorities’ (SCA) responsibility in order to participate in the SANC program under the National Plant Board (NPB) and to receive the authority to distribute the SANC Logo to certified participants of SANC.
- Completion of the NPB SANC Training and USDA Understanding Audit Training (UAT) programs by the SPRO and any inspection staff that will be working directly with the SANC facility. USDA provides funding to NPB for UAT.
- States that are new to SANC will partner with a State that already has a SANC facility to mentor them through the State’s first facility’s SANC certification procedures. New states may make their own selection for mentoring state and notify the Governing Board or a mentor will be assigned by the Governing Board.
- Notify the Regional SANC Governing Board representative of the State’s interest in participation. Contact regional NPB President to determine the representative.
- Notify the Regional Governing Board representative whenever a new facility is approved for SANC certification.
- Sign the SANC Logo Use agreement with the NPB.
- Sign the SANC Agreement with the facility that has completed SANC certification.
- Maintain appropriate records of audits as it relates to SANC to demonstrate the SANC Standards are met and maintained.
- Allow periodic SANC Assessments as requested by the SANC Governing Board.
State Minimum Requirements to Adopt SANC
- Statutory Authority to provide nursery/greenhouse certification using systems approach methodology
- Many state statutes are written broadly enough to include systems approach certifications. Model nursery and plant pest laws are available for states to review and consider.
- Commitment at all levels of state administration
- A State Plant Regulatory Official (SPRO) educated in SANC through:
- Participation in NPB’s SANC Program
- Discussions with other SPROs who have participated in the process
- Visiting a SANC facility in another state and shadowing SPRO or delegate, or reviewing a Facility SANC Manual with a seasoned SPRO or delegate
- Completing the SANC Training Module for SPROs
- Participation in quarterly meetings/teleconferences with SANC SPROs, hosted by NPB
- Field staff who:
- Meet state standards for nursery inspection/pest detection
- Have taken the USDA “Introduction to Audit” course
- Are familiar with state SANC Program responsibilities by:
- Participating in SANC inspector training on general SANC concepts, risk assessment and auditing
- Shadowing a seasoned SANC Inspector for a suitable period to gain experience
- Regularly performing SANC surveillance and system audits
SANC Resources Available to States
- SANC Inspector Manual (PDF)
- SANC Inspector Manual Links (web page)
- Example of a Facility SANC Manual (pdf)
- Template SANC Facility Manual Camellias and More (pdf)
- FAQs for States provides state-specific answers to SANC questions.
- SANC Training provides information on training opportunities in the SANC pilot program.
- ABOUT SANC provides more on the SANC history, program standards and benefits.
- CERTIFICATION describes each step toward SANC approval and provides relevant tools.
- SANC CONNECT and RESOURCES/LINKS provide more SANC tools for states.
