International Seed Testing
Certificates are designated by the colour of the paper they
are printed on: orange, green and blue.
For an orange international certificate the ISTA accredited
seed testing laboratory takes responsibility of the sampling
and sealing of the seed lot as well as the testing of the
seed. In issuing an orange certificate the accredited
laboratory takes responsibility that the results are not only
representative of the sample but also the seed lot from which
the sample was drawn.
The green certificate is also a seed lot certificate but is
for the situation where the seed lot is in one country and the
testing needs to be carried out in another country. The
accredited seed testing laboratory in the country where the
seed lot is situated arranges for the seed lot to be sealed
and sampled. Subsequently, instead of testing the sample, the
laboratory forwards it to the accredited laboratory in the
other country where the sample is to be tested with details of
the seed lot and its sealing and sampling.
The blue certificate covers the situation where only
information about a sample is asked or the accredited seed
testing laboratory has no jurisdiction over the drawing of the
sample and is therefore not in a position to verify that it
has been drawn correctly and is representative of the seed
lot. The accredited seed testing laboratory in issuing a blue
certificate only takes responsibility for the seed test
carried out on the sample submitted for testing.
Why are they not used uniformly in
all countries?
Seed traded within a country is usually traded using
national seed certificates. International Seed Testing
Certificates are mainly used to facilitate the free movement
of seed from one country to another and there are two main
customers for these certificates – governments and the seed
trade. Many countries require an orange International
Certificate before they will allow seed to be imported into a
country and many seed companies will insist on an
International Seed Testing Certificate before they will buy an
imported seed lot. Differences between countries in their use
of certificates depends on differences in the needs of
customers. This can be influenced by political and
multinational considerations. For example, seed is traded
within the EU using national certificates and a multinational
seed company will not require certificates on seed moving
between constituent parts of the company in different
countries.
