§300.4. Reference Manual B. — Inbound Citations

Administrator. The Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or any person authorized to act for the Administrator.

(2) The facility must have access to all equipment required to conduct the laboratory testing or seed crop phytosanitary inspections for which it is accredited. Specific test methodologies, materials, and the calibration and monitoring of the equipment must conform to Reference Manual B, which is incorporated by reference at § 300.4 of this chapter. The general requirements for each test category are as follows:

(i) Seed crop phytosanitary inspection may also include related activities such as collection of seed samples for later laboratory testing, visual inspection of seed just prior to export, and inspection of greenhouses or growth chambers where plants are grown for seed production, as well as visual inspection of seed crops. In the field, inspectors must use accurate field maps, hand lenses, and secure containers for the collection, storage, and transportation of samples. Inspectors must have direct access to a laboratory that is fully equipped to carry out any necessary diagnostic tests needed for field samples.

(ii) Visual examination of seed requires a stereo microscope. Visual examination of tissue requires a compound light microscope. Visual examination of loosely attached or accompanying material requires a centrifuge and shaker.

(iii) Required equipment includes incubation chambers, laminar flow hoods, media preparation equipment, scales, pH meters, distilled and sterile water, gas burners, an autoclave, and the appropriate media for the specified tests.

(iv) Grow-out tests require a greenhouse, growth chamber, or an outdoor quarantine location, and access to a laboratory that is fully equipped to carry out any required diagnostic tests.

(v) These tests require grinding, extraction, and sample purification equipment; fluorescent microscopes; plate readers; spectrophotometers; and the appropriate assay materials; or the appropriate equipment to use field ready test kits.

(vi) To conduct these tests, a laboratory must be equipped with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) equipment, including thermal cyclers, electrophoresis and gel blotting equipment, and the reagents and DNA polymerases necessary to conduct the PCR.