A potato wart outbreak was recently discovered in a field on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). It was revealed in a field adjacent to one where potato wart was detected in October 2021, prompting the CFIA to prohibit potato shipments to the United States in November 2021.

“Last week, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s laboratory in Charlottetown detected the presence of potato wart in a field as part of its ongoing investigations related to detection in October 2021 and February 2022. The detection was from a field that is adjacent to one where potato wart was detected in October 2021. The field is owned by a farm that produces processing potatoes for use in P.E.I.,” a CFIA spokesperson said in a statement to CBC.

From March 5 to June 30, the CFIA collected over 17,000 soil samples, and testing on those samples is still ongoing. The discovery of a potato wart was not unexpected during the investigation, according to the agency.

This detection demonstrates that the investigation process is working and is an important part of ensuring crop health and maintaining access to export markets.

“We will update this finding on our website as part of our quarterly updates with the next update in October 2022,” the authorities added.

‘No Reason for Concern’

The detection of potato wart in a field on P.E.I. is no reason for concern, Donald Killorn, the executive director of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture declared for the above-mentioned source. He added that it has no impact on the safe export of food from P.E.I. to Canada and the rest of the world.

“It’s by no means indicative of us being infested with potato wart. We do have fields on Prince Edward Island in which there are potato ward spores. This detection was basically across the road from a field that we already knew to have potato wart that would have been subject to our existing potato wart management plan,” he declared.

Last week’s discovery was the fourth time potato wart has been found since October.

Table potato shipments resumed in April, but seed potatoes, which make up about 10% of the Island’s annual output, are still banned in the U.S. and the rest of Canada, pending the outcome of a more thorough investigation.