Menu of measures

This menu shows the wide range of options available to reduce biosecurity risks related to trade. A Menu of Measures resource provides details about each measure, including the evidence needed to demonstrate its efficacy.
The Menu of Measures Resource is available on the Australian Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) website. Browse The Menu to see 41 unique measures and how each can mitigate risk.

The Menu of Measures showcases the wide range of options available to manage biosecurity risks in trade. The Menu Resource describes how each measure can be applied, and the evidence needed to support and verify its efficacy. This provides a framework and shared language for global discussions in managing trade-related movement of plant pests.

Developed with biosecurity experts across Australia, the Menu can be used to support the assessment and management of plant pest risks. It helps industry and regulators explore the available options for reducing plant biosecurity risks from cross-border trade, moving beyond the limited number of measures currently employed. It also provides a shared framework for risk scientists, industry, regulators and policymakers to compare, discuss and implement risk management options, and can assist in building robust data packages for use in market access negotiations.

Our interactive summary of the menu, below, links directly to the DAFF website so you can click on an individual measure and explore the detail:

CONSIGNMENT STAGE
Production
Post-production
At -or post- border
FOUR RISK REDUCTION OBJECTIVES
Risk Reducing Objective 4
Reduce likelihood of entry and establishment
Risk Reducing Objective 2
Minimise vulnerability of the commodity or carrier to infestation
Risk Reducing Objective 3
Reduce infestation rates

How was the menu developed?

Our first step was a comprehensive international literature review. We found over 1800 measures mentioned in existing protocols or studies that are applied to reduce biosecurity risks associated with trade of fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, plant products, timber products, as well as transport vectors such as packing materials and shipping containers.

We distilled these down to 41 unique measures that reduce risk in one of four ways. The measures may be applied during production, post-production or post-border. This animation provides an overview of the risk framework and menu of measures.

The menu of measures is described in detail in our paper published in the journal, Biological Invasions. The paper notes that further measures could be developed, particularly through harnessing commercial practices and technologies that reduce biosecurity risks and that are commonly used in production systems and supply chains. The science-based tools available on this site can be applied to support on-going research and innovation for current and new measures to manage phytosanitary risks.

A menu of measures to manage trade-related plant pest risks, and a review of methods for demonstrating measure efficacy.

Using the menu of measures resource

When preparing entry conditions or market access protocols, it is helpful to start by considering risk reducing measures that are already used and accepted in existing trade arrangements. Trade arrangements often draw on a limited set of phytosanitary measures, such as end point disinfestation treatments. The menu helps to demonstrate there is a much wider range of options that can be considered.

The information in the Menu of Measures may be useful at both the pest risk assessment stage and the pest risk management (protocol building) stage in the biosecurity trade risk management process. It organises measures by how they reduce risk, which strengthens the ability to show how key risks for a specific pest-commodity combination are managed. This approach provides a solid foundation for understanding and explaining how multiple measures work together in risk-based management approaches.

The resource aims to help industry and biosecurity stakeholders consider:

  • Is there sufficient, robust evidence available to include a measure within a pest risk assessment or market access protocol?
  • Is verification feasible?
  • What measures might work together most effectively to achieve the appropriate level of protection?