APHIS’ Commodity Treatment Information System Will Only Accept Extensible Markup Language (XML) Starting September 1, 2023

On August 30, 2023, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will retire text file formats (TXT)  for uploading in-transit cold treatment temperature data into the Commodity Treatment Information System (CTIS).

With this change, surveyors will be required to upload their in-transit cold treatment temperature data into CTIS using Extensible Markup Language (XML)—a markup language designed to safely store and transmit data—starting September 1, 2023. APHIS is making this change to prevent chart upload failures, to ensure temperature charts upload correctly, and to increase data security.

As a reminder:

• APHIS must approve all new cold temperature treatment recording devices before utilizing the in-transit cold treatment program. APHIS will require all new recording devices to use the XML format.
• Sensor readings must record data to the hundredth’s temperature reading place value.
• The XML format uses Celsius for temperature readings.
• Programmers must use the XML Schema Description (.xsd) when implementing the XML format. XSD files detail the attributes and elements in an associated XML document. Failure to follow the .xsd file will cause the chart upload to fail and delay the facilitation of cargo.

Hyperlinks to examples of the standardized XML format for cold treatment temperature charts are below. If you have questions or problems converting to XML, you may contact the APHIS CTIS Management team at ppqctis@usda.gov or at 919-855-7317.

Hyperlinks to examples:

Cold Treatment Log SML Specification

USDAColdTreatmentTemperatureLogXMLSpecification.pdf (cphst.org)

Cold Treatment Temperature Log XSD

USDAColdTreatmentTemperatureLogXSD.pdf (cphst.org)

Cold Treatment Temperature Log Sample XML

USDAColdTreatmentTemperatureLogSampleXML.pdf (cphst.org)