The following provides general guidelines for shipping cultures to us. Note that not all regulations are covered in detail here. Consult us for advice prior to shipping.

Prohibitions: (1) Canada does not allow the shipment of biological substances by post — use a courier service. (2) We do not accept cultures known or suspected to be Coccidioides species.

Determine the transport classification of the fungi that you wish to ship [see Note 1 below]. Consult the Curator to obtain advice. Transport regulations do not apply to the packaging and shipping of nonhazardous biological substances; however, in shipping any fungus culture, it is advised to follow the triple-packaging system described below.

Preparation of cultures

  • Complete the culture submission form and send it by email in advance of shipment.
  • Enclose a brief itemized list of contents inside the container.
  • Send cultures as agar slants in plastic test tubes or in vials with snap-on or screw-cap tops. Sending petri plates is discouraged, especially for sporulating fungi.
  • Ensure each tube or vial is clearly labelled with your sample number, and that the number matches the one on the culture submission form.
  • Close caps of tubes tightly, then seal with a small amount of parafilm.

Packaging

Follow the guidelines for triple packaging.

  • Primary receptacle: place tubes inside a waterproof primary container. Sealing within an empty petri dish sleeve works well.
  • Secondary packaging: place the primary container into a sturdy secondary container (bio-bottle, Saf-T-Pak or similar, or a metal canister).
  • Rigid outer packaging: place the secondary container into a sturdy box (supplied by Saf-T-Pak or another bio-bottle company).
  • For shipping Biological Substance Category B, see Notes 1 and 2 below.

Customs declaration: For shipments from outside Canada, you must declare the customs value of the contents.

Ship to

Yordanka Guardiola, Curator
UAMH Centre for Fungal Biodiversity
Division of Occupational & Environmental Health
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
223 College St.
Toronto ON, Canada M5T 1R4
Value for Customs purposes: CDN$ 10.00

Shipping Biological Substance, Category B

Note 1: Infectious substances are assigned to one of two transport categories: Category A or Category B. Infectious substances of Risk Group 2 — including fungi — are shipped as Biological Substance, Category B, assigned to UN 3373. The package must display the UN 3373 mark (a square-on-point/diamond-shaped mark) with the proper shipping name “Biological Substance, Category B” shown adjacent to it. Category A comprises mainly highly pathogenic viruses and bacteria on the indicative list (UN 2814 / UN 2900) and does not include fungi.

Note 2: Category B substances are still classified as dangerous goods under Class 6.2, but no Shipper’s Declaration for Dangerous Goods is required. The shipper is responsible for correct classification, packaging, and marking, and must be trained in accordance with the current IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations. The applicable packing instruction is Packing Instruction 650 (PI 650); more robust packaging may be used voluntarily, but PI 620 is the instruction for Category A (UN 2814 / UN 2900), not for Category B.

Shippers must always work from the most recent edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations — currently the 67th Edition (2026), effective 1 January 2026 — and the corresponding ICAO Technical Instructions.