Washinton, DC
October 30, 2007
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
will begin issuing import permits for fruits and vegetables from
Africa. Under APHIS’ new streamlined approval process, it will
issue import permits for peeled baby carrots and husked,
silk-free baby corn from Kenya, Ribes species, such as currants
and gooseberries, from South Africa and peppers, eggplant and
okra from Ghana.
On July 18, USDA published a final rule which streamlined an
approval process for importing certain fruits and vegetables.
The fruits and vegetables from Africa are the first commodities
approved for import under the new regulations. While this
process continues to provide stringent protections for U.S.
agriculture, it employs notices rather than lengthier rulemaking
to solicit public involvement in the approval process. It is a
less time-consuming approach that allows USDA plant health
specialists to focus on more complex domestic and import issues.
Under the new process, a notice announcing the availability of
the pest risk analysis is published in the Federal Register with
the opportunity for public comment. After the comment period
ends, all comments are considered and if appropriate, a notice
is published in the Federal Register announcing that USDA will
begin issuing import permits for the commodity.
The pest risk analyses completed for peeled baby carrots and
husked, silk-free baby corn from Kenya, Ribes species from South
Africa and peppers, eggplant and okra from Ghana were published
on July 18. Based on those analyses, APHIS determined that these
commodities can be safely brought into the continental United
States subject to one or more of five designated phytosanitary
measures, and are therefore eligible for the new notice-based
approval process. These measures include port-of-entry
inspection, approved postharvest treatment, a phytosanitary
certificate verifying that the commodity originated from a
pest-free area, a phytosanitary certificate verifying that the
commodity is free from a specified pest or pests or that the
risk associated with the commodity can be mitigated through
commercial practices.
To learn more about the revisions made to USDA’s fruit and
vegetable regulations, go to www.aphis.usda.gov and click on the
Quarantine 56 hot issues link.
These notices were published in the Oct. 19
Federal Register and
became effective upon publication. |
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