83 FR 5179 - Supplemental Requirements for Importation of Fresh Citrus From Colombia Into the United States

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 25 (February 6, 2018)

Page Range		5179-5181
FR Document		2018-02382

We are notifying the public of our decision to supplement our requirements governing the importation of fresh sweet orange, grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia into the United States and are requesting public comment on these changes. We have determined that, in order to mitigate the current pest risks posed by the importation of these commodities from Colombia into the United States, it is necessary to supplement the phytosanitary requirements now in place with additional requirements. This action will help to protect the United States against plant pests while allowing the resumption of imports of fresh sweet orange, grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia, which were suspended in 2016 due to the discovery of new plant pests in South America.

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5179-5181]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02382]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. APHIS-2017-0074]

Supplemental Requirements for Importation of Fresh Citrus From
Colombia Into the United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notification of supplemental requirements; request for
comments.

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SUMMARY: We are notifying the public of our decision to supplement our
requirements governing the importation of fresh sweet orange,
grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia
into the United States and are requesting public comment on these
changes. We have determined that, in order to mitigate the current pest
risks posed by the importation of these commodities from Colombia into
the United States, it is necessary to supplement the phytosanitary
requirements now in place with additional requirements. This action
will help to protect the United States against plant pests while
allowing the resumption of imports of fresh sweet orange, grapefruit,
mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia, which were
suspended in 2016 due to the discovery of new plant pests in South
America.

DATES: These requirements will be authorized for use on fresh sweet
orange, grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from
Colombia beginning February 6, 2018. We will consider all comments that
we receive on or before April 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0074.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2017-0074, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-
0074 or in our reading room, which is located in room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC.
Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance,
PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301)
851-2352.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Under the regulations in ``Subpart-Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-81, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the United States
Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits or restricts the importation
of fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of
the world in an effort to prevent plant pests from being introduced
into and spread within the United States.
Section 319.56-3, which includes general import requirements for
fruits and vegetables, authorizes the importation of fresh sweet orange
(Citrus sinensis (L.), grapefruit (Citrus paradisi MacFad), mandarin
(Citrus reticulata Blanco), clementine (Citrus clementina Hort. Ex
Tanaka), and tangerine (Citrus tangerine Tanaka) fruit from Colombia
into the United States. The general import requirements include an
import permit issued by APHIS and inspection of the fruit by APHIS
officials at the port of first arrival. Additionally, as a condition of

[[Page 5180]]

entry,\1\ APHIS requires consignments of fresh citrus fruit from
Colombia to undergo cold treatment in accordance with 7 CFR part 305.
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\1\ Condition of entry requirements are listed in the APHIS
Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR) database: https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual/index.cfm?action=cirReportP&PERMITTED_ID=5735.
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In March 1963, USDA authorized imports of citrus fruit into the
United States from Colombia. In 1995, Colombia stopped shipping
commercial consignments of citrus fruit to the United States because of
decreased citrus production and increased domestic citrus consumption.
Twenty years later, in December 2015, Colombia announced their
intention to resume exporting commercial consignments of citrus to the
United States. That same month, APHIS notified the national plant
protection organization (NPPO) of Colombia that it was temporarily
suspending its authorization for imports of sweet oranges, tangerines,
grapefruit, clementines, and mandarins from Colombia and cancelling
permits until further notice. The NPPO of Colombia acknowledged the
suspension and no shipments of citrus from Colombia entered the United
States. We suspended imports because we noted the emergence of new
citrus pests in South America since Colombia initially received
approval to export citrus fruit to the United States. In order to
protect the United States from plant pests following the pathway of
citrus imported from Colombia, we decided to assess the risk potential
of these new citrus pests and develop mitigation requirements before
considering a request from the NPPO of Colombia on whether to lift the
temporary suspension on commercial shipments.
To determine the current pest risk potential, we prepared a pest
risk assessment (PRA), followed by a commodity import evaluation
document (CIED) that details risk mitigation measures. Copies of the
PRA and the CIED may be obtained from the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or viewed on the Regulations.gov website
(see ADDRESSES for instructions for accessing Regulations.gov).
The PRA, titled ``Importation of Fresh Citrus Fruit, including
Sweet Oranges (Citrus sinensis (L.), Grapefruit (C. paradisi Macfad.),
Mandarin (C. reticulata Blanco), Clementine (C. clementina Hort. Ex
Tanaka), and Tangerine (C. tangerina Tanaka) from Colombia into the
United States (October 2016),'' evaluates the risks associated with the
importation of fresh citrus fruit from Colombia into the United States.
The CIED relies upon the findings of the PRA to establish phytosanitary
risk management measures necessary to ensure the safe importation into
the United States of fresh citrus fruit from Colombia.
Eleven pests that could follow the pathway of fresh citrus fruit
imported from Colombia met the threshold for unacceptable consequences
of introduction into the United States:
Brevipalpus obovatus Donnadieu, privet mite, ornamental
flat mite;
Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes), red and black flat mite;
Schizotetranychus hindustanicus (Hirst), Hindustan citrus
mite;
Neosilba pendula Bezzi, cassava shoot fly, lance fly;
Neosilba zadolicha (McAlphine and Steyskal), lonchaeid
fly, lance fly;
Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), South American fruit
fly;
Anastrepha serpentina (Wiedemann), sapote fruit fly;
Anastrepha striata Schiner, guava fruit fly;
Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), Mediterranean fruit fly,
Medfly;
Gymnandrosoma aurantianum (Lima), citrus fruit borer; and
Citrus leprosis virus, CILV.
Our assessment indicated that the citrus fruit borer, as well as
the South American, guava, and Mediterranean fruit flies, have a high
likelihood of following the pathway of citrus fruit from Colombia. All
other quarantine pests on the list were determined to have a medium
likelihood of doing so.
We determined from the PRA that the import requirements originally
established for citrus fruit from Colombia were no longer sufficient to
mitigate the risk posed by these quarantine pests. These conditions
were the general import requirements enumerated in Sec. 319.56-3 and
two of the five designated phytosanitary measures listed under Sec.
319.56-4(b), specifically, that citrus fruit be treated in accordance
with 7 CFR part 305 and inspected by APHIS officials at the port of
first arrival.
Under Sec. 319.56-4(d) of the regulations, if we determine that
one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures is not
sufficient to mitigate the risk posed by the fruits and vegetables that
are currently authorized for importation into the United States under
Sec. 319.56-4, we will prohibit or further restrict importation of the
fruit or vegetable and may also publish a document in the Federal
Register advising the public of our finding. The document will specify
the amended import requirements, provide an effective date for the
change, and will invite public comment on the subject. We are
publishing this notification of our decision to supplement the import
requirements for Colombian citrus in accordance with this provision.
Based on our findings in the PRA, we are requiring the application
of the additional pest risk management measures identified in the CIED
in order for sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, clementines, and
mandarins to be eligible for importation from Colombia into the United
States. These measures, discussed in further detail below, are: (1)
Importation in commercial consignments only, (2) production of fruit
only in places of production registered and approved by the NPPO, (3)
effective fruit fly trapping programs in the places of production, and
(4) standard packinghouse procedures. Furthermore, each commercial
consignment must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an
additional declaration issued by the NPPO of Colombia.
APHIS and the NPPO of Colombia have agreed to an operational
workplan that details how the risk management measures listed in the
CIED will be carried out, subject to APHIS' approval. APHIS will be
directly involved with the NPPO in monitoring and auditing
implementation of the operational workplan. The additional import
requirements for fresh citrus from Colombia are described below.

Commercial Consignments

We are requiring that only commercial consignments of fresh sweet
oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, clementines, and mandarins be accepted
for export from Colombia into the United States. Produce grown
commercially is less likely to be infested with plant pests than
noncommercial consignments. Noncommercial consignments are more prone
to infestations because the commodity is often ripe to overripe, could
be of a variety with unknown susceptibility to pests, or is grown with
little or no pest control. Commercial consignments, as defined in Sec.
319.56-2 of the regulations, are consignments that an inspector
identifies as having been imported for sale and distribution.
In addition, fresh sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit,
clementines, and mandarins in commercial consignments for export from
Colombia into the United States must be practically free of leaves,
twigs and other plant parts, except for stems that are less than 1 inch
long and attached to the fruit.

[[Page 5181]]

Production Site Requirements

We are also requiring that sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit,
clementines, and mandarins intended for importation into the United
States from Colombia be grown only in places of production that are
registered with, and approved by, the NPPO of Colombia. APHIS reserves
the right to conduct audits and inspect the places of production, as
necessary.
Identity and origin of the fruit must be maintained from the grove,
through the packing house, and through export of consignments to the
United States. Registration makes it easier to trace consignments of
fruit back to the place of production and to apply remedial measures or
the removal of places of production from the import program in
accordance with the operational workplan if quarantine pests are
discovered in consignments destined for the United States.
In addition, we are requiring that plant litter and fallen fruit be
removed from the places of production to reduce potential fruit fly,
lonchaeid fly, and Lepidoptera host material. Plant litter and fallen
fruit must not be included in field containers of fruit brought to the
packinghouse to be packed for export to the United States.
We are also requiring that the NPPO of Colombia certify that the
places of production growing sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit,
clementines, and mandarins for export to the United States have
effective fruit fly trapping programs approved by APHIS and that places
of production follow pest control guidelines, when necessary, to reduce
regulated pest populations. Personnel conducting the trapping and pest
surveys must be hired, trained, and supervised by the NPPO of Colombia
or be personnel authorized by the NPPO. Details of the trapping program
will be included in the operational workplan.
To ensure that the trapping is being properly conducted, we are
requiring that the NPPO of Colombia keep records of fruit fly
detections for each trap and make the records available to APHIS upon
request. The NPPO is required to maintain such records for at least 3
years. The NPPO of Colombia is also required to regularly visit and
inspect places of production through the citrus exporting season,
starting 30 days before harvest and continuing until the end of the
shipping season, to ensure that growers and packers are following
export protocols. If the NPPO of Colombia finds that a place of
production is not complying with the requirements of the operational
workplan agreed to between APHIS and the NPPO, no fruit from that place
of production will be eligible for export to the United States until
APHIS and the NPPO conduct an investigation and appropriate remedial
actions have been implemented.

Packinghouse Requirements

Fresh sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, clementines, and
mandarins from Colombia intended for importation into the United States
must be packed in a packinghouse registered with the NPPO of Colombia.
Such registration facilitates traceback of a consignment of citrus to
the packinghouse in which it was packed in the event that quarantine
pests were discovered in the consignment at the port of first arrival
into the United States.
We require the NPPO of Colombia to monitor and audit the harvesting
system and ensure that during the time the packinghouse is in use for
exporting fruit to the United States, the packinghouse must clearly
segregate and identify fruit for export to the United States to prevent
commingling with fruit for other markets.
At the packinghouse, we require that the fruit be washed and
brushed and any damaged or diseased fruit culled. Many of the
quarantine pests listed in the PRA have stages that are visible upon
inspection or cause visible damage. Washing and brushing removes
insects and mites from fruit, and culling removes fruit with visible
signs of insect and mite damage, which reduces the risk that pests will
follow the pathway of citrus fruit exported to the United States.

Post-Harvest Processing

We are requiring that fruit intended for export to the United
States be packed within 24 hours of harvest in an enclosed packinghouse
or maintained in cold storage. Fruit must be kept in cold storage or
cold treatment while in transit until the fruit arrives in the United
States.
In addition, the fruit must be inspected by the NPPO of Colombia or
personnel authorized by the NPPO following post-harvest processing. A
biometric sample, to be jointly determined by APHIS and the NPPO and
listed in the operational workplan, will be visually inspected, and a
portion of the fruit will be cut open to detect internal pests, such as
fruit flies and Lepidoptera larvae. If a single mite (Brevipalpus
obovatus, B. phoenicis or Schizotetranychus hindustanicus), any
immature stage of Neosilba spp., or immature stage of Gymnandrosoma
aurantianum is found during inspection, the entire lot of fruit will be
prohibited from importation into the United States.
Fruit may be imported into the United States only if it is treated
in accordance with 7 CFR part 305 with an approved quarantine treatment
for Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha spp.\2\ listed in the Plant
Protection and Quarantine Treatment Manual and monitored by an official
authorized by APHIS. U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel will
inspect fruit consignments at the port of entry.
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\2\ Cold treatment schedule T107-a-1, ``Treatment Schedules,''
page 5-2-80. Prescribed treatments are also included in the FAVIR
database (see footnote 1).
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Monitoring and Oversight

We require the NPPO of Colombia to provide oversight for all
program activities, including monitoring phytosanitary control
programs, by reviewing them at least once a year, and by maintaining
all forms and documents related to activities in places of production
and packing houses in the export program. APHIS may monitor places of
production, packinghouses, and records if necessary.

Phytosanitary Certificate

We require that fresh sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit,
clementines, and mandarins imported into the United States from
Colombia be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an
additional declaration issued by the NPPO of Colombia stating that the
fruit in the consignment has been produced in accordance with the
requirements of the operational workplan.
The amended import requirements are listed in the FAVIR database
upon publication of this document. After the close of the comment
period, we will publish a second document responding to any comments we
receive. Should these comments raise substantive questions or concerns
about the supplemental requirements for importation of fresh sweet
oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, clementines, and mandarins into the
United States from Colombia, we will reevaluate the requirements
accordingly.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136
and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of February 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-02382 Filed 2-5-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P

5180 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 25 / Tuesday, February 6, 2018 / Rules and Regulations

entry,1 APHIS requires consignments of United States. The CIED relies upon the invite public comment on the subject.
fresh citrus fruit from Colombia to findings of the PRA to establish We are publishing this notification of
undergo cold treatment in accordance phytosanitary risk management our decision to supplement the import
with 7 CFR part 305. measures necessary to ensure the safe requirements for Colombian citrus in
In March 1963, USDA authorized importation into the United States of accordance with this provision.
imports of citrus fruit into the United fresh citrus fruit from Colombia. Based on our findings in the PRA, we
States from Colombia. In 1995, Eleven pests that could follow the
Colombia stopped shipping commercial are requiring the application of the
pathway of fresh citrus fruit imported
consignments of citrus fruit to the additional pest risk management
from Colombia met the threshold for
United States because of decreased measures identified in the CIED in order
unacceptable consequences of
citrus production and increased for sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit,
introduction into the United States:
domestic citrus consumption. Twenty • Brevipalpus obovatus Donnadieu, clementines, and mandarins to be
years later, in December 2015, Colombia privet mite, ornamental flat mite; eligible for importation from Colombia
announced their intention to resume • Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes), into the United States. These measures,
exporting commercial consignments of red and black flat mite; discussed in further detail below, are:
citrus to the United States. That same • Schizotetranychus hindustanicus (1) Importation in commercial
month, APHIS notified the national (Hirst), Hindustan citrus mite; consignments only, (2) production of
plant protection organization (NPPO) of • Neosilba pendula Bezzi, cassava fruit only in places of production
Colombia that it was temporarily shoot fly, lance fly; registered and approved by the NPPO,
suspending its authorization for imports • Neosilba zadolicha (McAlphine and (3) effective fruit fly trapping programs
of sweet oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, Steyskal), lonchaeid fly, lance fly; in the places of production, and (4)
clementines, and mandarins from • Anastrepha fraterculus standard packinghouse procedures.
Colombia and cancelling permits until (Wiedemann), South American fruit fly; Furthermore, each commercial
further notice. The NPPO of Colombia • Anastrepha serpentina consignment must be accompanied by a
acknowledged the suspension and no (Wiedemann), sapote fruit fly; phytosanitary certificate with an
shipments of citrus from Colombia • Anastrepha striata Schiner, guava additional declaration issued by the
entered the United States. We fruit fly; NPPO of Colombia.
suspended imports because we noted • Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann),
Mediterranean fruit fly, Medfly; APHIS and the NPPO of Colombia
the emergence of new citrus pests in
• Gymnandrosoma aurantianum have agreed to an operational workplan
South America since Colombia initially
(Lima), citrus fruit borer; and that details how the risk management
received approval to export citrus fruit
to the United States. In order to protect • Citrus leprosis virus, CILV. measures listed in the CIED will be
the United States from plant pests Our assessment indicated that the carried out, subject to APHIS’ approval.
following the pathway of citrus citrus fruit borer, as well as the South APHIS will be directly involved with
imported from Colombia, we decided to American, guava, and Mediterranean the NPPO in monitoring and auditing
assess the risk potential of these new fruit flies, have a high likelihood of implementation of the operational
citrus pests and develop mitigation following the pathway of citrus fruit workplan. The additional import
requirements before considering a from Colombia. All other quarantine requirements for fresh citrus from
request from the NPPO of Colombia on pests on the list were determined to Colombia are described below.
whether to lift the temporary have a medium likelihood of doing so.
We determined from the PRA that the Commercial Consignments
suspension on commercial shipments.
To determine the current pest risk import requirements originally We are requiring that only
potential, we prepared a pest risk established for citrus fruit from commercial consignments of fresh sweet
assessment (PRA), followed by a Colombia were no longer sufficient to oranges, tangerines, grapefruit,
commodity import evaluation document mitigate the risk posed by these clementines, and mandarins be accepted
(CIED) that details risk mitigation quarantine pests. These conditions were for export from Colombia into the
measures. Copies of the PRA and the the general import requirements United States. Produce grown
CIED may be obtained from the person enumerated in § 319.56–3 and two of commercially is less likely to be infested
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION the five designated phytosanitary with plant pests than noncommercial
CONTACT or viewed on the measures listed under § 319.56–4(b), consignments. Noncommercial
Regulations.gov website (see ADDRESSES specifically, that citrus fruit be treated
consignments are more prone to
for instructions for accessing in accordance with 7 CFR part 305 and
infestations because the commodity is
Regulations.gov). inspected by APHIS officials at the port
often ripe to overripe, could be of a
The PRA, titled ‘‘Importation of Fresh of first arrival.
variety with unknown susceptibility to
Citrus Fruit, including Sweet Oranges Under § 319.56–4(d) of the
pests, or is grown with little or no pest
(Citrus sinensis (L.), Grapefruit (C. regulations, if we determine that one or
more of the five designated control. Commercial consignments, as
paradisi Macfad.), Mandarin (C.
phytosanitary measures is not sufficient defined in § 319.56–2 of the regulations,
reticulata Blanco), Clementine (C.
clementina Hort. Ex Tanaka), and to mitigate the risk posed by the fruits are consignments that an inspector
Tangerine (C. tangerina Tanaka) from and vegetables that are currently identifies as having been imported for
Colombia into the United States authorized for importation into the sale and distribution.
(October 2016),’’ evaluates the risks United States under § 319.56–4, we will In addition, fresh sweet oranges,
associated with the importation of fresh prohibit or further restrict importation tangerines, grapefruit, clementines, and
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with RULES

citrus fruit from Colombia into the of the fruit or vegetable and may also mandarins in commercial consignments
publish a document in the Federal for export from Colombia into the
1 Condition of entry requirements are listed in the
Register advising the public of our United States must be practically free of
APHIS Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements finding. The document will specify the leaves, twigs and other plant parts,
(FAVIR) database: https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/
manual/index.cfm?action= amended import requirements, provide except for stems that are less than 1 inch
cirReportP&PERMITTED_ID=5735. an effective date for the change, and will long and attached to the fruit.

VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:43 Feb 05, 2018 Jkt 244001 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4700 Sfmt 4700 E:\FR\FM\06FER1.SGM 06FER1

Document Created: 2018-02-06 00:30:44
Document Modified: 2018-02-06 00:30:44

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Rules and Regulations
Action		Notification of supplemental requirements; request for comments.
Dates		These requirements will be authorized for use on fresh sweet orange, grapefruit, mandarin, clementine, and tangerine fruit from Colombia beginning February 6, 2018. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before April 9, 2018.
Contact		Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 851-2352.
FR Citation		83 FR 5179

83 FR 5179 - Supplemental Requirements for Importation of Fresh Citrus From Colombia Into the United States

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUREAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 25 (February 6, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service