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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is authorizing the importation of five types of commercially produced fresh citrus fruit from China into the continental United States. After thorough analysis, APHIS scientists determined that pummelo, Nanfeng honey mandarin, ponkan, sweet orange and Satsuma mandarin fruit from China can be safely imported into the United States under a systems approach to protect against the introduction of plant pests.
A systems approach is a series of measures taken by growers, packers and shippers that, in combination, minimizes pest risks prior to importation into the United States. In this case, the systems approach includes:
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- Importation in commercial consignments only
- Registration of places of production and packinghouses
- Certification that the fruit is free of quarantine pests
- A trapping program for fruit flies
- Periodic inspections of places of production
- Grove sanitation
- Postharvest disinfection and treatment
This completes agreements on another Chinese commodity listed in Annex 11: Plant Health of the Economic and Trade Agreement between the United States of America and The People’s Republic of China, Phase One.
This notice of authorization will go into effect on the date of publication in the Federal Register, April 15, 2020. The docket with information about this decision is available upon publication on April 15 here.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service