[Title 7 CFR 319.56-2l]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - January 1, 2003 Edition]
[Title 7 - AGRICULTURE]
[Subtitle B - Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued)]
[Chapter III - ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF]
[Part 319 - FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES]
[Subpart - Fruits and Vegetables]
[Sec. 319.56-2l - Administrative instructions prescribing method of treatment of imported yams.]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


7AGRICULTURE52003-01-012003-01-01false319.56-2lSec. 319.56-2lAGRICULTURERegulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued)ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OFFOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICESFruits and Vegetables
Sec. 319.56-2l  Administrative instructions prescribing method of treatment of imported yams.

    (a) Fumigation upon arrival. Except as otherwise provided in 
paragraph (b) of this section, approved fumigation with methyl bromide 
at normal atmospheric pressure, in accordance with the following 
procedure, upon arrival at the port of entry, is hereby prescribed as a 
condition of importation under permit under Sec. 319.56-2 for shipments 
of yams from all foreign countries.
    (1) Ports of entry. Yams to be offered for entry may be shipped, 
under permit under Sec. 319.56-2, direct from the country of origin to 
ports in the United States where approved fumigation facilities are 
available.
    (2) Approved fumigation. (i) The approved fumigation shall consist 
of fumigation with methyl bromide at normal atmospheric pressure, in a 
fumigation chamber that has been approved for that purpose by the Plant 
Protection and Quarantine Programs. The dosage shall be applied at the 
following rates:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         Dosage (pounds of     Exposure
        Temperature, ( deg.F.)           methyl bromide per     period
                                         1,000 cubic feet)     (hours)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
90-96.................................           2.5              4
80-89.................................           3.0              4
70-79.................................           3.5              4
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (ii) Yams to be fumigated may be packed in slatted crates or other 
gas-permeable containers. The fumigation chamber shall not be loaded to 
more than two-thirds of its capacity. The four-hour exposure period 
shall begin when all the fumigant has been introduced into the chamber 
and volatilized. Cubic feet of space shall include the load of yams to 
be fumigated. The required temperatures apply to both the air and the 
yams. Good circulation above and below the load shall be provided as 
soon as the yams are loaded in the chamber and shall continue during the 
full period of fumigation and until the yams have been removed to a 
well-ventilated location. Fumigation of yams below the minimum 
temperature prescribed in the fumigation schedule may result in injury 
to the yams and should be avoided. Yams are sensitive to bruising and 
should be carefully

[[Page 306]]

packed to prevent this. At the same time they should be given as much 
aeration as possible.
    (3) Other conditions. (i) Inspectors of the Plant Protection and 
Quarantine Programs will supervise the fumigation of yams and will 
specify such safeguards as may be necessary for their handling and 
transportation before and after fumigation, if, in the opinion of the 
inspector, this is necessary to assure there will be no pest risk 
associated with the importation and treatment. Final release of the yams 
for entry into the United States will be conditioned upon compliance 
with the specified safeguards.
    (ii) Supervision of approved fumigation chambers will, if 
practicable, be carried on as a part of normal port inspection 
activities. When so available such supervision will be furnished without 
cost to the owner of the yams or his representative.
    (4) Costs. All costs of treatment and required safeguards and 
supervision, other than the services of the supervising inspector during 
regularly assigned hours of duty and at the usual place of duty, shall 
be borne by the owner of the yams, or his representative.
    (5) Department not responsible for damage. While the prescribed 
treatment is judged from experimental tests to be safe for use with 
yams, the Department assumes no responsibility for any damage sustained 
through or in the course of treatment or because of pretreatment or 
posttreatment safeguards.
    (b) Alternate procedures. (1) Yams produced in Japan and offered for 
entry under a permit issued in accordance with Sec. 319.56-2 shall be 
subject to examination by an inspector at the port of entry. If this 
examination shows the yams to be free of plant pests, they may be 
imported without the fumigation required by paragraph (a) of this 
section.
    (2) Yams produced in Cuba, if satisfactorily treated in Cuba and 
otherwise handled and certified as provided in this subparagraph will be 
eligible for entry under permit under Sec. 319.56-2.
    (i) Approved fumigation. The yams shall be fumigated at approved 
plants in Cuba in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
    (ii) Approval of fumigation plants; costs of supervision. Fumigation 
in Cuba will be contingent upon the availability of a fumigation plant, 
approved by the Deputy Administrator of the Plant Protection and 
Quarantine Programs, to apply the treatment prescribed in paragraph 
(a)(2) of this section and upon the availability of qualified personnel 
for assignment to approve the plant and to supervise the treatment and 
posttreatment handling of the yams in Cuba. Those in interest must make 
advance arrangements for approval of the fumigation plant and for 
supervision, and furnish the Deputy Administrator of the Plant 
Protection and Quarantine Programs with acceptable assurances that they 
will provide, without cost to the United States Department of 
Agriculture, for all transportation, per diem, and other incidental 
expenses of such personnel and compensation for such personnel for their 
services in excess of 40 hours weekly, in connection with such approval 
and supervision, according to the rates established for the payment of 
inspectors of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs.
    (iii) Supervision of fumigation and subsequent handling. The 
fumigation prescribed in this paragraph and the subsequent handling of 
the yams so fumigated must be under the supervision of a representative 
of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs. The treated yams must 
be safeguarded against insect infestation during the period prior to 
shipment from Cuba, in a manner required by such representative.
    (iv) Certification. Yams will be certified by a representative of 
the Plant Protection and Quarantine Programs in Cuba for entry into the 
United States upon the basis of treatment under this subparagraph and 
compliance with the posttreatment safeguard requirements imposed by such 
representative. The final release of the yams for entry into the United 
States will be conditioned upon compliance with such requirements and 
upon satisfactory inspection on arrival to determine efficacy of 
treatment.

[[Page 307]]

    (v) Costs. All costs incident to fumigation, including those for 
construction, equipping, maintaining and operating fumigation plants and 
facilities, and carrying out requirements of posttreatment safeguards, 
and all costs as indicated in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section 
incident to plant approval and supervision of treatment and subsequent 
handling of the yams in Cuba shall be borne by the owner of the yams or 
his representative.
    (vi) Department not responsible for damage. The treatment prescribed 
in paragraph (a)(2) of this section is judged from experimental tests to 
be safe for use with yams. However, the Department assumes no 
responsibility for any damage sustained through or in the course of 
treatment, or because of posttreatment safeguards.
    (vii) Ports of entry. Yams to be offered for entry in accordance 
with the alternate procedure provided for in this subparagraph may be 
entered under permit under Sec. 319.56-2 at any United States port where 
an inspector is stationed.
    (viii) Ineligible shipments. Any shipments of yams produced in Cuba 
that are not eligible for certification under the alternate procedure 
provided for in this paragraph may enter only upon compliance with 
paragraph (a) of this section.

[24 FR 10788, Dec. 29, 1959. Redesignated at 50 FR 9788, Mar. 12, 1985]