[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 159 (Thursday, August 17, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42814-42815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20358]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 352

[Docket No. 94-033-1]


Mangoes From Mexico

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.

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SUMMARY: We are soliciting public comment on approaches to reducing the 
risk of fruit flies being introduced into the United States in shipping 
containers and in the beds of trucks that have been used to transport 
untreated mangoes from Mexico through the United States to Canada. 
These containers and truck beds have been found to contain larvae and 
pupae of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha at the time they reenter 
the United States after being unloaded in Canada. We believe some 
measures need to be taken to reduce the risk of fruit flies being 
introduced into the United States by contaminated containers and truck 
beds entering from Canada.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or 
before October 16, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to 
Docket No. 94-033-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 
Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please 
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 94-033-1. Comments 
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th 
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to 
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to 
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Peter M. Grosser or Mr. Frank E. 
Cooper, Senior Operations Officers, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 139, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8295.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The fruits and vegetables regulations in 7 CFR 319.56 through 
319.56-8 (referred to below as the fruits and vegetables regulations) 
restrict or prohibit the importation of certain fruits and vegetables 
in order to prevent the introduction and dissemination of injurious 
insects, including fruit flies, that are new to or not widely 
distributed within and throughout the United States.
    The plant quarantine safeguard regulations in 7 CFR part 352 
(referred to below as the safeguard regulations) relieve those 
restrictions for certain prohibited or restricted products or articles, 
including fruits and vegetables, that are moved into the United States 
for: (1) A temporary stay where unloading or landing is not intended, 
(2) unloading or landing for transshipment and exportation, (3) 
unloading or landing for transportation and exportation, or (4) 
unloading and entry at a port other than the port of first arrival. 
Fruits and vegetables that are moved into the United States under these 
circumstances are subject to inspection and must be handled in 
accordance with conditions assigned

[[Page 42815]]

under the safeguard regulations to prevent the introduction and 
dissemination of plant pests.
    The third category cited above--unloading or landing for 
transportation and exportation--is defined in Sec. 352.1(b)(23) of the 
safeguard regulations as ``[b]rought in by carrier and transferred to 
another carrier for transportation to another port for exportation, 
whether or not some form of Customs entry is made.'' In the case of 
mangoes moved into the United States from Mexico for transportation and 
exportation into Canada, the assigned safeguards include requirements 
for sealed containers and conveyances, specified ports of entry on the 
U.S.-Mexican border, and a designated travel corridor through the 
United States. By comparison, mangoes from Mexico that are imported 
into the United States for entry into the commerce of the United States 
are subject to the restrictions of Sec. 319.56-2 of the fruits and 
vegetables regulations, which require that the mangoes be subjected to 
an authorized treatment listed in the Plant Protection and Quarantine 
(PPQ) Treatment Manual, which is incorporated into the regulations by 
reference (see 7 CFR part 300). That treatment is required because 
mangoes are a preferred host for fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha, 
and the authorized treatments listed in the PPQ Treatment Manual have 
been found to be adequate to prevent the introduction of those fruit 
flies in the mangoes.
    Although the safeguards that apply to mangoes moved into the United 
States from Mexico for transportation and exportation into Canada help 
prevent the escape and dissemination of fruit flies during the time the 
mangoes are transiting the United States, we have found that the pest 
risk does not necessarily end once the mangoes have left the United 
States and have been imported into Canada. United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) inspectors at ports of entry on the U.S.-Canadian 
border have found that shipping containers and the beds of trucks in 
which mangoes were moved can contain fruit fly larvae and pupae at the 
time the containers and conveyances reenter the United States after 
being unloaded in Canada. The larvae and pupae fall out of the shipping 
cartons during loading, movement, and unloading; if the container or 
conveyance has not been thoroughly cleaned after being unloaded, the 
pupae and larvae can enter the United States in the shipping container 
or truck bed. Because the container or conveyance is no longer filled 
with mangoes, there are no safeguards assigned to its movement, which 
means that the container or conveyance could be moved into areas of the 
United States where Anastrepha spp. fruit flies would pose a serious 
threat to agriculture.
    Therefore, we are soliciting comments and suggestions on approaches 
to reduce the risk of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha being 
introduced into the United States in containers and conveyances 
returning from Canada after being used to transport untreated mangoes 
from Mexico. We considered several possible options for dealing with 
this issue, including prohibiting the movement of untreated Mexican 
mangoes through the United States, requiring that all containers and 
conveyances used to move mangoes into Canada from Mexico be inspected 
by a USDA inspector prior to reentering the United States, and 
requiring shippers to clean all debris and insects out of the 
containers and the conveyance after unloading the mangoes. Two other 
options were considered to be the most viable: Requiring that the 
mangoes be treated in Mexico or requiring that the mangoes be shipped 
in insect-proof cartons. These options are discussed below.
    Require that the mangoes be treated in Mexico. This approach would 
address the pest risk at its origin, and the treatment is inexpensive 
and widely available. The mangoes would undergo the same treatment as 
mangoes intended for importation into the United States, so Mexican 
exporters of the mangoes would have more marketing flexibility, the 
restrictions on the movement of the mangoes through the United States 
could be eliminated, and the concerns about infested containers and 
conveyances reentering the United States would be eliminated. On the 
other hand, requiring treatment would impose an additional requirement 
on exporters and shippers and would increase costs. Additionally, there 
are some packinghouses in Mexico that ship mangoes to Canada that do 
not have the hot water facilities for treating the fruit.
    Require that the mangoes be shipped in insect-proof cartons. This 
option would require that all individual cartons in which the mangoes 
are shipped have all openings covered with screening that would prevent 
pupae and larvae from falling out of the cartons and onto the floor of 
the container or the conveyance. Using insect-proof cartons would 
remove the need for treating the mangoes, so the treatment costs could 
be avoided and packinghouses that lack hot water treatment facilities 
could continue to ship mangoes to Canada. The requirement for screened 
cartons would, however, increase costs for shippers, importers, and 
exporters.
    We welcome all comments on the options described above and 
encourage the submission of new options or any other suggestions.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 149, 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 154, 159, 
160, 162, and 2260; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 
2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of August 1995.
Lonnie J. King,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 95-20358 Filed 8-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P