[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2002)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 8180]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4263]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 00-006-3]


Importation of Fruits and Vegetables; Technical Amendment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: In a final rule published in the Federal Register on August 
28, 2001, we amended the fruits and vegetables regulations to list a 
number of fruits and vegetables from certain parts of the world as 
eligible, under specified conditions, for importation into the United 
States. In that final rule, we also recognized the Department of Peten 
in Guatemala and all Districts in Belize as areas free of the 
Mediterranean fruit fly. The final rule contained an error in the rule 
portion. This document corrects that error. We are also clarifying that 
peppers imported from Israel under the regulations must be packed in 
insect-proof packaging prior to movement from approved insect-proof 
screenhouses in the Arava Valley.

DATES: Effective on February 22, 2002.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Donna L. West, Import Specialist, 
Phytosanitary Issues Management Team, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 
140, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The regulations in 7 CFR 319.56 through 319.56-8 (referred to below 
as the regulations) prohibit or restrict the importation of fruits and 
vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the world to 
prevent the introduction and dissemination of fruit flies and other 
injurious plant pests that are new to or not widely distributed within 
the United States.
    In a final rule published in the Federal Register on August 28, 
2001 (66 FR 45151-45161, Docket No. 00-006-2), we amended the 
regulations to list a number of fruits and vegetables from certain 
parts of the world as eligible, under specified conditions, for 
importation into the United States. In that final rule, we also 
recognized the Department of Peten in Guatemala and all Districts in 
Belize as areas free of the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly).
    One of the commodities listed as eligible for importation was 
peppers from Israel. As a condition of importation, the rule required 
that the ``peppers must be packed in insect-proof containers prior to 
movement from approved insect-proof screenhouses in the Arava Valley.'' 
Some regulated entities have interpreted ``containers'' to mean the 
large containers commonly used in the shipping industry. We intended to 
require peppers to be moved in insect-proof packaging, not shipping 
containers. Therefore, in order to avoid confusion, we are replacing 
the term ``containers'' with the word ``packaging.''
    Also, in the rule portion of the final rule, there was an error in 
the table in Sec. 319.56-2x, which lists fruits and vegetables for 
which treatment is required. The table listed papaya from Belize except 
for papayas grown in a Medfly-free area in Belize. Since the final rule 
declared all districts in Belize as areas free of Medfly, no papayas 
from Belize require treatment for Medfly, and there is no need to list 
papaya from Belize in the table in Sec. 319.56-2x. We are correcting 
our error in this document.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319

    Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Nursery Stock, Plant 
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

    Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

    1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 450, 7711-7714, 7718, 7731, 7732, and 
7751-7754; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.


Sec. 319.56-2u  [Amended]

    2. In Sec. 319.56-2u, paragraph (b)(7) is amended by removing the 
word ``containers'' and adding the word ``packaging'' in its place.


Sec. 319.56-2x  [Amended]

    3. In Sec. 319.56-2x, paragraph (a), the table is amended by 
removing the entry for Belize.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 19th day of February 2002.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-4263 Filed 2-21-02; 8:45 am]
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