[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 16, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18578-18579]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-9212]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 67, No. 73 / Tuesday, April 16, 2002 / 
Notices  

[[Page 18578]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. 02-023-1]


Availability of Risk Management Analysis for the Importation of 
Clementines From Spain

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that a risk management analysis has 
been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
relative to a proposed rule currently under consideration that would 
allow the importation of clementines from Spain to resume. We are 
making this risk management analysis available to the public for review 
and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments we receive that are postmarked, 
delivered, or e-mailed by May 16, 2002.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by postal mail/commercial delivery 
or by e-mail. If you use postal mail/commercial delivery, please send 
four copies of your comment (an original and three copies) to: Docket 
No. 02-023-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 
3C71, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state 
that your comment refers to Docket No. 02-023-1. If you use e-mail, 
address your comment to [email protected]. Your comment must 
be contained in the body of your message; do not send attached files. 
Please include your name and address in your message and ``Docket No. 
02-023-1'' on the subject line.
    You may read any comments that we receive on the risk management 
analysis in our reading room. The reading room 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) 690-2817 before coming.
    APHIS documents published in the Federal Register, and related 
information, including the names of organizations and individuals who 
have commented on APHIS dockets, are available on the Internet at 
http://www.aphis,usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ron A. Sequeira, Center for Plant 
Health Science and Technology, PPQ, APHIS, 1017 Main Campus Drive, 
Suite 2500, Raleigh, NC 27606-5202; (919) 513-2663.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is 
considering amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the 
importation of clementines from Spain to resume. Until recently, APHIS 
allowed the importation of clementines from Spain under permit, 
provided that they were cold treated for the Mediterranean fruit fly 
(Ceratitis capitata) (Medfly) in accordance with the Plant Protection 
and Quarantine (PPQ) Treatment Manual, which is incorporated by 
reference into the regulations at 7 CFR 300.1.
    In December 2002, APHIS suspended the importation of clementines 
from Spain due to interceptions of live Medfly larvae in clementines 
imported from Spain. Since that time, APHIS has conducted reviews of 
the clementine import program and of our Medfly cold treatment protocol 
in general. APHIS believes, based on the available evidence, that there 
are two possible explanations for the survival of Medfly larvae in 
imported Spanish clementines during the 2001-2002 shipping season. One 
is that despite the assumed mortality rate of Medflies following the 
cold treatment (99.9968 percent), any small or partial failure in the 
application of the cold treatment could have allowed Medflies to 
survive in clementines imported from Spain due to the above average 
levels of Medfly infestation of fruits. Alternately, it is possible 
that the level of Medfly infestation in imported clementines simply 
overwhelmed the capabilities of the cold treatment process, even if the 
treatment was properly applied.
    At the request of the Government of Spain, APHIS has considered 
alternate strategies to mitigate the risk posed by Medflies imported in 
clementines from Spain. Our evaluation of proposed management measures 
is documented in a pest risk management analysis, ``Risk mitigation for 
tephritid fruit flies with special emphasis on risk reduction for 
commercial imports of clementines (several varieties of Citrus 
reticulata) from Spain'' (March 2002).
    The risk management analysis uses an adaptation of a type of risk 
management approach used by the U.S. Food and Drug and Drug 
Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety 
and Inspection Service, called a hazard analysis and critical control 
point (HACCP) analysis.
    HACCP analyses have been found to provide an effective and rational 
means of assuring food safety from harvest to consumption. Preventing 
problems from occurring is the paramount goal underlying any HACCP 
system, and seven basic principles are employed in the development of 
HACCP plans that meet the stated goal. These principles include hazard 
analysis, critical control point identification, establishment of 
critical limits, procedures for monitoring, corrective actions, 
verification procedures, and recordkeeping and documentation. Using a 
HAACP approach, if a deviation occurs indicating that control has been 
lost, the deviation is detected and appropriate steps are taken to 
reestablish control in a timely manner to ensure that potentially 
hazardous products do not reach the consumer.
    APHIS has adapted the HAACP approach to apply to the analysis of 
phytosanitary measures. To distinguish our adaptation from the 
guidelines applicable to food safety, we use the name phytosanitary 
hazard analysis and critical control point (PHAACP). Using the PHACCP 
approach, the risk management analysis evaluates the risk reduction 
potential of phytosanitary measures employed to reduce the risk that 
clementines imported from Spain could be infested with Medflies. The 
PHAACP approach is described in generic form in an appendix to the risk 
management analysis.

[[Page 18579]]

    The risk management analysis and appendices are available in our 
reading room (information on the location and hours of the reading room 
is listed under the heading ADDRESSES at the beginning of this notice) 
and on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/clementine/
index.html. You may also request a copy by contacting the person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    This notice solicits public comments on the risk management 
analysis. We will also be making the risk management analysis available 
for public comment again during the comment period for any proposed 
rule related to the importation of clementines from Spain.

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 166, 450, 7701-7772; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 
7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of April, 2002.
W. Ron DeHaven,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 02-9212 Filed 4-15-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P