[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 164 (Friday, August 24, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48547-48548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-16832]



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  Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 164 / Friday, August 24, 2007 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 48547]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. APHIS-2005-0106]
RIN 0579-AB80


Revision of Fruits and Vegetables Import Regulations; Technical 
Amendment

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In a final rule published in the Federal Register on July 18, 
2007, we revised and reorganized the regulations pertaining to the 
importation of fruits and vegetables. As explained in the preamble, the 
regulatory text included changes made to the fruits and vegetables 
regulations by several other final rules that were published just prior 
to July 18. This technical amendment is necessary to correct an error 
in the way we set out the requirements established in a final rule 
published on June 21, 2007, for importing certain fruit from Thailand. 
This technical amendment also clarifies requirements for importing 
pineapple from Thailand into Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands.

DATES: This technical amendment is effective August 24, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alex Belano, Import Specialist, 
Commodity Import Analysis and Operations, PPQ-PRI, APHIS, 4700 River 
Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734-8758.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In a final rule published in the Federal 
Register on July 18, 2007 (72 FR 39482-39528, Docket No. APHIS-2005-
0106), and effective on August 17, 2007, we revised and reorganized our 
regulations pertaining to the importation of fruits and vegetables. 
Among other things, the final rule established criteria that, if met, 
will allow us to approve certain new fruits and vegetables for 
importation into the United States more effectively and expeditiously 
by way of a notice-based process and to do away with the practice of 
listing in the regulations specific commodities that may be imported 
subject to certain types of phytosanitary measures.
    As explained in the preamble, the regulatory text included changes 
made to the fruits and vegetables regulations by several other final 
rules published just prior to July 18. In one of those other final 
rules, published on June 21, 2007 (72 FR 34163-34176, Docket No. APHIS-
2006-0040), and effective on July 23, 2007, we amended the fruits and 
vegetables regulations to allow the importation into the United States 
of litchi, longan, mango, mangosteen, pineapple, and rambutan from 
Thailand under certain conditions. As a condition of entry, those 
fruits must be grown in production areas that are registered with and 
monitored by the national plant protection organization of Thailand, 
treated with irradiation in Thailand, and subject to inspection. The 
fruits must also be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an 
additional declaration stating that the fruit had been treated with 
irradiation in Thailand. In the case of litchi, the additional 
declaration must also state that the fruit had been inspected and found 
to be free of Peronophythora litchii, a fungal pest of litchi. 
Additionally, under that final rule, litchi and longan imported from 
Thailand may not be imported into or distributed to the State of 
Florida, due to the presence of litchi rust mite in Thailand.
    In the July 18 final rule, we stated that mango, mangosteen, 
pineapple, and rambutan required only mitigations that were eligible 
for the notice-based approach and as such, it was not necessary to list 
those commodities in the regulations. This was incorrect because the 
growing condition requirements for those fruits exceed the designated 
measures provided in the July 18 final rule. We also noted that litchi 
and longan had labeling requirements that went beyond the designated 
measures set forth in the final rule, making it necessary to add 
entries for litchi and longan from Thailand to the table in Sec.  
319.56-13 of the final rule. While it is necessary to include litchi 
and longan from Thailand in the regulations, we should have done so by 
listing their requirements for importation in a new section in order to 
specify that litchi and longan from Thailand are subject to additional 
measures besides inspection and labeling requirements. Therefore, the 
conditions governing the importation of litchi, longan, mango, 
mangosteen, pineapple, and rambutan from Thailand need to remain in the 
regulations. In addition, we provide in the table in Sec.  319.56-13 
that certain varieties of pineapples from Thailand may be imported into 
Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands without treatment; however, we 
neglected to note in the table that pineapples from Thailand may also 
be imported into the continental United States under the conditions 
provided in the June 21 final rule. Therefore, in this document we are 
amending the entry for Thailand in the table in Sec.  319.56-13(a) by 
amending the provisions for pineapple and by removing the provisions 
for litchi and longan. We are also adding a new Sec.  319.56-47, 
``Certain fruits from Thailand.''

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319

    Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, Nursery stock, Plant 
diseases and pests, Quarantine, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

0
Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR part 319 as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 
and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.


0
2. In Sec.  319.56-13, in the table in paragraph (a), the entry for 
Thailand is revised and a new footnote 3 is added to the table to read 
as follows:


Sec.  319.56-13  Fruits and vegetables allowed importation subject to 
specified conditions.

    (a) * * *

[[Page 48548]]



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Additional
   Country/locality of origin       Common name       Botanical name     Plant part(s)         requirements
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Thailand.......................  Pineapple \3\....  Ananas comosus...  Fruit............  (b)(2)(xi),
                                                                                           (b)(5)(vi).
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* * * * *
    \3\ Also eligible for importation in accordance with the 
provisions listed in Sec.  319.56-47.
* * * * *

0
3. A new Sec.  319.56-47 is added to read as follows:


Sec.  319.56-47  Certain fruits from Thailand.

    Litchi (Litchi chinensis), longan (Dimocarpus longan), mango 
(Mangifera indica), mangosteen (Garcinia mangoestana L.), pineapple 
(Ananas comosus), and rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) may be imported 
into the United States from Thailand only under the following 
conditions:
    (a) Growing conditions. Litchi, longan, mango, mangosteen, 
pineapple, and rambutan must be grown in a production area that is 
registered with and monitored by the national plant protection 
organization of Thailand.
    (b) Treatment. Litchi, longan, mango, mangosteen, pineapple, and 
rambutan must be treated for plant pests of the class Insecta, except 
pupae and adults of the order Lepidoptera, with irradiation in 
accordance with Sec.  305.31 of this chapter. Treatment must be 
conducted in Thailand prior to importation of the fruits into the 
United States.
    (c) Phytosanitary certificates. (1) Litchi must be accompanied by a 
phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that 
the litchi were treated with irradiation as described in paragraph (b) 
of this section and that the litchi have been inspected and found to be 
free of Peronophythora litchi.
    (2) Longan, mango, mangosteen, pineapple, and rambutan must be 
accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional 
declaration stating that the longan, mango, mangosteen, pineapple, or 
rambutan were treated with irradiation as described in paragraph (b) of 
this section.
    (d) Labeling. In addition to meeting the labeling requirements in 
Sec.  305.31, cartons in which litchi and longan are packed must be 
stamped ``Not for importation into or distribution in FL.''

    Done in Washington, DC, this 20th day of August 2007.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
 [FR Doc. E7-16832 Filed 8-23-07; 8:45 am]
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