[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25998-25999]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10042]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 12, 2021 /
Notices
[[Page 25998]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0061]
Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the
Importation of Fresh Mango Fruit From Colombia Into the United States
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that we have prepared a pest risk
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with importation of fresh
mango fruit from Colombia into the United States. Based on the
analysis, we have determined that the application of one or more
designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the
risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via
the importation of fresh mango fruit from Colombia. We are making the
pest risk analysis available to the public for review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July
12, 2021.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2020-0061 in the Search field.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0061, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at www.regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is
located in Room 1620 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) 799-7039 before coming.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Senior
Regulatory Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance,
Imports, Regulations, and Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit
133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 851-2352;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart L--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7
CFR 319.56-1 through 319.56-12, referred to below as the regulations),
the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prohibits or
restricts the importation of fruits and vegetables into the United
States from certain parts of the world to prevent plant pests from
being introduced into or disseminated within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 contains a performance-based process for approving
the importation of fruits and vegetables that, based on the findings of
a pest risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one or more of
the five designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph (b) of
that section.
APHIS received a request from the national plant protection
organization (NPPO) of Colombia to allow fresh mango (Mangifera indica
L.) fruit into the United States. As part of our evaluation of
Colombia's request, we have prepared a pest risk assessment (PRA) to
identify pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway
of importation of fresh mango fruit into the United States from
Colombia. Based on the PRA, a risk management document (RMD) was
prepared to identify phytosanitary measures that could be applied to
the fresh mango fruit to mitigate the pest risk.
We have concluded that fresh mango fruit can be safely imported
from Colombia into the United States, using one or more of the five
designated phytosanitary measures listed in Sec. 319.56-4(b). The NPPO
of Colombia would have to enter into an operational workplan with APHIS
that spells out the daily procedures the NPPO will take to implement
the measures identified in the RMD. These measures will be listed in
APHIS' Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR) database,
available at https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual/.
The mitigation measures identified in the RMD include the
following:
Only commercial consignments of mango fruit may be
imported.
All growers must be registered with the NPPO and follow
operational workplan requirements for suppression of fruit flies.
The NPPO must monitor the system for inspection, packing,
wrapping, transportation, and loading of the commodity and ensure that
participating growers are following the program guidelines.
Packinghouses must be registered and approved by the NPPO
and meet the requirements listed in the operational workplan.
The NPPO is expected to maintain program records for at
least 1 year and provide them to APHIS upon request.
The NPPO or its designate must conduct a fruit fly
trapping program for the detection of Anastrepha spp. and Medfly
(Ceratitis capitata) at each production site. Details of trap
placement, checking of traps, trap density, and remedial fruit fly
control measures will be included in the operational workplan. The NPPO
must maintain an APHIS-approved quality control program to monitor or
audit the trapping program and maintain records of trap placement,
checking of traps, and any fruit fly captures. The trapping records
must be maintained for at least 1 year and provided to APHIS upon
request.
The mangos must be treated with an APHIS-approved
treatment for Anastrepha spp. fruit flies and Medfly (Ceratitis
capitata). Either:
Hot water treatment, T102-a, which is only available for
use in a preclearance program in accordance with 7 CFR part 305. Each
consignment of fruit treated with the APHIS-approved hot water
treatment must be precleared by APHIS inspectors in Colombia. The
treatment must be carried out under the supervision and direction of
APHIS and each consignment must be inspected jointly by APHIS and the
NPPO. Treatment must occur in a pest-exclusionary treatment facility;
or
Irradiation treatment, T105-a-1, which requires the fruit
to be irradiated
[[Page 25999]]
with a minimum absorbed dose of 150 Gray for fruit flies and follow the
requirements of part 305. If the approved irradiation treatment is
applied outside the United States, each consignment of fruit must be
precleared by APHIS inspectors in Colombia. Treatment must occur in a
pest-exclusionary treatment facility or, if irradiation is to be
applied upon arrival in the United States, each consignment of fruit
must be inspected by the NPPO prior to departure and accompanied by a
phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO. Mangos intended to be
irradiated in the United States must be shipped in APHIS-approved
packaging that prevents escape of any Anastrepha spp. or Medfly larvae
or adults.
All hot water or irradiation treatment facilities in
Colombia to be used for mangos are subject to APHIS approval. APHIS
reserves the right to require oversight visits in the event of pest
interceptions or other problems.
Mango fruit must be safeguarded from exposure to
Anastrepha spp. or Medfly from the time of treatment to export. The
package containing mango fruit may not contain any other fruit,
including mango fruit not qualified for importation into the United
States.
Each consignment must be inspected jointly by inspectors
from APHIS and the NPPO and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate
issued by the NPPO.
If more than one Ceratitis capitata or Anastrepha spp. or
one Neosilba glaberrima is detected in a consignment, the consignment
may not be exported to the United States.
Each consignment is subject to inspection at the U.S.
ports of entry.
In addition to these specific measures, fresh mango fruit from
Colombia would be subject to the general requirements listed in Sec.
319.56-3 that are applicable to the importation of all fruits and
vegetables.
Therefore, in accordance with Sec. 319.56-4(c), we are announcing
the availability of our PRA and RMD for public review and comment.
Those documents, as well as a description of the economic
considerations associated with the importation of fresh mango fruit
from Colombia, may be viewed on the Regulations.gov website or in our
reading room (see ADDRESSES above for a link to Regulations.gov and
information on the location and hours of the reading room). You may
request paper copies of these documents by calling or writing to the
person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to
the subject of the analysis you wish to review when requesting copies.
After reviewing any comments we receive, we will announce our
decision regarding the import status of fresh mango fruit from Colombia
in a subsequent notice. If the overall conclusions of our analysis and
the Administrator's determination of risk remain unchanged following
our consideration of the comments, then we will authorize the
importation of fresh mango fruit from Colombia into the United States
subject to the requirements specified in the RMD.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C.
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 7th day of May 2021.
Mark Davidson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-10042 Filed 5-11-21; 8:45 am]
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