[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57409-57410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18111]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2022-0038]


Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk Analysis for the 
Importation of Fresh Table Beet Root (Beta vulgaris L.) for Consumption 
From the United Kingdom Into the Continental United States, Hawaii, 
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

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 
table beet root (Beta vulgaris L.) for consumption from the United 
Kingdom into the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands. 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 table beet 
root from the United Kingdom. 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 
October 23, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. 
Enter APHIS-2022-0038 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab, 
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2022-0038, 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, 
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.

[[Page 57410]]

    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 the United Kingdom to allow the importation of 
fresh table beet root (Beta vulgaris L.) for consumption from the 
United Kingdom into the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As part of our evaluation of the United 
Kingdom's request, we have prepared a pest risk assessment to identify 
the pests of quarantine significance that could follow the pathway of 
the importation of fresh table beet root for consumption into the 
United States and specified territories from the United Kingdom. Based 
on the pest risk assessment, a risk management document (RMD) was 
prepared to identify phytosanitary measures that could be applied to 
fresh table beet root to mitigate the pest risk.
    Therefore, in accordance with Sec.  319.56-4(c), we are announcing 
the availability of our pest risk assessment and RMD for public review 
and comment. Those documents, as well as a description of the economic 
considerations associated with the importation of fresh table beet root 
from the United Kingdom, 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 the pest risk assessment 
and RMD 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 table beet root from the 
United Kingdom 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 table beet root (Beta vulgaris L.) 
for consumption from the United Kingdom into the ccontinental United 
States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands 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 17th day of August 2023.
Michael Watson,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-18111 Filed 8-22-23; 8:45 am]
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