[Federal Register: August 24, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 164)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 48547-48548]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24au07-1]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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[[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.
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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]]
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Additional
Country/locality of origin Common name Botanical name Plant part(s) requirements
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* * * * * * *
Thailand....................... Pineapple \3\.... Ananas comosus... Fruit............ (b)(2)(xi),
(b)(5)(vi).
* * * * * * *
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* * * * *
\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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