[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 75 (Tuesday, April 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21854-21855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9465]
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Notices
Federal Register
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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
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. 76, No. 75 / Tuesday, April 19, 2011 /
Notices
[[Page 21854]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0104]
Notice of Decision To Authorize the Importation of Fresh Rambutan
Fruit From Malaysia and Vietnam
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the
importation into the continental United States of fresh rambutan fruit
(Nephelium lappaceum) from Malaysia and Vietnam. Based on the findings
of a pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public for
review and comment through a previous notice, we believe 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 rambutan fruit from
Malaysia and Vietnam.
DATES: Effective Date: April 19, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory
Policy Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Import Manuals, PPQ,
APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-
0754.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR
319.56-1 through 319.56-50, referred to below as the regulations), the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S.
Department of Agriculture 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 and spread
within the United States.
Section 319.56-4 of the regulations contains a performance-based
process for approving the importation of commodities that, based on the
findings of a pest risk analysis (PRA), can be safely imported subject
to one or more of the designated phytosanitary measures listed in
paragraph (b) of that section. Under that process, APHIS publishes a
notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of the PRA
that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of a
particular fruit or vegetable. Following the close of the 60-day
comment period, APHIS may authorize the importation of the fruit or
vegetable subject to the identified designated measures if: (1) No
comments were received on the PRA; (2) the comments on the PRA revealed
that no changes to the PRA were necessary; or (3) changes to the PRA
were made in response to public comments, but the changes did not
affect the overall conclusions of the analysis and the Administrator's
determination of risk.
In accordance with that process, we published a notice \1\ in the
Federal Register on December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78207-78208, Docket No.
APHIS-2010-0104), in which we announced the availability, for review
and comment, of a PRA that evaluates the risks associated with the
importation into the continental United States of fresh rambutan fruit
(Nephelium lappaceum) from Malaysia and Vietnam. We solicited comments
on the notice for 60 days ending on February 14, 2011. We received two
comments by that date, from a State agriculture agency and an embassy
agricultural affairs office. One commenter concurred with the
mitigations described in the risk management document. The other
commenter remarked that the notice itself did not specify which of the
five designated phytosanitary measures would be required for the
rambutan from Malaysia and Vietnam, so that it was not clear that APHIS
was requiring treatment with irradiation. It is true that our December
2010 notice itself did not cite the specific mitigation measures that
we had identified for rambutan from Malaysia and Vietnam, but those
measures were detailed in the risk mitigation document made available
with the notice. Those mitigation measures are also described in this
notice. Accordingly, we have determined that no changes to the PRA are
necessary based on the comment.
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\1\ To view the notice, the PRA, and the comments we received,
go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0104.
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Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec. 319.56-
4(c)(2)(ii), we are announcing our decision to authorize the
importation into the continental United States of fresh rambutan fruit
from Malaysia and Vietnam subject to the following phytosanitary
measures:
The rambutan may be imported into the continental United
States in commercial consignments only.
For rambutan from Malaysia, each consignment must be
inspected by the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of
Malaysia using a sampling procedure mutually agreed upon by APHIS and
the NPPO. A representative sample of fruit must be drawn from each lot,
inspected, and found free from the fungus Oidium nephelii.
The rambutan must be irradiated in accordance with 7 CFR
part 305 with a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy.
If the irradiation treatment is applied outside the United
States, each consignment of fruit must be precleared by APHIS
inspectors in the country of origin (i.e., Malaysia or Vietnam). The
rambutan must be jointly inspected by APHIS and the NPPO of the country
of origin and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate (PC) attesting
that the fruit received the required irradiation treatment. For
rambutan from Malaysia, the PC must also include an additional
declaration stating that the consignment was inspected and found free
from Oidium nephelii.
For rambutan from Malaysia, if the irradiation treatment
is to be applied upon arrival in the United States, each consignment of
fruit must be inspected by the Malaysia NPPO prior to departure and
accompanied by a PC with an additional declaration stating that the
consignment has been inspected and found free from Oidium nephelii.
These conditions will be listed in the Fruits and Vegetables Import
Requirements database (available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir).
In addition to these specific measures, rambutan fruit from Malaysia
and Vietnam will be subject to the general
[[Page 21855]]
requirements listed in Sec. 319.56-3 that are applicable to the
importation of all fruits and vegetables. Further, for fruits and
vegetables requiring treatment as a condition of entry, the
phytosanitary treatments regulations in 7 CFR part 305 contain
administrative and procedural requirements that must be observed in
connection with the application and certification of specific
treatments.
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.
Done in Washington, DC, this 13th day of April 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-9465 Filed 4-18-11; 8:45 am]
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