§ 319.56-23 - Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums from Chile.

§ 319.56-23 Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums from Chile.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 83 FR 46639, Sept. 14, 2018.

(a) Importations allowed. Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums may be imported into the United States from Chile in accordance with this section and all other applicable provisions of this subpart.^[3]

(b) Trust fund agreement. Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums may be imported under the regulations in this section only if the national plant protection organization of Chile (Servicio Agricola y Ganadero, referred to in this section as SAG) or a private export group has entered into a trust fund agreement with APHIS in accordance with § 319.56-6.

(c) Responsibilities of Servicio Agricola y Ganadero. SAG will ensure that:

(1) Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, or plums are presented to inspectors for preclearance in their shipping containers at the shipping site as prescribed in paragraph (d) of this section.

(2) Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums presented for inspection are identified in shipping documents accompanying each load of fruit that identify the packing shed where they were processed and the orchards where they were produced; and this identity is maintained until the apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, or plums are released for entry into the United States.

(3) Facilities for the inspections prescribed in paragraph (d) of this section are provided in Chile at an inspection site acceptable to APHIS.

(d) Preclearance inspection. Preclearance inspection will be conducted in Chile under the direction of inspectors. An inspection unit will consist of a lot or consignment from which a statistical sample is drawn and examined. An inspection unit may represent multiple grower lots from different packing sheds. Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, or plums in any inspection unit may be shipped to the United Sates only if the inspection unit passes inspection as follows:

(1) Inspectors will examine the contents of the cartons based on a biometric sampling scheme established for each inspection unit.

(i) If the inspectors find evidence of any plant pest for which a treatment authorized in part 305 of this chapter is available, fruit in the inspection unit will remain eligible for shipment to the United States if the entire inspection unit is treated for the pest in Chile. However, if the entire inspection unit is not treated in this manner, or if a plant pest is found for which no treatment authorized in part 305 of this chapter is available, the entire inspection unit will not be eligible for shipment to the United States.

(ii) Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums precleared for shipment to the United States as prescribed in this paragraph will not be inspected again in the United States except as necessary to ensure that the fruit has been precleared and for occasional monitoring purposes.

(2) [Reserved]

(e) Termination of preclearance programs. Consignments of apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums will be individually evaluated regarding the rates of infestation of inspection units of these articles presented for preclearance. The inspection program for an article will be terminated when inspections establish that the rate of infestation of inspection units of the article by pests listed in paragraph (f) of this section exceeds 20 percent calculated on any consecutive 14 days of actual inspections (not counting days on which inspections are not conducted). Termination of the inspection program for an article will require mandatory treatment in Chile, prior to shipment to the United States, of consignments of the article for the remainder of that shipping season. If a preclearance inspection program is terminated with Chile, precleared fruit in transit to the United States at the time of termination will be spot-checked by inspectors upon arrival in the United States for evidence of plant pests referred to in paragraph (f) of this section.

(f) Plant pests; authorized treatments.

(1) Apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, or plums from Chile may be imported into the United States only if they are found free of the following pests or, if an authorized treatment is available, they are treated for: Proeulia spp., Leptoglossus chilensis, Megalometis chilensis, Naupactus xanthographus, Listroderes subcinctus, and Conoderus rufangulus, and other insect pests that the Administrator has determined do not exist, or are not widespread, in the United States.

(2) Treatments must be conducted in accordance with part 305 of this chapter.

(g) Inspection in the United States. Notwithstanding provisions to the contrary in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, the Administrator may, in emergency or extraordinary situations, allow apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, or plums imported under this section to be inspected at a port of arrival in the United States, in lieu of a preclearance inspection or fumigation in Chile, under the following conditions:

(1) The Administrator is satisfied that a unique situation exists which justifies a limited exception to mandatory preclearance;

(2) The Administrator has determined that inspection and/or treatment can be accomplished at the intended port of arrival without increasing the risk of introducing quarantine pests into the United States;

(3) The entire consignment of apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, or plums must be offloaded and moved to an enclosed warehouse, where inspection and treatment facilities are available.

(4) The Administrator must determine that a sufficient number of inspectors are available at the port of arrival to perform the services required.

(5) The method of sampling and inspection will be the same as prescribed in paragraph (d) of this section for preclearance inspections.

[72 FR 39501, July 18, 2007, as amended at 75 FR 4252, Jan. 26, 2010]

Footnotes - 319.56-23

^[3] As provided in § 319.56-4, apricots, nectarines, peaches, plumcot, and plums from Chile may also be imported if treated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter and subject to other applicable regulations in this subpart.