§ 319.56-30 - Hass avocados from Mexico.

§ 319.56-30 Hass avocados from Mexico.

Cross Reference

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

Fresh Hass variety avocados (Persea americana) may be imported from Mexico into the United States in accordance with the requirements of § 319.56-3 of this subpart, and only under the following conditions:

(a) Shipping restrictions.

(1) The avocados may be imported in commercial consignments only;

(2) Shipping restrictions. The avocados may be imported into and distributed in all States and in Puerto Rico, but not in any U.S. Territory.

(b) Trust fund agreement. The avocados may be imported only if the Mexican avocado industry association representing Mexican avocado growers, packers, and exporters has entered into a trust fund agreement with APHIS for that shipping season in accordance with § 319.56-6.

(c) Safeguards in Mexico. The avocados must have been grown in an orchard located in a municipality that meets the requirements of paragraph (c)(1) of this section. The orchard in which the avocados are grown must meet the requirements of paragraph (c)(2) of this section. The avocados must be packed for export to the United States in a packinghouse that meets the requirements of paragraph (c)(3) of this section. The Mexican national plant protection organization (NPPO) must provide an annual operational workplan to APHIS that details the activities that the Mexican NPPO will, subject to APHIS' approval of the workplan, carry out to meet the requirements of this section. APHIS will be directly involved with the Mexican NPPO in the monitoring and supervision of those activities. The personnel conducting the trapping and pest surveys must be hired, trained, and supervised by the Mexican NPPO or by the State delegate of the Mexican NPPO.

(1) Municipality requirements.

(i) The municipality must be listed as an approved municipality in the operational workplan provided to APHIS by the Mexican NPPO.

(ii) The municipality must be surveyed at least semiannually (once during the wet season and once during the dry season) for a period of at least 5 years and found to be free from the avocado pests listed in the operational workplan. Thereafter, the municipality must be surveyed at least once per year provided the municipality remains pest free.

(2) Orchard and grower requirements. The orchard and the grower must be registered with the Mexican NPPO's avocado export program and must be listed as an approved orchard or an approved grower in the operational workplan provided to APHIS by the Mexican NPPO. The operations of the orchard must meet the following conditions:

(i) The orchard and all contiguous orchards and properties must be surveyed semiannually for a period of at least 5 years and found to be free from the avocado pests listed in the operational workplan. Thereafter, the orchard and all contiguous orchards and properties must be surveyed at least once per year provided the orchard and all contiguous orchards and properties remain pest free.

(ii) Avocado fruit that has fallen from the trees must be removed from the orchard at least once every 7 days and may not be included in field boxes of fruit to be packed for export.

(iii) Dead branches on avocado trees in the orchard must be pruned and removed from the orchard.

(iv) Harvested avocados must be placed in field boxes or containers of field boxes that are marked to show the official registration number of the orchard. The avocados must be moved from the orchard to the packinghouse the day of harvest or they must be protected from fruit fly infestation until moved.

(v) The avocados must be protected from fruit fly infestation during their movement from the orchard to the packinghouse and must be accompanied by a field record indicating that the avocados originated from a certified orchard.

(3) Packinghouse requirements. The packinghouse must be registered with the Mexican NPPO's avocado export program and must be listed as an approved packinghouse in the operational work plan provided to APHIS by the Mexican NPPO. The operations of the packinghouse must meet the following conditions:

(i) During the time the packinghouse is used to prepare avocados for export to the United States, the packinghouse may accept fruit only from orchards certified by the Mexican NPPO for participation in the avocado export program.

(ii) All openings to the outside must be covered by screening with openings of not more than 1.6 mm or by some other barrier that prevents insects from entering the packinghouse.

(iii) The packinghouse must have double doors at the entrance to the facility and at the interior entrance to the area where the avocados are packed.

(iv) Prior to the culling process, a biometric sample, at a rate determined by APHIS, of avocados per consignment must be selected, cut, and inspected by the Mexican NPPO or its approved designee and found free from pests.

(v) The identity of the avocados must be maintained from field boxes or containers to the containers in which they will be shipped so the avocados can be traced back to the orchard in which they were grown if pests are found at the packinghouse or the port of first arrival in the United States.

(vi) Prior to being packed for shipping, each avocado fruit must be cleaned of all stems, leaves, and other portions of plants and labeled with a sticker that bears the official registration number of the packinghouse.

(vii) The avocados must be packed in clean, new boxes or bulk shipping bins, or in clean plastic reusable crates. The boxes, bins, or crates must be clearly marked with the identity of the grower, packinghouse, and exporter.

(viii) The packed avocados must be placed in a refrigerated truck or refrigerated container and remain in that truck or container while in transit through Mexico to the port of export for consignments shipped by air or sea or the port of first arrival in the United States for consignments shipped by land. Prior to leaving the packinghouse, the truck or container must be secured by the Mexican NPPO with a seal that will be broken when the truck or container is opened. The seal may be broken and a new seal applied by the Mexican NPPO if the truck or container stops at another approved packinghouse for additional avocados meeting the requirements of this section to be placed in the truck or container. The seal on the refrigerated truck or refrigerated container must be intact at the time the truck or container reaches the port of export in Mexico or the port of first arrival in the United States. If, at the port of export for consignments shipped by air or sea, the packed avocados are transferred into a non-refrigerated container, the boxes, bins, or crates must be covered with a lid, insect-proof mesh, or other material to protect the avocados from fruit-fly infestation prior to leaving the packinghouse. Those safeguards must be intact at the time the consignment arrives in the United States.

(ix) Any avocados that have not been packed or loaded into a refrigerated truck or refrigerated container by the end of the workday must be kept in the screened packing area.

(d) Certification. All consignments of avocados must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Mexican NPPO with an additional declaration certifying that the conditions specified in this section have been met.

(e) Pest detection. If any of the avocado pests listed in the operational workplan are detected during the pest surveys in a packinghouse, certified orchard or areas outside of certified orchards, or other monitoring or inspection activity in the municipality, the Mexican NPPO must immediately initiate an investigation and take measures to isolate and eradicate the pests. The Mexican NPPO must also provide APHIS with information regarding the circumstances of the infestation and the pest risk mitigation measures taken. In accordance with the operational workplan, depending upon the nature of the pest detection, affected orchards may lose their export certification, and avocado exports from that orchard may be suspended until APHIS and the Mexican NPPO agree that the pest eradication measures taken have been effective.

(f) Inspection. The avocados are subject to inspection by an inspector at the port of first arrival, at any stops in the United States en route to an approved State, and upon arrival at the terminal market in the approved States. At the port of first arrival, an inspector may sample and cut avocados from each consignment to detect pest infestation.

(g) Repackaging. If any avocados are removed from their original shipping boxes, crates, or bulk shipping bins and repackaged, the stickers required by paragraph (c)(3)(vi) of this section may not be removed or obscured and the new packaging must be clearly marked with all the information required by paragraph (c)(3)(vii) of this section.

[72 FR 39501, July 18, 2007, as amended at 74 FR 31160, June 30, 2009; 75 FR 66644, Oct. 29, 2010; 75 FR 81376, Dec. 28, 2010; 76 FR 43807, July 22, 2011; 81 FR 33588, May 27, 2016]