§ 319.56-34 - Clementines from Spain.

§ 319.56-34 Clementines from Spain.

Cross Reference

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

Clementines (Citrus reticulata) from Spain may only be imported into the United States in accordance with this section and all other applicable provisions of this subpart.

(a) Trust fund agreement. Clementines from Spain may be imported only if the Government of Spain or its designated representative enters into a trust fund agreement with APHIS before each shipping season in accordance with § 319.56-6.

(b) Grower registration and agreement. Persons who produce clementines in Spain for export to the United States must:

(1) Be registered with the Government of Spain; and

(2) Enter into an agreement with the Government of Spain whereby the producer agrees to participate in and follow the Mediterranean fruit fly management program established by the Government of Spain.

(c) Management program for Mediterranean fruit fly; monitoring. The Government of Spain's Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) management program must be approved by APHIS, and must contain the fruit fly trapping and recordkeeping requirements specified in this paragraph. The program must also provide that clementine producers must allow APHIS inspectors access to clementine production areas in order to monitor compliance with the Mediterranean fruit fly management program.

(1) Trapping and control. In areas where clementines are produced for export to the United States, traps must be placed in Mediterranean fruit fly host plants at least 6 weeks prior to harvest. Bait treatments using malathion, spinosad, or another pesticide that is approved by APHIS and the Government of Spain must be applied in the production areas at the rate specified by Spain's Medfly management program.

(2) Records. The Government of Spain or its designated representative must keep records that document the fruit fly trapping and control activities in areas that produce clementines for export to the United States. All trapping and control records kept by the Government of Spain or its designated representative must be made available to APHIS upon request.

(3) Compliance. If APHIS determines that an orchard is not operating in compliance with the regulations in this section, it may suspend exports of clementines from that orchard.

(d) Phytosanitary certificate. Clementines from Spain must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate stating that the fruit meets the conditions of the Government of Spain's Mediterranean fruit fly management program and applicable APHIS regulations.

(e) Labeling. Boxes in which clementines are packed must be labeled with a lot number that provides information to identify the orchard where the fruit was grown and the packinghouse where the fruit was packed. The lot number must end with the letters “US.” All labeling must be large enough to clearly display the required information and must be located on the outside of the boxes to facilitate inspection.

(f) Pre-treatment sampling. For each consignment of clementines intended for export to the United States, prior to cold treatment, inspectors will cut and inspect a sample of clementines determined by APHIS that are randomly selected from throughout the consignment. If inspectors find a single live Mediterranean fruit fly in any stage of development during an inspection, the entire consignment of clementines will be rejected. If a live Mediterranean fruit fly in any stage of development is found in any two lots of fruit from the same orchard during the same shipping season, that orchard will be removed from the export program for the remainder of that shipping season.

(g) Cold treatment. Clementines must be cold treated in accordance with part 305 of this chapter. Upon arrival of clementines at a port of entry into the United States, inspectors will examine the cold treatment data for each consignment to ensure that the cold treatment was successfully completed. If the cold treatment has not been successfully completed, the consignment will be held until appropriate remedial actions have been implemented.

(h) Port of entry sampling. Clementines imported from Spain are subject to inspection by an inspector at the port of entry into the United States. At the port of first arrival, an inspector will sample and cut clementines from each consignment to detect pest infestation according to sampling rates determined by the Administrator. If a single live Mediterranean fruit fly in any stage of development is found, the consignment will be held until an investigation is completed and appropriate remedial actions have been implemented.

(i) Suspension of program. If APHIS determines at any time that the safeguards contained in this section are not protecting against the introduction of Medflies into the United States, APHIS may suspend the importation of clementines and conduct an investigation into the cause of the deficiency.

(j) Definitions. The following are definitions for terms used in this section:

Consignment.

(1) Untreated fruit. For untreated fruit, the term means one or more lots (containing no more than a combined total of 200,000 boxes of clementines) that are presented to an inspector for pre-treatment inspection.

(2) Treated fruit. For treated fruit, the term means one or more lots of clementines that are imported into the United States on the same conveyance.

Lot. For the purposes of this section, a number of units of clementines that are from a common origin (i.e., a single producer or a homogenous production unit.)^[9]

Orchard. A plot on which clementines are grown that is separately registered in the Spanish Medfly management program.

Shipping season. For the purposes of this section, a shipping season is considered to include the period beginning approximately in mid-September and ending approximately in late February of the next calendar year.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0203)

[24 FR 10788, Dec. 29, 1959, as amended at 74 FR 56526, Nov. 2, 2009; 77 FR 22465, Apr. 16, 2012]

Footnotes - 319.56-34

^[9] A homogeneous production unit is a group of adjacent orchards in Spain that are owned by one or more growers who follow a homogenous production system under the same technical guidance.