[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 159 (Thursday, August 17, 1995)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 42814-42815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-20358]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
7 CFR Part 352
[Docket No. 94-033-1]
Mangoes From Mexico
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Advance notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: We are soliciting public comment on approaches to reducing the
risk of fruit flies being introduced into the United States in shipping
containers and in the beds of trucks that have been used to transport
untreated mangoes from Mexico through the United States to Canada.
These containers and truck beds have been found to contain larvae and
pupae of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha at the time they reenter
the United States after being unloaded in Canada. We believe some
measures need to be taken to reduce the risk of fruit flies being
introduced into the United States by contaminated containers and truck
beds entering from Canada.
DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or
before October 16, 1995.
ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to
Docket No. 94-033-1, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,
Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please
state that your comments refer to Docket No. 94-033-1. Comments
received may be inspected at USDA, room 1141, South Building, 14th
Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays. Persons wishing to
inspect comments are requested to call ahead on (202) 690-2817 to
facilitate entry into the comment reading room.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Peter M. Grosser or Mr. Frank E.
Cooper, Senior Operations Officers, Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700
River Road Unit 139, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236, (301) 734-8295.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The fruits and vegetables regulations in 7 CFR 319.56 through
319.56-8 (referred to below as the fruits and vegetables regulations)
restrict or prohibit the importation of certain fruits and vegetables
in order to prevent the introduction and dissemination of injurious
insects, including fruit flies, that are new to or not widely
distributed within and throughout the United States.
The plant quarantine safeguard regulations in 7 CFR part 352
(referred to below as the safeguard regulations) relieve those
restrictions for certain prohibited or restricted products or articles,
including fruits and vegetables, that are moved into the United States
for: (1) A temporary stay where unloading or landing is not intended,
(2) unloading or landing for transshipment and exportation, (3)
unloading or landing for transportation and exportation, or (4)
unloading and entry at a port other than the port of first arrival.
Fruits and vegetables that are moved into the United States under these
circumstances are subject to inspection and must be handled in
accordance with conditions assigned
[[Page 42815]]
under the safeguard regulations to prevent the introduction and
dissemination of plant pests.
The third category cited above--unloading or landing for
transportation and exportation--is defined in Sec. 352.1(b)(23) of the
safeguard regulations as ``[b]rought in by carrier and transferred to
another carrier for transportation to another port for exportation,
whether or not some form of Customs entry is made.'' In the case of
mangoes moved into the United States from Mexico for transportation and
exportation into Canada, the assigned safeguards include requirements
for sealed containers and conveyances, specified ports of entry on the
U.S.-Mexican border, and a designated travel corridor through the
United States. By comparison, mangoes from Mexico that are imported
into the United States for entry into the commerce of the United States
are subject to the restrictions of Sec. 319.56-2 of the fruits and
vegetables regulations, which require that the mangoes be subjected to
an authorized treatment listed in the Plant Protection and Quarantine
(PPQ) Treatment Manual, which is incorporated into the regulations by
reference (see 7 CFR part 300). That treatment is required because
mangoes are a preferred host for fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha,
and the authorized treatments listed in the PPQ Treatment Manual have
been found to be adequate to prevent the introduction of those fruit
flies in the mangoes.
Although the safeguards that apply to mangoes moved into the United
States from Mexico for transportation and exportation into Canada help
prevent the escape and dissemination of fruit flies during the time the
mangoes are transiting the United States, we have found that the pest
risk does not necessarily end once the mangoes have left the United
States and have been imported into Canada. United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) inspectors at ports of entry on the U.S.-Canadian
border have found that shipping containers and the beds of trucks in
which mangoes were moved can contain fruit fly larvae and pupae at the
time the containers and conveyances reenter the United States after
being unloaded in Canada. The larvae and pupae fall out of the shipping
cartons during loading, movement, and unloading; if the container or
conveyance has not been thoroughly cleaned after being unloaded, the
pupae and larvae can enter the United States in the shipping container
or truck bed. Because the container or conveyance is no longer filled
with mangoes, there are no safeguards assigned to its movement, which
means that the container or conveyance could be moved into areas of the
United States where Anastrepha spp. fruit flies would pose a serious
threat to agriculture.
Therefore, we are soliciting comments and suggestions on approaches
to reduce the risk of fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha being
introduced into the United States in containers and conveyances
returning from Canada after being used to transport untreated mangoes
from Mexico. We considered several possible options for dealing with
this issue, including prohibiting the movement of untreated Mexican
mangoes through the United States, requiring that all containers and
conveyances used to move mangoes into Canada from Mexico be inspected
by a USDA inspector prior to reentering the United States, and
requiring shippers to clean all debris and insects out of the
containers and the conveyance after unloading the mangoes. Two other
options were considered to be the most viable: Requiring that the
mangoes be treated in Mexico or requiring that the mangoes be shipped
in insect-proof cartons. These options are discussed below.
Require that the mangoes be treated in Mexico. This approach would
address the pest risk at its origin, and the treatment is inexpensive
and widely available. The mangoes would undergo the same treatment as
mangoes intended for importation into the United States, so Mexican
exporters of the mangoes would have more marketing flexibility, the
restrictions on the movement of the mangoes through the United States
could be eliminated, and the concerns about infested containers and
conveyances reentering the United States would be eliminated. On the
other hand, requiring treatment would impose an additional requirement
on exporters and shippers and would increase costs. Additionally, there
are some packinghouses in Mexico that ship mangoes to Canada that do
not have the hot water facilities for treating the fruit.
Require that the mangoes be shipped in insect-proof cartons. This
option would require that all individual cartons in which the mangoes
are shipped have all openings covered with screening that would prevent
pupae and larvae from falling out of the cartons and onto the floor of
the container or the conveyance. Using insect-proof cartons would
remove the need for treating the mangoes, so the treatment costs could
be avoided and packinghouses that lack hot water treatment facilities
could continue to ship mangoes to Canada. The requirement for screened
cartons would, however, increase costs for shippers, importers, and
exporters.
We welcome all comments on the options described above and
encourage the submission of new options or any other suggestions.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 149, 150bb, 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 154, 159,
160, 162, and 2260; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR
2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).
Done in Washington, DC, this 10th day of August 1995.
Lonnie J. King,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 95-20358 Filed 8-16-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
