Melissa O’Dell (301) 734-5222
Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959
USDA ALLOWS CITRUS IMPORTS FROM PERU
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2006–The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that it is amending its fruits and vegetables regulations to allow, under certain conditions, the importation of fresh commercial fruit including grapefruit, limes, mandarin oranges or tangerines, sweet oranges and tangelos from approved areas of Peru.
Based on the scientific evidence in a recent pest risk analysis, these articles can be safely imported into the United States from Peru.
To ensure that plant pests do not enter this country through the importation of these commodities, APHIS is requiring that a written permit be issued and that the fruit originate in an approved citrus-producing zone. With the exception of limes, the fruit must also be cold treated to ensure that it is free of pests, such as fruit flies. APHIS selected these measures, among others, to mitigate the risk of introducing plant pests into the United States.
The final rule is scheduled for publication in the May 1 Federal Register and becomes effective upon publication.
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