Importation of Fruits and Vegetables; Papayas From Brazil and Costa Rica

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 319

[Docket No. 96-046-2]

Importation of Fruits and Vegetables; Papayas From Brazil and

Costa Rica

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening and extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: We are reopening and extending the comment period on a

proposal to allow the importation of papayas from Brazil in order to

provide the public with an opportunity to comment on two additional

safeguards we are proposing to add. These include requiring a hot water

treatment and requiring that certain actions be taken if fruit fly

captures reach certain levels in the papaya production areas. We are

also proposing to add these safeguards to the requirements for

importing papayas from Costa Rica, and are soliciting public comment on

this action as well. These additional requirements appear necessary to

prevent the introduction of injurious plant pests into the United

States. Additionally, we will accept comments on any other issues

involving the importation of papayas from Brazil.

DATES: Consideration will be given only to comments received on or

before October 27, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 96-046-2, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS,

suite 3C03, 4700 River Road, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state

that your comments refer to Docket No. 96-046-2. 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. Ronald Campbell, Staff Officer,

Port Operations, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 136, Riverdale, MD

20737-1236; (301) 734-6799.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On March 25, 1997, we published in the Federal Register (62 FR

14037-14044, Docket No. 96-046-1) a proposal to amend the regulations

in 7 CFR part 319 by allowing certain previously prohibited fruits and

vegetables to be imported into the United States from certain parts of

the world under specified conditions.

One of the fruits that we proposed to allow to be imported into the

United States under certain conditions was papayas from Brazil.

Specifically, we proposed to allow solo type papayas (Carica papaya)

from Brazil to be imported into the United States if the fruit is grown

in the State of Espirito Santo and if the fruit is grown, packed, and

shipped in accordance with certain phytosanitary conditions.

Because fully ripe papayas can be hosts of several serious plant

pests, including the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceritatis capitata)

(Medfly) and the South American fruit fly (Anastrepha fraterculus), we

proposed to require that papayas intended for importation into the

United States from the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, be subject to

certain special conditions. The proposed special conditions outlined in

the proposed rule for the importation of papayas from Brazil were based

on the provisions in Sec. 319.56-2w of the regulations for papayas from

Costa Rica. The conditions proposed were as follows:

1. The papayas were grown and packed for shipment to the United

States in the State of Espirito Santo.

2. Beginning at least 30 days before harvest began and continuing

through the completion of harvest, all trees in the area where the

papayas were grown were kept free of papayas that were one-half or more

ripe (more than one-quarter of shell surface yellow), and all culled

and fallen fruit were removed from the field at least twice a week.

3. When packed, the papayas were less than one-half ripe (shell

surface no more than one-quarter yellow, surrounded by light green) and

appeared to be free of all injurious plant pests.

4. The papayas were packaged so as to prevent access by fruit flies

or other injurious plant pests, and the package does not contain any

other fruit, including papayas not qualified for importation into the

United States.

5. All activities described in provisions 1 through 4 above were

carried out under the supervision and direction of plant health

officials of the national Ministry of Agriculture.

6. Beginning at least 1 year before harvest began and continuing

through the completion of harvest, fruit fly traps were maintained in

the field where the papayas were grown. The traps were placed at the

rate of 1 trap per hectare and were checked for fruit flies at least

once a week by plant health officials of the national Ministry of

Agriculture. Fifty percent of the traps were of the McPhail type, and

50 percent of the traps were of the Jackson type. The national Ministry

of Agriculture kept records of the fruit fly finds for each trap,

updating the records each time the traps were checked, and made the

records available to APHIS upon request. The records were maintained

for at least 1 year.

7. All shipments of papayas must be accompanied by a phytosanitary

certificate issued by the national Ministry of Agriculture stating that

the papayas were grown, packed, and shipped in accordance with the

provisions of this section.

Comments on the proposed rule were required to be received on or

before May 27, 1997. Upon further review and consideration of this

issue, we are also proposing to require a hot water treatment for

papayas from Brazil and Costa Rica and to require that certain actions

be taken if fruit fly captures reach certain levels in the papaya

production areas. These conditions would further help to prevent the

introduction into the United States of plant pests, including fruit

flies, that may be associated with the papayas.

Hot Water Treatment

Though it is not currently required by the regulations, hot water

treatment of papayas prior to importation into the United States is

standard practice in

[[Page 50261]]

Costa Rica. We believe that hot water treatment, in conjunction with

other safeguards established for papayas from Costa Rica and proposed

for papayas from Brazil, would reduce the likelihood that papayas will

introduce injurious plant pests into the United States. Therefore, we

are proposing to amend Sec. 319.56-2w to require that papayas imported

from Brazil and Costa Rica into the United States be given a hot water

treatment consisting of 20 minutes in water at 49 deg.C (120.2

deg.F).

Threshold for Fruit Fly Captures

In order to further reduce the possibility of the introduction of

Medfly into the United States, we are also proposing to establish a

threshold for Medfly captures in papaya production areas of Brazil and

Costa Rica. The thresholds would be as follows: If the average Jackson

trap catch is greater than 7 Medflies per trap per week, measures,

which may include Malathion bait sprays or other chemical sprays, must

be taken to control the Medfly population in the production area. If

the average Jackson trap catch exceeds 14 Medflies per trap per week,

importations of papayas from that production area would be halted until

the rate of capture drops to an average of 7 or fewer Medflies per trap

per week. The thresholds for Medfly trapping would help detect

increasing populations of Medflies in growing areas and would help

ensure that Medflies are not associated with imports of papayas from

Brazil or Costa Rica.

Reopening and Extension of Comment Period

We are reopening and extending the public comment period on that

portion of Docket No. 96-046-1 that concerns the importation of papayas

from Brazil from May 27, 1997, until 30 days after the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal Register. Comments on the new

conditions that would apply to papayas from Costa Rica will also be

accepted until 30 days after the date of publication of this notice in

the Federal Register. This action will provide interested persons with

additional time in which to prepare comments on the importation of

papayas from Brazil and will allow for public comment on the new

conditions proposed for the importation of papayas from Costa Rica.

Comments already received concerning the proposed importation of

papayas from Brazil will remain under consideration and need not be

resubmitted.

In this edition of the Federal Register, we have also published a

final rule (Docket No. 96-046-3) that adopts, with certain changes,

other amendments to the regulations that were proposed in Docket No.

96-046-1 on March 25, 1997 (62 FR 14037-14044).

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866.

The rule has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of

Executive Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the

Office of Management and Budget.

The Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis set out in the proposed

rule published in the Federal Register on March 25, 1997, included

information on papayas from Brazil. That information still applies and

will not change as a result of this proposal.

Executive Order 12988

This proposed rule would allow papayas to be imported into the

United States from Brazil. If this proposed rule is adopted, State and

local laws and regulations regarding papayas imported under this rule

would be preempted while the fruit is in foreign commerce. Fresh

papayas are generally imported for immediate distribution and sale to

the consuming public, and would remain in foreign commerce until sold

to the ultimate consumer. The question of when foreign commerce ceases

in other cases must be addressed on a case-by-case basis. If this

proposed rule is adopted, no retroactive effect will be given to this

rule, and this rule will not require administrative proceedings before

parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with section 3507(d) of the Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the information collection or

recordkeeping requirements included in this proposed rule have been

submitted for approval to the Office of Management and Budget.

The paperwork requirements and burdens were described in the

proposed rule published in the Federal Register on March 25, 1997, and

will not change as a result of this proposal.

Copies of this information collection can be obtained from:

Clearance Officer, OIRM, USDA, Room 404-W, 1400 Independence Ave., SW,

Washington, DC 20250.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319

Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by

reference, Nursery Stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

Accordingly, 7 CFR part 319 would be amended as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 319 would continue to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, 450, 2803, and

2809; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.2(c).

9. Section 319.56-2w would be revised to read as follows:

Sec. 319.56-2w Administrative instruction; conditions governing the

entry of papayas from Brazil and Costa Rica.

The Solo type of papaya may be imported into the continental United

States, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands from the State

of Espirito Santo, Brazil, and the provinces of Guanacaste, San Jose,

and Puntarenas, Costa Rica, only under the following conditions:

(a) The papayas were grown and packed for shipment to the United

States in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, or in the provinces of

Guanacaste, San Jose, and Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

(b) Beginning at least 30 days before harvest began and continuing

through the completion of harvest, all trees in the field where the

papayas were grown were kept free of papayas that were \1/2\ or more

ripe (more than \1/4\ of the shell surface yellow), and all culled and

fallen fruits were removed from the field at least twice a week.

(c) The papayas were treated with a hot water treatment consisting

of 20 minutes in water at 49 deg.C (120.2 deg.F).

(d) When packed, the papayas were less than \1/2\ ripe (the shell

surface was no more than \1/4\ yellow, surrounded by light green), and

appeared to be free of all injurious insect pests.

(e) The papayas were packaged so as to prevent access by fruit

flies and other injurious insect pests, and the package does not

contain any other fruit, including papayas not qualified for

importation into the United States.

(f) All activities described in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this

section were carried out under the supervision and direction of plant

health officials of the national Ministry of Agriculture.

(g) Beginning at least 1 year before harvest begins and continuing

through the completion of harvest, fruit fly traps were maintained in

the field where the papayas were grown. The traps were placed at a rate

of 1 trap per hectare and were checked for fruit flies at least once

weekly by plant health officials of the

[[Page 50262]]

national Ministry of Agriculture. Fifty percent of the traps were of

the McPhail type, and fifty percent of the traps were of the Jackson

type. If the average Jackson trap catch was greater than 7 Medflies per

trap per week, measures were taken to control the Medfly population in

the production area. The national Ministry of Agriculture kept records

of fruit fly finds for each trap, updated the records each time the

traps were checked, and made the records available to APHIS inspectors

upon request. The records were maintained for at least 1 year.

(h) If the average Jackson trap catch exceeds 14 Medflies per trap

per week, importations of papayas from that production area must be

halted until the rate of capture drops to an average of 7 or fewer

Medflies per trap per week.

(i) All shipments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary

certificate issued by the national Ministry of Agriculture stating that

the papayas were grown, packed, and shipped in accordance with the

provisions of this section.

Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of September 1997.

Terry L. Medley,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97-25487 Filed 9-24-97; 8:45 am]

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