United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Risk Management Document

Importation of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) from

Peru into the Continental United States

February 18, 2011

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Dorothy C. Wayson
Introduction

Currently under the Code of Federal Regulations (7CFR § 319.56-25), papayas (Carica papaya

L.) Solo type are authorized for importation into the continental United States from specific 

locations in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, 

Nicaragua, and Panama if they meet certain phytosanitary conditions. 

Peru requested market access for papayas along with several other commodities in 2001. 

Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agraria (SENASA), the NPPO of Peru, prepared a Pest Risk 

Assessment (PRA) for papayas in collaboration with APHIS (SENASA, 2003) and submitted it 

to APHIS in 2003. APHIS evaluated the draft PRA prepared by SENASA, and developed a 

PRA for Peru papaya based on pests listed in the SENASA PRA, pest interception records and 

available scientific literature (USDA, 2009). 

Two pests of quarantine significance were identified, which could reasonably be expected to 

follow the pathways of papaya imported into the continental United States from Peru. The pests 

of quarantine concern that can follow the fruit pathway identified in the PRA described above 

include:

Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) South American fruit fly

Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly)

The pest risk assessment identified a cumulative pest risk potential of High for the fruit flies 

Anastrepha fraterculus and Ceratitis capitata. According to the APHIS Guidelines for PathwayInitiated Pest Risk Assessments Version 5.02 (USDA, 2000), pests receiving a rating of High 

may require specific phytosanitary measures in addition to standard port-of-arrival inspection.

APHIS will only allow the importation of commercial consignments of papayas. The papaya fruit

will be imported into the United States without the peduncle under the same conditions as exports 

from Central America and South America as stated in 7CFR § 319.56-25. 

Risk Management Measures

APHIS proposes that papayas from Peru may be imported into the continental United States 

under the following conditions:

1) Only commercial consignments of Solo type papaya, Carica papaya may be 

imported. All growers must be registered with the NPPO of Peru.

2) Beginning at least 30 days before harvest and continuing through the completion of 

harvest, all trees in the field where the papayas are grown are kept free of papayas 

that are 1⁄2 or more ripe (more than 1⁄4 of the shell surface yellow), and all culled and 

fallen fruits are buried, destroyed, or removed from the farm at least twice per week.

3) The papayas are treated with a hot water treatment consisting of 20 minutes in water 

at 48o C (118.4o F). 

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4) When packed, the papayas must be less than 1⁄2 ripe (the shell surface is no more than 

1⁄4 yellow, surrounded by light green), and free of all quarantine pests.

5) The papayas are safeguarded from exposure to fruit flies from harvest to export, 

including being packaged so as to prevent access by fruit flies and other injurious 

insect pests. The package containing the papayas may not contain any other fruit, 

including papayas not qualified for importation into the United States.

6) Beginning at least 1 year before harvest begins and continuing through the 

completion of harvest, fruit fly traps must be maintained in the field where the 

papayas are grown. The traps must be placed at a rate of 1 trap per hectare and be

checked for fruit flies at least once weekly by the NPPO. Fifty percent of the traps 

are of the McPhail type, and fifty percent of the traps are of the Jackson type. If the 

average Jackson trap catch is greater than 7 Medflies (Ceratitis capitata) per trap per 

week, measures must be taken to control the Medfly population in the production 

area. The NPPO must keep records of fruit fly detections for each trap, update the 

records each time the traps are checked, and make the records available to APHIS 

inspectors upon request. The records must be maintained for at least 1 year.

7) 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.

8) If the average McPhail trap catch is greater than 7 South American fruit flies 

(Anastrepha fraterculus) per trap per week, measures must be taken to control the 

South American fruit fly population in the production area. If the average McPhail 

trap catch exceeds 14 South American fruit flies 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 South American fruit flies per trap per week.

9) All activities described in the above paragraphs (1 through 8) are carried out under 

the supervision and direction of the NPPO.

10) All consignments must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the 

Peruvian NPPO stating “These papayas were grown in accordance with the 

conditions in §319.56–25 and were inspected and found free from pests.”

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Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pests of Concern from the Pathway

Cultural, chemical, or mechanical means (e.g., field sanitation, pre-harvest application of 

pesticides) should be used to eliminate pests from fields or prevent fruit infestation. Sanitation, 

such as removing and discarding fallen fruit and pesticide applications, as essential components 

of good agricultural practices, are mainstays of commercial fruit production (e.g., Kirk et al., 

2001).

Establishing areas of low pest prevalence by monitoring and trapping fruit flies (C. capitata and 

A. fraterculus) and comparing populations to acceptable threshold levels has been used 

successfully in the management system for papaya imports from Brazil and Central America. 

(7CFR § 319.56-25). 

Fruit should be sampled and inspected periodically during the growing season and after harvest, 

for quarantine pests, by the NPPO. The NPPO must certify that conditions outlined for growing, 

packing and shipping have been met prior to export (e.g., Brazil requirements 7CFR § 319.56-

25), and certify that the papayas originated from low prevalence or fruit fly free areas or growing 

regions of the country. 

Papayas must be less than one-half ripe or one-fourth yellow when harvested. This greatly 

reduces the risk of fruit flies being present in the papayas (Keck, 1942; Seo et al., 1983; Couey 

and Hayes, 1986). Hot water treatment by immersion for 20 min at 48°C (118.4 °F) substantially 

reduces post-harvest decay and is also recommended for treatment of internal pests, such as fruit 

flies (Couey and Hayes, 1986). 

The systems approach described in this document has been used to import papayas from other 

countries in Central and South America for more than ten years. No fruit flies have ever been 

intercepted in commercial shipments of papayas imported under this system (AQAS-PestID, 

2011).

Summary

The phytosanitary requirements described above include a systems approach for papayas that 

includes fruit fly trapping, pest management, cultural practices that maintain low pest prevalence

and heat treatment to remove pests of concern from the pathway. This risk management 

document concludes that, based on the evaluation of effectiveness of these measures directed 

against the quarantine pests of concern, the safeguards of 7 CFR § 319.56-25 and the additional 

mitigations described herein will result in the effective removal of the pests of concern,

identified by the pest risk assessment (USDA, 2009), from the pathway of the importation of

papaya fruit from Peru into the continental United States.

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Mitigation Measure Evidence for removal of pests from the pathway

1) Only commercial shipments 

of Solo type papayas may be 

imported.

All growers must be registered 

with the Peruvian NPPO of the 

exporting country.

Fruit in commercial orchards are grown using good 

agricultural practices which reduce pest populations. 

Registration of orchards allows trace back and removal from 

the export program of orchards with pest problems.

2) All ripe, culled and fallen 

fruits are removed.

Removal of ripe papayas and orchard sanitation reduces fruit 

fly populations (Mau and Kessing, 2007). 

2) Papayas must be less than 1⁄2 

ripe.

Green papayas are poor hosts for some fruit flies. Harvesting 

only green, unripe papayas reduces the possibility that

Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha fraterculus fruit flies are 

present in the fruit (Keck, 1942; Seo et al., 1983; Couey and 

Hayes, 1986).

3) Papayas are treated with hot 

for 20 minutes at 48o C (118.4o 

F). 

This treatment is effective in killing eggs of Ceratitis capitata

in the papayas (Couey and Hayes, 1986). Hot water treatment 

also reduces plant pathogens that may be present on the 

surface of the papayas (Nishijima, 1994).

6), 7), 8) If fruit fly trapping 

detections exceed trigger 

levels, all exports are stopped 

until fruit fly populations drop 

below trigger levels. 

Green papayas are poor hosts to Ceratitis capitata and 

Anastrepha fraterculus, high fruit fly populations are required 

for infestations to occur (Keck, 1942). 

1), 9) The papaya orchards

must be inspected periodically 

by NPPO to ensure sanitary 

procedures are employed to 

exclude plant pests and 

diseases.

Regular inspections are recognized as part of a balanced pest 

management program (Kahn and Mathur 1999).

The relatively large size of all these pests would allow 

detection of these pests at least during some stages of their 

development (CABI 2006). 

Multiple inspections help ensure that various stages of any 

pest will be present; this is particularly effective against those 

pests whose later life stages are larger and more readily 

detected (Borror et al. 1989).

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5) Papayas must be 

safeguarded from exposure to 

fruit flies from harvest to 

export, including being 

packaged so as to prevent 

access by fruit flies and other 

injurious insect pests. 

Packing within 24 hours of harvest in a pest exclusionary 

house and safeguarding during transit reduce the exposure of 

harvested papayas to infestation by maintaining a pest 

exclusionary barrier.

10) Each shipment of papayas

must be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate of 

inspection issued by NPPO

bearing the following 

declaration: “These papayas

were grown in accordance 

with the conditions in 

§319.56–25 and were 

inspected and found free from 

pests.”

Requiring a Phytosanitary Certificate effectively ensures 

inspection by respective NPPO for pests of concern. 

Author

Walter Gould

Senior Risk Manager

References

AQAS-PestID. 2011. Agricultural Quarantine Activity System Pest Interception Database. 

USDA-APHIS-PPQ. Last accessed Feb. 2011.

Borror, D. J., Triplehorn, C. A. and N. F. Johnson. 1989. Introduction to the study of insects, 

6th ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, TX.

CABI. 2006. Crop Protection Compendium, 2006 Edition. CAB International, Wallingford, 

UK.

Couey, H. M., and C. F. Hayes. 1986. Quarantine procedure for Hawaiian papaya using fruit 

selection and a two-stage hot-water immersion. J. Econ. Entomol. 79:1307-1314.

Kahn, R. P. and S. B. Mathur. 1999. Containment Facilities and Safeguards. American 

Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN. 213 pp.

Keck, C.B. 1942. Infestation of mature green papayas by the Mediterranean fruit fly. J. Econ. 

Entomol. 35: 802- 805.

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Kirk, K., Bessin, R., Hartman, J., O’Leary, J. and Strang, J. 2001. Total quality assurance: apple 

production: best management practices. Kentucky Coop. Ext. Serv. ID-137.

Mau, R.F.L. and J.L.M. Kessing. 2007. Ceratitis capitata. Crop Knowledge Master (database), 

University of Hawaii Extension Service. Last accessed online Aug. 2007.

http://www.extento.hawaii.edu/kbase/crop/Type/ceratiti.htm

Nishijima, W.T. 1994. Dry rot. In Compendium of Tropical Fruit Diseases. Eds.: Ploetz, R.C., 

Zentmyer, G.A., Nishijima, W.T., Rohrbach, K.G., and Ohr, H.D. APS Press. pp. 59-60

SENASA, 2003. Importation of fresh papaya (Carica papaya) fruit from Peru into the United

States (except Hawaii). Qualitative, Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment. 29 pp.

Seo, S.T., C. Tang, S. Sanidad and T.H. Takenaka. 1983. Hawaiian fruit flies (Diptera: 

Tephritidae): Variation of index of infestation with benzyl isothiocyanate concentration and 

color of the maturing papaya. J. Econ. Entomol. 76: 535-538.

USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessments. Version 5.02. APHIS

Plant Protection and Quarantine, Riverdale, Maryland.

USDA, 2009. Importation of Fresh Papaya, Carica papaya, from Peru into the Continental 

United States. A Qualitative, Pathway-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment. 29 pp.

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