[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 64 (Monday, April 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18511-18512]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7896]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2009-0097]


Notice of Decision To Issue Permits for the Importation of Fresh 
Figs From Chile into the Continental United States

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to begin issuing 
permits for the importation into the continental United States of fresh 
figs from Chile. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which 
we made available to the public for review and comment through a 
previous notice, we believe that the application of one or more 
designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the 
risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via 
the importation of fresh figs from Chile.

DATES: Effective Date: April 4, 2011.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, Regulatory Coordination and Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-0754.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Under the regulations in ``Subpart--Fruits and Vegetables'' (7 CFR 
319.56-1 through 319.56-50, referred to below as the regulations), the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture prohibits or restricts the importation of 
fruits and vegetables into the United States from certain parts of the 
world to prevent plant pests from being introduced into and spread 
within the United States.
    Section 319.56-4 of the regulations contains a performance-based 
process for approving the importation of commodities that, based on the 
findings of a pest risk analysis, can be safely imported subject to one 
or more of the designated phytosanitary measures listed in paragraph 
(b) of that section. Under that process, APHIS publishes a notice in 
the Federal Register announcing the availability of the pest risk 
analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of a 
particular fruit or vegetable. Following the close of the 60-day 
comment period, APHIS may begin issuing permits for importation of the 
fruit or vegetable subject to the identified designated measures if: 
(1) No comments were received on the pest risk analysis; (2) the 
comments on the pest risk analysis revealed that no changes to the pest 
risk analysis were necessary; or (3) changes to the pest risk analysis 
were made in response to public comments, but the changes did not 
affect the overall conclusions of the analysis and the Administrator's 
determination of risk.
    In accordance with that process, we published a notice \1\ in the 
Federal Register on February 9, 2010 (75 FR 6344-6345, Docket No. 
APHIS-2009-0097), in which we announced the availability, for review 
and comment, of two pest risk analyses that evaluate the risks 
associated with the importation into the continental United States of 
fresh figs, pomegranates, and baby kiwi fruit from Chile. We solicited 
comments on the notice for 60 days ending on April 12, 2010. We 
received 25 comments by that date, from port terminal operators, 
growers' associations, trade associations, a fumigation service, a 
State agriculture department, a foreign government agency, a foreign 
trade association, and several produce importers, exporters, and 
wholesalers. Most of the commenters agreed that the mitigation measures 
described in the pest risk analysis would be adequate. However, three 
commenters raised concerns about the pest risk analyses or proposed 
mitigation measures. The issues raised by two of those commenters were 
addressed in a notice of decision to issue permits for the importation 
of fresh pomegranates and baby kiwi from Chile into the United 
States,\2\ published in the Federal Register on May 12, 2010 (75 FR 
26707-26708).
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    \1\ To view the February 2010 notice and the comments we 
received, and the May 2010 notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2009-0097.
    \2\ See footnote 1.
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    The third commenter raised several concerns regarding the risks 
associated with the importation of fresh figs from Chile. In order to 
give ourselves adequate time to explore the issues raised by the 
commenter, we delayed our decision on figs and addressed only 
pomegranates and baby kiwi from Chile in our May 2010 notice.
    The commenter stated that fumigation of fresh figs in the 
recommended treatment may not kill eggs of the insects of concern 
because eggs would most likely be deposited in the tissues of the fruit 
through the ostiole of the fig. The commenter was concerned that the 
treatment would not penetrate the fruit and kill the pest.
    While the commenter did not specify a particular insect of concern, 
the pest

[[Page 18512]]

risk assessment identified Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) 
and the Chilean red mite (Brevipalpis chilensis) as pests having a high 
risk potential. Since the pest risk assessment was prepared, all of 
Chile has been recognized as a pest-free area for Mediterranean fruit 
fly. The treatment schedule that would be required for figs has been 
found to be highly effective for all stages of Chilean red mite on 
grapes, and the efficacy can be extrapolated to include figs. Methyl 
bromide is a gas and can penetrate the ostiole of the fig. Furthermore, 
the Chilean red mite is a surface feeder that lays its eggs in cracks 
and crevices that are exposed to the air and, thus, to methyl bromide 
when fumigated.
    The commenter stated that the diseases of fresh figs in Chile 
should be compared to the diseases in the United States to determine 
whether or not they are the same strain. The commenter was concerned 
that the taxa of microbial and fungal pathogens identified as present 
in Chile might, if incompletely identified, be different from taxa 
already present in the United States, and that the pest risk assessment 
would not, therefore, have taken the risk associated with those 
specific pathogens into account.
    We agree that different strains of pathogens that are 
epidemiologically significant may exist; however, we found no 
information indicating that this was the case for any of the pathogens 
known to be present in both Chile and the United States. When assessing 
risk, we may consider incompletely identified taxa at a higher 
taxonomic level if the higher taxon (i.e., the entire genus or family) 
is not present in the United States, or if specific evidence indicates 
that the unidentified taxon is different from the ones in the United 
States. In this case, because we found no evidence that these 
incompletely identified taxa are different from the taxa present in the 
United States, we did not analyze them further. If pests identified to 
more specific taxa are intercepted in the future, we may reevaluate 
their risk.
    The commenter expressed concern that the proposed methyl bromide 
treatment schedule could produce an unpalatable fruit, which might 
result in a reduced market price for all figs, imported and domestic. 
The commenter also expressed concern that if a lower dose was used to 
treat fresh figs to improve their shelf life, there is still a risk 
that the mites could survive.
    APHIS does not alter treatment doses due to phytotoxicity to the 
commodity. Treatments for the pests are based on research on the 
individual pests and are not changed unless the change is supported by 
data showing the efficacy of the new dose.
    The commenter expressed concern that the generic surface pest 
treatment schedules, including the one proposed for fresh figs from 
Chile, might not be adequate to kill the Chilean red mite. The 
commenter stated that the California cherry and strawberry industries 
both had to use higher doses of methyl bromide to solve mite problems 
in their export programs.
    The Chilean red mite, which belongs to the family Tenuipalpidae, is 
not present in California; the mites in California produce are likely 
to be spider mites of the family Tetranychidae, and would require 
different treatment. The treatment schedule proposed for figs from 
Chile has been shown to be effective for Chilean red mite. As with 
other fruit imports, we will monitor the pest levels and if we 
determine that risks are such as would require adjusting the treatment 
dose or duration, we will take the appropriate action.
    The commenter stated that a treatment schedule specific to figs 
should be established for the treatment of Mediterranean fruit fly, for 
purposes of phytotoxicity and the tolerance of Mediterranean fruit fly 
relative to other target insects, including mites.
    As we explained above, since the publication of the pest risk 
assessment, all of Chile has been recognized as a pest-free area for 
Mediterranean fruit fly. There is no need to develop a specific 
treatment schedule for use on figs from that country.
    Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec.  319.56-
4(c)(2)(ii), we are announcing our decision to begin issuing permits 
for the importation into the continental United States of fresh figs 
from Chile subject to the following phytosanitary measures:
    <bullet> Each shipment of figs must be accompanied by a 
phytosanitary certificate. The phytosanitary certificate must be issued 
by the national plant protection organization of Chile.
    <bullet> The shipment must be fumigated with methyl bromide using 
treatment schedule T-101-i-2-1 in accordance with 7 CFR part 305.
    <bullet> The figs must be a commercial consignment as defined in 7 
CFR 319.56-2.
    These conditions will be listed in the Fruits and Vegetables Import 
Requirements database (available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir). 
In addition to those specific measures, the fresh figs will be subject 
to the general requirements listed in Sec.  319.56-3 that are 
applicable to the importation of all fruits and vegetables.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 450, 7701-7772, and 7781-7786; 21 U.S.C. 
136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of March 2011.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-7896 Filed 4-1-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P