APHIS Factsheet

Plant Protection and Quarantine July 2007

Questions and 

Answers on the 

Quarantine 56 

Revision

Q. What are Quarantine 56 regulations?

A. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has the 

authority to establish regulations to protect the health 

of U.S. agriculture and to prevent the spread of plant 

pests and diseases into the United States. Under 

this authority, APHIS developed regulations that are 

contained in Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations, beginning at section 319.56. As a set, these 

regulations—commonly referred to as Quarantine 56 

or Q56—pertain to the prohibitions and restrictions 

concerning the importation of fruits and vegetables 

into the United States. 

Q. Why did APHIS revise Q56?

A. APHIS updated these regulations to establish 

criteria to allow for faster, more efficient approval of 

certain fruits and vegetables for importation. Specifically, these revisions eliminated the need for formal 

rulemaking to approve the importation of those fruits 

and vegetables with risks that can be mitigated by 

using one or more of five designated phytosanitary 

measures. The approval for importing all other fruits 

and vegetables still requires completing the full rulemaking process. 

 In addition, the revised regulations eliminate outdated requirements and redundancies to improve their 

overall clarity. In fact, many of the revisions to Q56 

were to make the regulations easier to understand. 

Q. Under the Q56 revisions, how can eligible fruits 

and vegetables be considered and approved for 

import?

A. As an alternative to undergoing the formal 

rulemaking-based process, imports that are eligible 

can now be approved through a notice-based process. 

As with the rulemaking-based process, a pest-risk 

analysis must first be conducted for new fruits or 

vegetables considered for importation. However, if the 

risk analysis shows that the commodity’s risk can be 

sufficiently mitigated by one or more of the five designated phytosanitary measures, a notice announcing 

the availability of the pest-risk analysis is published in 

the Federal Register to allow for public comment for 

60 days. Barring substantive comments that disprove 

the findings of the pest-risk analysis, a notice is then 

published in the Federal Register to announce that 

APHIS will begin issuing import permits for the commodity. 

Q. What are the five designated phytosanitary 

measures that allow a commodity to be approved 

under the notice-based process?

A. To be eligible for approval under the notice-based 

process, a commodity’s pest risk must be sufficiently 

mitigated by one or more of the following five designated phytosanitary measures:

• Port-of-entry inspection;

• Limiting entry to commercial shipments only;

• Use of approved postharvest treatment;

• A phytosanitary certificate accompanying the commodity, attesting that it originated from a pest-free 

area; or

• A phytosanitary certificate accompanying the commodity, attesting that it is free from a specific pest 

or pests.

 Imports that require more complex risk-mitigation

methods continue to be subject to the full rulemaking

process. 

Q. Did the Q56 revisions make any other substantive changes?

A. Yes. The rule established a framework for a 

notice-based process for approving pest-free areas 

in exporting countries. This process, which is similar 

to the commodity approval process described above, 

allows the agency to be more responsive in recognizing changes in the pest-free status of foreign areas. In 

the past, APHIS recognized changes in the pest-free 

status of countries via rulemaking. The new and more 

efficient notice-based process will enable APHIS’ 

oversight of imports to better reflect the actual pest 

status of areas in foreign countries. 

 Using the notice-based process, APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing that 

an exporting country has provided information that 

meets or exceeds the pest-free criteria listed in 7 CFR 

319.56-5, and that APHIS officials have completed an 

evaluation of the request. The notice will be available 

for public comment for 60 days. At the time the notice 

is published, APHIS will also make copies of the supporting information available. Once all comments 

have been considered, APHIS will, if still warranted, 

publish a notice in the Federal Register stating that 

the agency is recognizing the areas as free of specified pests. 

 
 The rule also makes minor changes to current 

import regulations for various commodities.

Q. Do the new processes under the revised Q56 

regulations compromise the safety of imports?

A. No. All fruit and vegetable imports continue to 

undergo the same rigorous risk-analysis process as 

they did under the previous Q56 regulation. The Q56 

revisions did not change which fruits and vegetables 

are approved for importation or alter how the risks 

associated with those commodities are evaluated 

or mitigated. The revisions only made the approval 

process more efficient for those fruits and vegetables 

that are safe for importation under the notice-based 

process. 

Q. Will APHIS only use the notice-based approval 

process to review and approve fruits and vegetables for entry?

A. No. Imports that do not meet the criteria for noticebased approval will still be eligible for consideration; 

however, they must be handled through the rulemaking process. Essentially, any commodity with risks 

that require complex risk-mitigation measures must 

undergo full rulemaking. Only commodities that can 

be imported safely by applying one or more of the five 

designated phytosanitary measures are allowed to 

proceed under the notice-based system. 

Q. How will the Q56 revisions improve APHIS’ 

operations?

A. The Q56 revisions will simplify and expedite 

APHIS’ process for approving new imports and pestfree areas while continuing to allow for public participation in agency decisionmaking. With the more 

efficient processes now in place, APHIS officials can 

redirect substantial resources toward the more complex import issues that must be handled under the 

rulemaking process. 

Q. Will the changes in how APHIS approves new 

imports and pest-free areas have an effect on 

exports?

A. APHIS is obligated under an agreement with the 

World Trade Organization to approve import requests 

with legitimate phytosanitary controls and procedures 

“without undue delay.” APHIS estimates that it takes 

a minimum of 18 months to evaluate and approve new 

import requests under the rulemaking-based system. 

In reality, the process typically takes 2 to 3 years and 

longer in some cases. 

Unfortunately, some foreign countries viewed the 

lengthy and cumbersome approval process as a trade 

barrier and responded by slowing the approval of U.S. 

exports into foreign markets. Under the Q56 revisions, 

APHIS’ more efficient process for approving imports 

should help alleviate trade barriers to U.S. exports and 

give the United States needed leverage to insist that 

other countries undertake similar innovations. 

Q. How can I find out more information on the new 

Q56 regulations?

A. For more information on the Q56 revision please 

visit, <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/Q56/index.

html>. For information on APHIS permits, please visit 

<http://www.aphis.usda.gov.permits>. APHIS is also 

in the process of creating a Web site that will allow 

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United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture