APHIS Factsheet

Plant Protection and Quarantine July 2007

Questions and 

Answers: USDA’s 

Proposed Regulations 

for the Movement 

of Citrus Fruit from 

Quarantined Areas

Q. Why is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 

(USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposing to amend its regulations 

regarding the movement of fruit from areas 

quarantined for citrus canker?

A. On June 21, 2007, APHIS published a proposed 

rule in the Federal Register that would eliminate the 

current requirement for grove inspections and focus 

solely on inspection and treatment of fruit at packinghouses prior to shipment as a means of ensuring that 

only disease-free fruit moves interstate. APHIS is 

proposing this regulatory action because citrus canker 

is becoming so widespread within Florida that it would 

be increasingly difficult for the State’s citrus fruit growers to meet the disease-free grove conditions required 

for interstate movement of citrus fruit under the August 

1, 2006, interim rule.

Q. Why did APHIS establish the August 2006 

interim rule in the first place?

A. The interim rule established a citrus canker quarantine across the entire State of Florida to protect 

other citrus-producing States and U.S. Territories 

against the spread of the disease while at the same 

time maintaining the widest possible market for Florida 

citrus producers. Cooperative surveys conducted by 

the State of Florida and APHIS prior to August 2006 

showed that citrus canker had become so widespread 

within Florida that approximately 75 percent of commercial groves in the State were within 5 miles of a 

location where the disease had been detected. With 

such a significant portion of the commercial citrusgrowing acreage either infected or at risk of becoming infected it was determined that it would no longer 

be feasible to identify and quarantine citrus acreage 

quickly enough to prevent further spread of the disease. Since the eradication of citrus canker was not 

possible, USDA announced that it would no longer 

provide funds for the removal of infected and exposed

trees to eradicate the disease and would not provide 

compensation for trees destroyed after January 10, 

2006. 

 As a result, APHIS began working with the citrus 

scientists, State regulatory officials from Florida and 

other citrus-producing States, and the citrus industry 

to foster a national approach to safeguarding citrus 

health in the United States. This national approach 

resulted in the creation of the Citrus Health Response 

Program (CHRP) to manage citrus canker and citrus 

diseases in general. In addition to conducting other 

program activities, CHRP officials developed the 

interim rule published in 2006.

Q. Does the proposed rule continue to prohibit 

the shipment of citrus fruit from Florida to other 

citrus-producing States and U.S. Territories?

A. Yes. Under the proposed rule, Florida citrus would 

continue to be prohibited entry to American Samoa, 

Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, the 

Northern Marianas Islands, Puerto Rico, Texas, and 

the Virgin Islands. The interstate movement of fresh 

citrus fruit from Florida to the Nation’s 45 noncitrusproducing States would continue to be allowed with a 

limited permit.

Q. How did APHIS determine that packinghouse 

inspections are sufficient to protect against the 

spread of citrus canker? 

A. The proposed rule is based on a pest risk analysis 

(PRA) as well as a risk management analysis (RMA). 

The PRA concluded that the risk associated with the 

interstate movement of citrus fruit that is free of citrus 

canker lesions (technically referred to as asymptomatic fruit) is negligible. The RMA carefully examined 

field practices and procedures to determine which 

ones provide the most effective means of preventing 

the spread of citrus canker via the movement of commercial citrus fruit and concluded that packinghouse 

inspections combined with treatment achieve this goal. 

Q. What is a PRA? 

A. A PRA is a scientific study that evaluates the likelihood of the entry, establishment, or spread of a pest 

or disease, and its potential consequences. PRAs 

serve as a basis for identifying potential pathways for 

the spread of harmful agricultural pests and diseases. 

The asymptomatic fruit PRA evaluated the potential 

for the spread of citrus canker through the movement 

of apparently healthy citrus. The PRA concluded that 

asymptomatic, commercially produced citrus fruit, 
treated with a disinfectant, and subject to other mitigations, poses a negligible risk for the introduction and 

spread of citrus canker. 

Q. What is an RMA? 

A. An RMA assesses available strategies and determines optimal measures to effectively manage and 

mitigate pest risks. In this case, the RMA evaluated 

pest risks associated with actual field practices and 

procedures used to produce, harvest and pack fresh 

citrus fruit. Using the findings from the PRA, the RMA 

evaluated and identified the best risk management 

practices to achieve the goal of shipping only fresh 

fruit that is free of citrus canker lesions. Based on the 

findings of the RMA, APHIS determined that inspections of commercially packed fruit at the packinghouse 

will ensure that only asymptomatic fruit is readied for 

shipment, thus providing the most effective safeguard 

to prevent the spread of citrus canker via the 

movement of fresh citrus fruit.

Q. Does the proposed rule place additional 

requirements on Florida citrus producers? 

A. The proposed rule would ease the burden placed 

on citrus grove owners because it would eliminate 

mandated grove inspections for canker-free 

certification. The current interim rule requires that fruit 

destined for noncitrus-producing States must originate 

in groves inspected and found free of citrus canker no 

more than 30 days before the beginning of harvest.

Q. Are self-surveys of citrus groves 

recommended?

A. If the proposed rule is finalized, State and Federal 

surveyors will no longer be inspecting Florida citrus 

groves to determine eligibility for interstate movement. 

Producers, however, will continue to benefit from 

conducting their own grove survey on an on-going 

basis. APHIS encourages citrus growers to perform 

self-surveys in order to separate fruit that may have 

citrus canker from fruit free of lesions that qualifies 

for out-of-state shipment. Self-surveys help growers 

ensure that their citrus will not be rejected at packinghouses during inspection, but more importantly helps 

them assess those management practices taken to 

reduce disease incidence in their grove.

Q. What would the proposed rule require of 

packinghouses?

A. As with the current interim rule, packinghouses 

would continue to operate under compliance agreements and be responsible for treating each lot of 

fruit with an APHIS-approved surface disinfectant. 

Although citrus canker inoculum, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv citri, does not normally survive more than 

48 hours on the surface of uninfected fruit when the 

fruit is removed from humid conditions and undergoes 

drying, APHIS requires the decontamination procedure 

to ensure that the citrus canker bacteria is devitalized 

or rendered incapable of causing infection. Packinghouses must also ensure that each lot of finished fruit is 

inspected and found free of visible symptoms of citrus 

canker prior to interstate movement. 

Q. What does a compliance agreement require?

A. The compliance agreement requires the owner or 

operator of a packinghouse to treat fruit to be moved 

interstate with one of the approved treatments according to the procedures specified in 7 CFR § 301.75-

11, and to see that this fruit is packed only in boxes 

marked in accordance with the requirements in 7 CFR 

§ 301.75-11. The compliance agreement also contains 

specific provisions pertaining but not limited to:

 • Access to the facility and documentation by 

 APHIS inspectors;

 • Means by which lots are designated;

• Notice of estimated lot size and run times;

 • Need for notice when APHIS inspectors are 

 not present on a regular basis;

 • Need for notice when there are significant 

 changes in the amount of fruit being packed;

 • Conditions (access to fruit, lighting, safety, 

 etc.) that must be met in order for APHIS 

 inspectors to carry out the required inspections;

• Provisions for handling and storage of fruit, includ- 

 ing provisions that prohibit the movement of any 

 part of a lot from a packinghouse until APHIS 

 inspection is complete;

• Hazard-free access to decontamination areas 

 so that APHIS inspectors can monitor the 

 concentrations of chemicals used for fruit 

 treatment;

 • Provisions for holding fruit when packing is 

 done at a time when an APHIS inspector is 

 not present; and

 • Hours of coverage for APHIS packinghouse 

 inspections. 

Any compliance agreement may be canceled orally or 

in writing by an inspector for noncompliance with the 

established requirements.

Q. What are the approved treatments for citrus 

moving interstate from Florida?

A. Treatments for moving citrus interstate are found 

in the Code of Federal Regulations, which you may 

access by going to http://usasearch.gov/ and typing 

in 7 CFR § 301.75-11. They include either solutions 

containing sodium hypochlorite or sodium o-phenyl 

phenate (SOPP). The proposed rule also calls for the 

use of peroxyacetic acid as a treatment for fruit and 

the disinfection of equipment. All approved treatments 

are applied at rates consistent with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements and are known to 

be effective in deactivating the citrus canker bacteria, 

rendering it incapable of causing infection.
Q. What are the packing requirements for citrus 

moving interstate from Florida? 

A. In order to be moved interstate, the regulated fruit 

would have to be packaged in boxes or other containers that are approved by APHIS and that are used 

exclusively for regulated fruit to be moved interstate.

The boxes or other containers in which the fruit is 

packaged would have to be clearly marked with the 

statement “Limited Permit: USDA-APHIS-PPQ. 

Not for distribution in AZ, CA, HI, LA, TX, American 

Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

Rico, and Virgin Islands of the United States.” Those 

proposed provisions would also state that only fruit

that meets all of the requirements of the section 

may be packed in boxes or other containers that are 

marked with the above statement. 

Q. Who will conduct the packinghouse 

inspections?

A. APHIS inspectors will carry out inspections at the 

packinghouse level. 

Q. What kind of sampling will be required for each 

lot of citrus?

A. The proposed rule calls for a level of sampling 

that will allow inspectors to detect, with a 95 percent 

confidence level, that the incidence of citrus canker in 

the shipment is less than .38 percent. For most lots, 

that level of sampling equates to approximately 1,000 

pieces of fruit. 

Q. Under the proposed rule, what constitutes a 

lot?

A. In the 7 CFR § 301.75-11, a lot is defined as “fruit 

of a single variety that has passed through the entire 

packing process in a single continuous run not to 

exceed a single work day” (i.e., a run started one day 

and completed the next is considered two lots).

Q. What if the APHIS inspector suspects citrus 

canker on the fruit?

A. The same procedures currently in force would 

apply. When a field diagnosis of citrus canker is made 

by an APHIS pathologist, a packinghouse may elect 

to treat the fruit as infected and divert it for processing 

as juice or for sale intrastate as fresh fruit, or they may 

hold the shipment and await laboratory confirmation. 

A preliminary field diagnosis is rendered by the inspector and digital images are sent to APHIS pathologists 

for review. If photos are inconclusive, a pathologist 

will be dispatched to the packinghouse to determine if 

suspect lesions are present. If no suspect lesions are 

found, the shipment is released and allowed to move 

interstate. 

Q. What is fruit reconditioning?

A. Reconditioning is the re-running and re-grading of 

fruit found to be infected with citrus canker. Reconditioning allows for removal of the pieces of fruit that 

initially made the lot ineligible for shipment and allows 

for the lot to be resubmitted for inspection. Reconditioned fruit is not eligible for shipment to markets such 

as the European Union that require canker freedom in 

the source grove.

Q. Will APHIS make an exception in the proposed 

rule and allow tangerines to be shipped to citrusproducing States?

A. No. Under the proposed rule, tangerines or 

Citrus reticulata, are included in the quarantine. Citrus 

reticulata, or mandarin, is a group name for a species 

of citrus with a thin, loose peel. Although some people 

consider tangerines to be resistant to citrus canker, 

the disease has been detected on the fruit numerous 

times. During the 2005-2006 growing season grove 

surveys, citrus canker was detected on 274 samples 

from tangerine, tangor, and tangelo groves. In addition, APHIS pest interception data between 1985 and 

2006 shows that citrus canker was intercepted 632 

times on tangerine varieties.

Q. Will other citrus-producing nations with citrus 

canker be able to ship to the United States under 

the same conditions proposed in this rule?

A. Other citrus-producing countries with citrus canker 

would not be eligible to ship citrus fruit to the United 

States under the same requirements due to the presence of other exotic pests of concern to the United 

States. The proposed rule is a domestic regulation 

that applies only to Florida citrus.

Q. Does the proposed rule apply to Florida 

citrus shipped within the State or destined for 

other countries?

A. No. Fruit shipped within Florida does not require 

sampling and inspection as described in the proposed 

rule. Florida citrus exported to other international 

markets must meet all import requirements of the 

destination country. For example, the European Union 

requires that fruit originate in groves inspected and 

found free of citrus canker prior to harvest. 

Q. Can homeowners ship backyard citrus 

interstate?

A. Under the proposed rule, homeowners would have 

the same opportunity to ship citrus interstate as commercial producers. Homeowners need to meet the 

same requirements as a producer, including having 

their citrus treated, packed, and inspected at a 

packinghouse that has entered a compliance agreement with APHIS. The citrus must be shipped in an 

appropriately marked box. 

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