1 **United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service**  **Plant Protection and Quarantine**


# Importation of fresh **litchi (**  **Litchi c h**  **inensis )**  **fruit from**  **the Republic of South Africa**  **into the c**  **ontinental United States** 

**Risk Managem ent Document** 

**January 06, 2011 Ver.**  **1.0**

**Plant Health Programs (PHP) Regulations, Permits and Manuals**  **( RPM** **) Contact Person:**  **Marc.Phillips @aphis.usda.gov** 2

**A. Introduction** The Government of the Republic of South Africa ( RSA ) requested permission to import Litchi chinensis Sonn. ( litchi ) fruit into the United States. Li tchis have not been imported from RSA before, so a pathway

- initiated risk assessment (PRA) was conducted. A list of litchi pests in RSA was prepared based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) records of intercepted pests, and s cientific literature. The p est risk a ssessment document , “ Importation of Fresh Litchi , Litchi chinensis Sonn. , Fruit from the Republic of South Africa into the C ontinental United States : A Qualitative, Pathway

- initiated Pest Risk Assessment ” (USDA, 200 9 ) , identified the following **eight** quarantine insec t pests that could follow the pathway of commercial consignment s of fresh litchi fruit. Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) Ce ratitis rosa Karsch (Diptera: Tephritidae) Ceroplastes rubens Maskell (Homiptera: Coccidae) Ceroplastes rusci (Linnaeus) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) Cryptophlebia peltastica (Mey rick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Nipaecoccus viridis (Newstead) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Mey rick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) All pests were rated to have high risk potential. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service , Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) c ommodity Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) guidelines state that for pests rated as h igh risk , phy tosanitary measures beyond port

- of

- entry inspections are strongl y recommended (USDA, 2000). The proposed importation of litchi from RSA , if approved, would be regulated by an amendment to the APHIS’ Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVIR) database available on

- line. This risk management document outlines the phy tosanitary measures that APHI S will require if the proposed importation of th is commodity from RSA is approved and documents the evidence used by APHI S to conclude that the se measures will effectivel y prevent the introduction of quarantine pests.
**B. Risk M anagement**  **Measures** APHI S proposes to allow the importation of the fresh fruit of litchi from RSA into the continental United States under the following conditions: ( a) The litchi fruit must be irradiated with a minimum ab sorbed dose of 400 Gy and follow the requirements of 7CFR parts 305 and 319

. (b ) Prior to departure from RSA, e ach consignment must be inspected and found to be free from pupa e of Cryptophlebia peltastica

. Using a biometric sampling procedure mutually agreed upon b y APHI S and the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO ) of RSA , a3

representative sample of fruit must be drawn from each lot, cut open and inspected for the presence of any pupae of this pest. ( c ) If irradiation is applied outside the United States, e ach consignment of fruit must be inspected jointly

by inspectors from APHI S and the NPPO of RSA prior to departure and accompanied b y a Ph yt osanitary Certificate (PC) issued by the NPPO of RSA certifying that the fruit received the required irradiation treatment , and with an Additional Declaration stating that the consignment was inspected by RSA inspectors and found to be free from pupae of C

ryptophlebia peltastica

. If i rradiation is to be applied upon arrival in the United States, each consignment of fruit must be inspected by RSA inspectors prior to departure and accompanied by

a PC issued by

the NPPO of RSA with an Additional Declaration stating that the consignment was inspected by RSA inspectors and found to be free from pupae of C ryptophlebia peltastica

. ( d) Each consignment is subject to inspection at the United States port s - of

- entry
. ( e ) The fruit must be commercially produced and be part of a commercial cons ignment as defined in Section 319.56

- 2.
**C. Historical Perfo**  **rmance of Importing Irradiated Fruits** Current regulations ( 7 CFR 305. 9 ) allow the use of irradiation to treat fruit for importation into the United States. In April 2007, In dia began shipping mangoes irradiated with 400 Gy to the United States and has continued shipping irradiated mangoes each year since . This was followed b y Thailand , which started shipping mangoes and five other fruits all treated with 400 Gy

irradiation dose to th e United States beginning November 1, 2007. Thereafter commodities irradiated w ith 400 Gy have also been import ed from Vietnam (dragon fruit) and Mexico (guava and mango ). No pest s of quarantine significance have been reported from the irradiated fruit imported from all these countries (Pest ID, 2010)

. Current domestic regulations ( 7 CFR318.13

- 4f ) allow the interstate movement of fifteen different fruit, including mango, from Hawaii , using a minimum absorbed dose of from 150 Gy to 400 Gy

. For example, the dose of 300 Gy is adequate to mitigate the risk from mango seed weevil in mango fruit, while all fruit flies require a dose of 150 Gy (USDA, 2006b ). No live pests of quarantine significance have been intercepted from fruits and vegetables treated with irradiation in Hawaii and moved to the mainland United S tates (U yed a , 2005). In Addition , there have been no records of pest interceptions on Australian m angoes irradiated with 150 Gy dose and imported into New Zealand s ince 2004 (Edwards , 2005).
**D .**  **Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pests of Concern from the Pathway** The measures described in Section **B** would effectively remove the pests of concern from the stated pathway

.4

All the pests of concern for the importation of litchi from RSA are insect s . Irradiation of fruits and vegetable s with a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy is a treatment approved by APHI S f o r mitigating risks from all insect pests except for adults and pupae of the order Lepidoptera (USDA , 2006 ). Two of the litchi quarantine pests belong to the order Lepidoptera : Thaumatotibia leucotreta (false codling moth) and Cryptophlebia peltastica (litchi moth). The adult and pupal stages of T

. leucotreta are external feeders ; adults are mobile and , because of their size , are easily det ectable during inspection

. Treatment with a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy is also approved by APHI S to successfully

neutralize eggs and larval stages of this pest 1

. In case of Cryptophlebia peltasica, there is evidence that the larvae may occasionally pupate inside the fruit (Grov é , 1999; de Villiers, 2001 ). Although i rradiation with a generic dose of 400 Gy dose is not an approved treatment for pupae of Lepidoptera , evidence suggests that the dose may

be sufficient to neutralize the pupa e of this pest and thereb y mitigate the pathway risk s . Research by Follett and Lower (2000) has shown that a dose as low as 250 Gy was sufficient to cause a complete sterility among the pupae or the resulting progeny of a closely related species, Cryptophlebia illepida, which lead the authors to believe that the dose would likely

have similar effect s on other species of Cryptophlebia as well. However, in the absence of a comparative study involving C. peltas tica or large scale confirmatory test s performed on members of the genus Cryptophlebia , a measure of confidence could not be established. Therefore a dditional measur es are required to supplement the irradiation treatment
. C. peltas tica produces visible holes o n the fruit skin , leaving brown frass on th e surface , which are easily detect a ble during inspection. B iometric sampling , fruit cutting and inspection during the preclearance activities is considered adequate to detect the internal pupae . This sampling regime may be adjusted to provide 95% of confidence for the detection of 3% or less infestation rate as may be agreed upon by

APHIS and the NPPO. O ther life stages such as egg s and larvae are effectively managed by the irradiation dose of 40 0 Gy (USDA 2006)

. The requirement for a Phy tosanitary C ertificate provides quality control and rigor by requiring RSA officials to conduct phy tosanitary inspections for th e pest s not targeted by the treatment . This along with port of entry inspection ef

fectivel y doubles the inspections the fruit receives. Furthermore, specifically listing the pest of concern on the Additional Declaration alerts U.S. inspectors to the specific pest. APHI S regulations on irradiation require that the treatment be monitored where applied and the consignment examined for pests of concern not targeted by the treatment

. Although the 400 Gy dose is effective for all pests except the adults and pupae of Lepidopte ra, fruit cutting and inspections by

the United States and RSA NPPO s should ensure that the consignments are free of the two Lepidopteran stages of concern that irradiation is not considered effective against

.

1 For irradiation treatment, neutralizing a pest generally refers to either sterilizing the pest or preventing it from achieving sexual maturity, although irradiation treatment can in some cases kill pests that may be present

.5

By allowing o nly commercial consignments of l itchis into the United States , it is assum e d that the fruits would un dergo standard post harvest commercial handling ( e.g. culling, packing, and sanitation) . By requiring that irradiation must follow requirements of 305. 9 and that packages containing irradiated fruit be labeled as per 305. 9 (g)(3)(iii) ensures the integrity of the shipment and the capability to trace back to origin.
**E . Conclusion**  The phy tosanitary requirements described above include irradiation treatment for quarantine pests of lit chi from RSA using a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy , and inspections for the pest s or pest stages not targeted by the irradiation treatment. APHI S concludes that based on the evaluation of effectiveness of these mitigation measures directed against the pests of concern , the safeguard s of 7 CFR § 319.56 and the Phy tosanitary Certificate with an Additional Declaration described in this Risk Management Document , these measures will result in the effective removal from the pathway of the pests of concern identified by

the P RA for the importation of fresh litchi fruit from R SA into the continental United States.
**F .**  **Author s**  **:** Marina Zlotina Risk Manager

- TDY Inder Paul S. Gadh Senior Risk Manager6

**G .**  **Literature Cited:** d e Villiers, E.A. 2001. Cryptophlebia peltastica (Mey rick). Litchi moth. In: A. van den Berg, E.A. de Villiers and P.H. Joubert (Eds.) Pests and Beneficial Arthropods of Tropical and Non

- Citrus Subtropical Crops in South Africa , pp. 3 25

– 32 8 . Institute fo r Tropical and Subtropical Crops, South Africa , Nelspruit

. Edwards, G. 2005. Personal Communication from G. Edwards of NZ Department of Agriculture & Fish e ries to Karen Ackerman of USDA, APHI S, PPQ, Phy tosanitary I ssues Management, Riverdale, MD. Follett, P.A. and R. A. Lower. 2000. Irradiation to Ensure Quarantine Security for Cryptophlebia spp. (L epidoptera: Tortricidae) in Sapindaceous Fruits from Hawaii. J. Econn. Entomol. 93(6): 1848

- 1854. Grov é , T. 1999. The litchi moth

– a literature review. Cryptophlebia peltastica (Mey rick) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). Neltropika Bull

. 305: 30

- 31
. Pest ID. 2010. USDA, APHI S, 

### Plant Protection and Quarantine, Pest Interception Dadabase. Last checked May 2010. USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway

- Initiated Pest Risk Assessments. Version 5.02. October 17, 2000. USDA. 2006. Treatments for Fruits and Vegetables. January 27, 2006 issue of Federal Register 71(18): 4451

- 4464 USDA. 200 9 . Importation of Fresh Li tchi , Litchi chinensis Sonn., Fruit from the Republ ic of South Africa into the Continental United States : A Qualitative , Pathway

- i nitiated Pest Risk Assessment

. USDA, APHI S, 

### Plant Protection and Quarantine, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, Raleigh, North Carolina. 2009. pp 40. Uyeda , E. 2005. Personal communication from E. Uyeda, Port Director, US Department of Agriculture, USDA , APHI S , PPQ , Hilo, HI

.