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

## Risk Management Document 

## Importation of Fresh Celery **, (**  **Apium graveolens Linnaeus**  **. )**  **from Colombia**  **into the Continental**  **United Sta tes** 

**May 7**  **, 20**  **1 2** 

**Plant Health Programs (PHP) Regulations, Permits**  **and Manuals**  **( RPM**  **) Contact Person:**  **Dorothy Wayson**2

**Introduction** Insupport of a request for market access to import fresh celery ( Apium graveolens Li nnaeus ) from Colombia i n to the Continental United States , the Center for Plant Health Science and Technology

(CPHST) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHI S) prepared a p est risk assessment (PRA) (USDA, 2007) as per the Guidelines for Pathway
-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment (USDA , 2000)
. T he PRA identified four pests of quarantine significance that would likely follow the pathway

of fresh celery leaves , stems and roots imported into the continental United States: Coccus viridis (Green) (Hemiptera: Coccidae) Copitarsia decolora (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Liriomyza huidobrensis Blanchard (Diptera: Agromy zidae) Planococcus lilacinus Cock (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) The overall pest risk potential for Cop itarsia decolora and Liriomyza huidobrensis is identif ied as **high** , and for Coccus viridis and Planococcus lilacinus is **medium** . According to the Guidelines for Pathway
-Initiated Pest Risk Assessment (USDA. 2000) , for pests assigned high risk potential, phy tosanitary measures bey ond port
- of
- entry inspections are strongly recommended. This document outlines the phy tosanitary measures that APHI S will require if the proposed importation of fresh celery ( Apium graveolens Li nnaeus. ) from Colombia into the contin ental United States is approved, and provides the evidence used by APHI S to conclude that these measures will effectively prevent the introduction of the quarantine pests. On April 12, 2012 APHI S National Inspection Service concluded that Coccus viridi s (green scale) no longer requires action at the ports of entry ( USDA, 2012 ). The pest was evaluated through the Federally

Recognized State Managed Phy tosanitary Program (FRSMP). The National Plant Board concurred with the decision to stop taking action on this pest at the port of entry . Therefore n o mitigations are needed for Coccus viridis on fresh celery , Apium graveolens , from Colombia. **Risk Management Measures** APHI S proposes that fresh celery leaves , stems and roots from Colombia may be imported into the continental United States under the following conditions:

 Celery , must be imported in commercial shipments only

 APHI S requires a phy tosanitary certificate be issued by

the Colombian National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO ) for each shipment to assure that the Celery is apparently free of pests, with an additional declaration stating “This shipment has been inspected and is free from Copitarsia decolora, Planococcus lilacinus , and Liriomyza huidobrensis ”3

 Each shipment is subject to inspectio n upon arrival in the United States. **Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pest of Concern from the Pathway** By restricting the importation of fresh celery to commercial consignments only , we will ensure that appropriate sanitation practices are in place to prevent the introduction of contamination and hitchhiker pests discussed in the PRA. As part of the process of commercially picking, processing and packaging, celery that is damaged or where pests are present , will be culled. The NPPO will inspect th e celery to be exported to issue the PC with AD which certifies the product is free of pests. All of the quarantine pests of concern have stages that are readily detected by

inspection. In spection ensures that various stages of any

pest that are present will be detected; this is particularly effective against those pests whose later life stages are larger and more readily detected (Borror et al. 1989). In addition, the celery

will be subject to inspect ion for pests at the port
- of
- entry to the United Stat es by officers of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The PC with the AD will alert CBP inspectors to look for the quarantine pests of concern. In spection is an effective method for detecting pests and is a primary method of preventing quarantine pests from entering the United States ( Cave y, 2003; Wittenberg and Cock, 2001)
. **Conclusion** APHI S believes that the phy tosanitary measures proposed in this document will result in the effective removal of quarantine pests associated with the importation of f resh celery from Colombia. Fresh celery

is enterable to the United States from many other countries using similar mitigations without significant pest issues (USDA, 2010)
. **Author** Walter P. Gould , Ph.D. Senior Risk Manager **References** Borror, D. J., Tri plehorn, C. A. and N. F. Johnson. 1989. Introduction to the study of insects, 6 ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, TX. Cavey , J.F. 2003. Mitigating introduction of invasive plant pests: the APHI S
- PPQ Mission. From: Chapter 13, pp. 350
- 361 in Ruiz, G.M and J.T. Carlton. 2003. Invasive species: vectors and management strategies. I sland Press, Washington, D.C. 518p. USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway
- In itiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02 , October 17, 2000. USDA
- APHI S, PPQ, 31 pp.4

USDA. 2007. Importation of Celery ( Apium graveolens Li nnaeus) into the Continental United States from Colombia . Qualitative, Pathway
- In itiated Pest Risk Assessment. USDA, APHI S, CPHST, PERAL , Raleigh, NC. USDA. 2010. USDA APHI S Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements (FAVI R) database. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/quarantine_56/favir.shtml USDA. 2012. Official Co ntrol
- The Federally Recognized State Managed Phy tosanitary Program . USDA
- APHI S
- PPQ Plant Health Programs. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_ info/frsmp/non
- reg - pests.shtml Wittenberg, R. and M.J.W. Cock. 2001. Invasive Alien Species: A toolkit of best prevention and management practices. CABI publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK. 228 pp.