44890 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 144 / Wednesday, July 27, 2011 / Notices 

1To view the notice, the CIED, and the comments 

we received, go to http://www.regulations.gov/ 

fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2011-0015. 

and will be required as a condition of 

importation. 

Therefore, in accordance with the 

regulations in § 319.56–4(c)(2)(ii), we 

are announcing our decision to 

authorize the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh 

persimmon fruit from the Republic of 

South Africa subject to the following 

phytosanitary measures: 

• The persimmon fruit may be 

imported into the continental United 

States in commercial consignments 

only. 

• The persimmon fruit must be 

irradiated in accordance with 7 CFR 

part 305 with a minimum absorbed dose 

of 400 Gy. 

• If the irradiation treatment is 

applied outside the United States, each 

consignment of fruit must be precleared 

by APHIS inspectors in the Republic of 

South Africa. The persimmon fruit must 

be jointly inspected by APHIS and the 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO) of South Africa and 

accompanied by a phytosanitary 

certificate (PC) attesting that the fruit 

received the required irradiation 

treatment. 

• If the irradiation treatment is to be 

applied upon arrival in the United 

States, each consignment of fruit must 

be inspected by the NPPO of South 

Africa prior to departure and 

accompanied by a PC. 

• The commodity is subject to 

inspection at the U.S. port-of-entry. 

These conditions will be listed in the 

Fruits and Vegetables Import 

Requirements database (available at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir). In 

addition to these specific measures, 

persimmon fruit from the Republic of 

South Africa will be subject to the 

general requirements listed in § 319.56– 

3 that are applicable to the importation 

of all fruits and vegetables. Further, for 

fruits and vegetables requiring treatment 

as a condition of entry, the 

phytosanitary treatments regulations in 

7 CFR part 305 contain administrative 

and procedural requirements that must 

be observed in connection with the 

application and certification of specific 

treatments. 

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 22nd day of 

July 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–19037 Filed 7–26–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0015] 

Notice of Decision To Authorize the 

Importation of Garlic From the 

European Union and Other Countries 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our decision to authorize the 

importation into the continental United 

States of garlic from the European 

Union and other countries. Based on the 

findings of a commodity import 

evaluation document, 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 garlic from the European 

Union and other countries. 

DATES: Effective Date: July 27, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Tony Roma ́n, Import Specialist, Plant 

Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, 4700 

River Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1236; (301) 734–5820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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 (PRA), 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 PRA 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 authorize the importation of 

the fruit or vegetable subject to the 

identified designated measures if: (1) No 

comments were received on the PRA; (2) 

the comments on the PRA revealed that 

no changes to the PRA were necessary; 

or (3) changes to the PRA 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 March 21, 2011 (76 FR 

15279–15280, Docket No. APHIS–2011– 

0015), in which we announced the 

availability, for review and comment, of 

a commodity import evaluation 

document (CIED) that evaluates the risks 

associated with the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh garlic 

from the European Union (EU) and 

other countries. For the purposes of this 

document, the EU and other countries 

refers to Algeria, Armenia, Austria, 

Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and 

Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech 

Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Georgia, 

Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, 

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, 

Lebanon, Lithuania, the Republic of 

Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, 

Morocco, Palestine Authority, Portugal, 

Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, 

Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Syria, 

Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, 

Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. 

These countries are currently 

authorized to export garlic (dry bulbs, 

no green leaves) to the United States 

only if the commodity undergoes 

vacuum fumigation for the weevil pests 

Brachycerus spp. and Dyspessa ulula. 

Three countries, France, Italy, and 

Spain, are exempt from the required 

fumigation. Imports of garlic from 

France are allowed with a phytosanitary 

certificate (PC) containing an additional 

declaration that the garlic was inspected 

and found free from Brachycerus spp. 

and Dyspessa ulula. Similarly, the 

regulations in § 319.56–13 provide that 

imports of garlic from Italy and Spain 

are approved if the garlic is 

accompanied by a PC which contains an 

additional declaration that the garlic has 

been inspected by the national plant 

protection organization of the exporting 

country and found free of Brachycerus 

spp. and Dyspessa ulula, based on field 

inspection and reexamination at the 

port of export. Based on the evidence 

presented in the CIED, we determined 

that the measures currently in place for 

garlic imported from France, Italy, and 

Spain are adequate to manage pest risks 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 144 / Wednesday, July 27, 2011 / Notices 44891 

associated with garlic from the EU and 

other countries. 

We solicited comments on the notice 

for 60 days ending on May 20, 2011. We 

received three comments by that date. 

They were from an association of garlic 

producers, a State agricultural agency, 

and a governmental organization. One 

commenter was in favor of allowing the 

importation of garlic from the EU and 

other countries under the conditions 

described in the CIED. The remaining 

comments are discussed below. 

Two commenters expressed concern 

that visual inspection and a 

phytosanitary certificate may not be 

sufficient to prevent the potential 

accidental introduction of the two 

weevils (Brachycerus spp. and Dyspessa 

ulula) into the United States. One of 

these commenters recommended the 

continued use of vacuum fumigation of 

garlic bulbs originating from countries 

where these weevils occur because 

larvae develop within garlic bulbs and 

could easily go undetected by visual 

inspection. 

As mentioned in the CIED published 

with the previous notice, garlic infested 

with Brachycerus spp. or D. ulula is 

likely to be detected during inspection. 

Garlic heads infested with D. ulula have 

large internal cavities and darkened 

holes, often with secondary mold. The 

cloves may be completely eaten, leaving 

only the outer coverings of the garlic 

head with the larval excrements, and a 

strongly attacked batch of garlic can be 

detected by a weight shortage (between 

40 percent and 80 percent of the normal 

weight). 

Regarding the risk of introducing 

Brachycerus spp. via the importation of 

garlic, Brachycerus spp. are rarely 

intercepted even in passenger baggage, 

with only 16 interceptions from all 

countries, all sources, over a 27-year 

period. When they are present, adult 

females lay clusters of eggs in holes 

chewed in the garlic bulb. Brachycerus 

spp. larvae bore into the garlic bulb, 

leaving bulging lumps, holes, frass, and 

fungal decay, while mature larvae are 

often visible externally. Because 

Brachycerus spp. cause noticeable 

damage to the commodity, garlic bulbs 

infested with this pest would be culled 

during packing processes or identified 

during inspection by the NPPO in the 

originating country and, therefore, are 

unlikely to be included in shipments. 

The symptoms of Brachycerus spp. 

infestation can also be readily inspected 

for at the port of entry into the United 

States. 

One commenter also stated that 

APHIS provided no technical or 

scientific reason to revise regulations 

and no underlying, scientific, or 

technical basis for the historical 

fumigation exemption for France, Italy, 

and Spain. The commenter noted that 

pests have been intercepted in 

shipments of fresh garlic from countries 

currently allowed to ship without 

fumigation and that removing the 

fumigation requirement because the 

interceptions have been infrequent is 

inappropriate. 

Although we do not have the 

background for the exemptions afforded 

to these countries, we can conclude that 

the decision was based on a historical 

lack of pest detections. Garlic from 

Spain and Italy has been allowed entry 

into the United States without methyl 

bromide fumigation since at least 1972. 

Garlic from France has been imported 

under similar restrictions for some time 

as well. Although pests have been found 

on garlic imported from these countries, 

such interceptions have occurred very 

rarely and these pests have not been 

introduced into the United States since 

importation of garlic from these 

countries began. Our experience 

inspecting garlic from France, Italy, and 

Spain, as reflected in the pest 

interception data, suggests that visual 

inspection is sufficient to mitigate the 

risks of introducing or disseminating 

plant pests or noxious weeds via the 

importation of garlic into the 

continental United States. 

For these reasons, APHIS has 

concluded that commercial garlic for 

export from the EU and other countries 

is unlikely to contain the identified 

quarantine pests and any pests 

associated with this commodity would 

be detected by inspection. Accordingly, 

we have determined that no changes to 

the CIED are necessary based on these 

comments. 

Therefore, in accordance with the 

regulations in § 319.56–4(c)(2)(ii), we 

are announcing our decision to 

authorize the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh garlic 

from the European Union and other 

countries subject to the following 

phytosanitary measures: 

• The garlic must be accompanied by 

a phytosanitary certificate with an 

additional declaration attesting freedom 

from Brachycerus spp. and Dyspessa 

ulula. 

• The garlic may be imported into the 

continental United States in commercial 

consignments only. 

These conditions will be listed in the 

Fruits and Vegetables Import 

Requirements database (available at 

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/favir). In 

addition to these specific measures, 

garlic from the European Union and 

other countries will be subject to the 

general requirements listed in § 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 22nd day of 

July 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–19036 Filed 7–26–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0023] 

Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition, 

Plant Pest Risk Assessment, and 

Environmental Assessment for 

Determination of Nonregulated Status 

for Corn Genetically Engineered for 

Drought Tolerance 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice; reopening of comment 

period. 

SUMMARY: We are reopening the 

comment period for a petition received 

from the Monsanto Company seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status for 

corn designated as MON 87460, which 

has been genetically engineered for 

drought tolerance. This action will 

allow interested persons additional time 

to prepare and submit comments on the 

Monsanto petition, our plant pest risk 

assessment, and our draft environmental 

assessment for the proposed 

determination of nonregulated status. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before August 12, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS–2011– 

0023–0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2011–0023, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS–2011–0023 or 

in our reading room, which is located in 

room 1141 of the USDA South Building, 

14th Street and Independence Avenue 


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