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



# Importation of fresh **litchi fruit (**  **Litchi c** **h inensis** **) from**  **Australia into the**  **c ontinental**  **United States Risk Manageme**  **nt Document**

**December 08, 2008 Ver.**  **002**

**Plant Health Programs (PHP) Commodity Imports Analys**  **i s and Operations (CIAO)**  **Contact Person: Donna L. West** 2

**A. Introduction** The Government of Australia (GOA) has requested permission to import fresh litchi , Litchi chinensis Sonn. , fruit into the continental United States (US). The GOA also indicated in its request that these litchis could have stem parts of up to 5 mm in length attached to the fruit as part of the consignment. L itchis (also called Lychee, Le echee, or Lychee nut) are currently enterable into most of the United States from countries such as China , Grena da, India, Israel, and Taiwan (7 CFR 319.56 ) and from the State of Hawaii (7 CFR 318 .13

- 4f

) with or without a treatment ( http://www.aphis.usd

a.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/ports/treatment.shtml)

. Litchis have not been imported from Australia before, so a pathway

- initiated risk assessment was conducted. Indoing so, the assessment also evaluated the pest risks associated with stem parts of up to 5 mm in length as attached to the litchi fruit. The p est risk a ssessment document, Importation of Fresh Litchi , Li tchi chinensis Sonn., Fruit from Australia into the C

ontinental United States : A Qualitative, Pathway

- initiated Risk Assessment (USDA, 200 8 ) , found **fifteen** quarantine pests , fourteen insects and one mite, that could potentially follow the pathway of commercial consignment s of fresh litchi fruit. Of the fourteen insect pests, seven were rated as high ris k and the remaining seven , as me dium risk. The only non - insect pest, Aceria litchii , a litchi rust mite (also called erinose mite) , was rated as medium risk. Pests with **high** risk potential: Bactrocera jarvisi (Tryon) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephri tidae) Ceratitis capitata ( Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Ceroplastes rubens ( Maskell ) (H e miptera: Coccidae) Conogethes punctiferalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Py ralidae) Cryptophlebia ombrodelta (L ower) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Isotenes miserana Walker (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Pest s with **medium** risk potential: Aceria litchii (Keifer) (Acari: Erioph yi dae ) Cateremna quadriguttella Walker (Lepidoptera: Py ralidae) Coccus viridis (Green) ( Hemiptera: Coccidae ) Deudorix diovis Hewitson ( Lepidoptera : Lycaeni dae ) Deudorix epijarbas dido Waterhouse ( Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae ) Nipaecoccus viridis (Newstead) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Phycita leucomilta Lower ( Lepidoptera : Py ralidae) Planococcus minor (Maskell) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)3

APHI S

- Plant Prote ction and Quarantine (PPQ) c ommodity p est risk a ssessment (PRA) guidelines state that for pests rated medium or higher, specific phy tosanitary measures beyond a standard port

- of

- entry inspection may

be necessary to mitigate the pest risk s (USDA, 2000). The proposed importation of litchi from Australia , if approved, would be regulated b y an amendment to the existing S ubpart fruit and vegetable regulations ( 7 CFR § 319.56 )

. This document outlines the phy tosanitary measures that APHI S will require if the p roposed importation of th is commodity from Australia is approved and documents the evidence used b y APHIS to conclude that these measures will effectively prevent the introduction of quarantine pests. **B. Proposed Risk Mitigation Measures for**  **L itchi**  APH IS proposes to allow the importation of the fresh fruit of litchi ( Litchi chinensis ) with up to 5 mm stem parts attached from Australia into the continental United States , except Florida, under the following conditions: ( a) The fruit must be irradiated i n an APHIS

- certified facility with a minimum ab sorbed dose of 400 Gy . The fruit must follow packaging and other requirements of 7 CFR parts 305 .31 and 319 .56
. (b ) Each consignment must be inspected jointly by APHIS and Government of Australia ( GOA ) inspe ctors and accompanied b y a P hy tosanitary C ertificate (PC) issued by the N ational P lant P rotection O rganization (NPPO) of Australia stating that the consignment received or will receive irradiation treatment with 400 Gy as the minimum absorbed dose

. ( c ) In addition to meeting the labeling requirements of 7CFR 305.31, each carton must also be stamped with “Not for importation into or distribution in FL .” ( d) Each consignment is subject to inspection at the United States port s - of

- entry
. (e) The fruits are co mmercially produced and part of a commercial consignment only

. **C. Historical Perfo**  **rmance of Importing Irradiated Fruits** Although current regulations 7CFR 305.31 allow the use of irradiation to treat fruit for importation into the United States , no c ountry has shipped irradiated litchis to the United States . Regulation 7CFR318.13

- 4f allow s interstate movement of fifteen different fruit s , including litchis from Hawaii , treated with irradiation at a minimum absorbed dose of 150 Gy to 400 Gy

for fruit f

lies and other quarantine pests . No living pests of quarantine significance have been intercepted in irradiated Hawaiian fruits or vegetables shipped to the mainland U.S. (Uyeda , 2005). In a ddition, c onsignments of Australian mangoes irradiated with 150 Gy

dose and imported into New Zealand since 2004 have resulted in having no pests of concern intercepted b y the importing country (Edwards , 2005).4

**D .**  **Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pests of Concern from the Pathway** The measures described in Secti on **B** would effectively remove the pests of concern from the stated pathway

. Except for a mite, Aceria litchii , all the pests of concern for the importation of litchi from Australia are insect s . Irradiation of fruits and vegetable s with a minimum absorbe d dose of 400 Gy

is an APHIS approved treatment f o r mitigating risks from all insect pests except adults and pupae of the order Lepidoptera (USDA , 2006 ). Of the fourteen insect pests of concern, seven belong to the order Lepidoptera (USDA , 200 8 ). However , the adult or pupal stages of all these Lepidopteran pests are either not ass ociated with the mature frui t or they

feed externally and are large enough to be detected during preclearance inspections (BA , 2007). None of these Lepidopteran pests are known to pupate inside the fruit. The life stages of Lepidopteran pests that may be found internally in the fruit are eggs and larvae

. Irradiation with a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy i s an approved treatment to mitigate risk s from these immature stages of L epidopteran pests (USDA, 2006)

. Aceria litchi i is the only non - insect pest of quarantine significance that could follow the litchi pathway . The 400 Gy irradiation dose is not approved for this mite , and because of the mite ’ s microscopic size, inspection alone is not considered sufficient to mitigate the risk of introduction into the United S tates
. Based on the distribution and reported host range of this pest , we estimate it could establish in the continental United States in U.S. Plant Hardiness Zones 9

- 1 0 . Neither of its two hosts, longan or litchi, occur naturall y in the United States (USDA NRCS, 2003 ) ; however, both litchis and longan s are commerciall y grown in the southern United States (NCSU CIPM, 2003 ). In the absence of an effective post

- harvest treatment, we are prohibiting the importation or distribution of Litchi from Australia into Florida , where longan and litchi are cultivated

. This is consistent with current regulations allowing importation or movement of litchis from other countries or S tates infested with this mite , including Hawaii, China, India, and Thailand , whether irradiated or not

. The requirement for a PC provides phy tosanitary security b y requiring Australian officials to conduct phyt osanitary inspections for th e pest s targeted and not targeted b y the treatment . This effectively doubles the inspections the fruit receives. U
. S
. regulations on the use of irradiation require that the treatment be monitored where applied and the shipment examined by APHIS and the NPPO of the exporting country prior to departure as part of preclearance activities for pests of concern. Although 4 00 Gy irradiation dose is effective for all insect pests except the adults and pupae of Lepidoptera, inspections by the two NPPOs should ensure that the shipments are free of the two mature stages of the Lepidopteran pest s of concern5

A llowing onl y the co mmercial consignments into the United States assum es that the fruits and vegetables would un dergo standard post harvest commercial handling ( e.g. culling, packing, and sanitation) and ensures shipment integrity and trace back capability , as outlined in the Operational Workplan

. **E . Conclusion**  The phy tosanitary requirements described above include treatment of litchi from Australia with irradiation using a minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy , inspections for the pest s not targeted b y the irradiation treatment , and prohibition of importation and distribution into Florida

. APHI S concludes that based on the evaluation of effectiveness of these mitigation measures directed against the pests of concern , safeguard s of 7 CFR § 319.56 and requirement of a PC as d escribed in this Risk Management Document will result in the effective removal from the pathway of the pests of concern identified by the p est risk assessment (USDA, 200 8 ) for the importation of fresh litchi from Australia

. **F .**  **Author s**  Inder Paul S. Gadh , Ph. D. Senior Risk Manager

–Treatments 

### paul.gadh @aphis.usda.gov Donna L. West Senior Import Specialist 

### donna.l.west@aphis.usda.gov6

**G .**  **Literature Cited:** BA. 2007. Biosecurity Australia ’s R esponse to APHI S ’ Risk Assessment for Australian Litchi ( Litchi chinenesis Sonn). Dated May 2007, 14 pp . Edwards, G. 2005. Personal Communication from G. Edwards of N

. Z
. Department of Agriculture & Fishries to Karen Ackerman of USDA, APHI S, PPQ, Phy tosanitary I ssues Management, Riverdale, MD. NCSU CIP M. 2003. USDA Crop Profiles. North Carolina State University Center for Integrated Pest Management. http://cipm.ncsu.edu/CropProfiles/

. Last accessed July 2007. USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway

- Initiat ed 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 8
. Importation of Fresh Litchi, Litchi chinensis Sonn., Fruit from Austral ia into the Continental United States: A Qualitative , Pathway

- Initiated Pest Risk Assessment

. 85 pp . USDA NRCS. 2003. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. National Plant Data Center

. http://plants.usda.gov/

. Last ac cessed July 2007. Uyeda, E. 2005. Personal communication from E. Uyeda, Port Director, US Department of Agriculture, USDA, APHI S, PPQ , Hilo, HI.