United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Commodity Import Evaluation Document (CIED)

Country of Origin: Australia Date of Request: September 7, 2010

Commodity: All Mediterranean fruit fly host material from Australia 

including New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South 

Australia, Victoria and Tasmania that is currently enterable to the 

United States with mitigations for fruit flies. All Queensland fruit fly 

host material from Australia including Western Australia that is 

currently enterable to the United States with mitigations for fruit flies. 

Mitigations for other pests are still required.

Common name(s): N/A

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Recognition of additional States as Medfly and Queensland fruit fly PestFree Areas (PFA) for Australia 

Currently, certain Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly, Ceratitis capitata) and Queensland 

fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) host materials (fruit) may be imported into the United States 

from areas in Australia that are free of both Medfly and Queensland fruit fly, or from 

areas in Australia with Medfly and Queensland fruit fly after an approved APHIS 

treatment is used to mitigate the pests. APHIS currently recognizes the following areas 

in Australia as free of both fruit flies:

(1) The Riverland district of South Australia, defined as the county of Hamley; 

the geographical subdivisions, called hundreds, of Bookpurnong, Cadell, Eba, 

Fisher, Forster, Gordon, Hay, Holder, Katarapko, Loveday, Markaranka, Morook, 

Murbko, Murtho, Nildottie, Paisley, Parcoola, Paringa, Pooginook, Pyap, Ridley, 

Skurray, Stuart, and Waikerie; and the Parish of Onley of the Shire of Mildura, 

Victoria;

(2) The Riverina district of New South Wales, defined as: (i) The shire of 

Carrathool; and (ii) The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, which is within the 

administrative boundaries of the city of Griffith and the shires of Leeton, 

Narrendera, and Murrumbidgee; and 
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(3) The Sunraysia district, defined as the shires of Wentworth and Balranald in 

New South Wales and the shires of Mildura, Swan Hill, Wakool, and Kerang, the 

cities of Mildura and Swan Hill, and the borough of Kerang in Victoria in 

Australia.

(4) Tasmania has been historically free of all fruit flies and has been recognized as 

fruit fly free and has exported fruit to the United States under that status since 

1998.

In 2010 Biosecurity Australia requested recognition of new areas from which Medfly and

Queensland fruit fly host material (fruit) could be exported to the United States. Each 

proposed pest free area is free of one of the fruit flies, but may have the other fruit fly, so 

the areas are not free of all fruit flies. Fruit from both areas of Australia, except for the 

areas free of both Medfly and Queensland fruit fly, will still require a quarantine 

treatment, because each area will still have one fruit fly. However the treatments 

required are different for each fly, are less stringent than the treatments for both flies, and 

therefore are less damaging to the commodity.

Survey and detection protocols for a PFA must be evaluated and approved by APHIS 

before the declared PFA is recognized by APHIS as pest-free. Before host commodities 

associated with the PFA can be imported into the United States, the requirements of 7 

CFR 319.56-5 must be met. This includes following the criteria for establishing and 

maintaining a PFA in the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No.4: 

“Requirements for the Establishment of Pest free areas” (IPPC, 1995).

In response to Biosecurity Australia’s request, APHIS evaluated the fruit fly program and 

pest survey protocols, and the phytosanitary risks associated with importing fruit from the 

additional areas declared pest-free for a specific fruit fly species by Australia. 

Biosecurity Australia provided APHIS with survey data and information relating to their 

establishment and management of the pest-free areas for Medfly and Queensland fruit 

fly. Each area has been historically free of Mediterranean fruit fly or Queensland fruit 

fly, and any outbreaks have been eradicated promptly. These areas are well defined 

geographic areas of Australia (Figure 1). 

Natural barriers act as buffer zones between populations of fruit flies in the western and 

eastern parts of Australia, and the Biosecurity Services Group has a National Exotic 

Fruit Fly Surveillance Program to reduce and eradicate any new populations of fruit flies 

in western and eastern Australia. The central portion of Australia is dominated by several 

deserts and arid zones where the entire region is a desert or scrub desert with very low 

rainfall and little or no natural vegetation. This region is free of fruit fly host material 

and approximately 2,500 to 3,500 kilometers wide. To manage the risk of facilitated 

transport, domestic regulations and movement controls are imposed to prevent the spread 

of Medfly and Queensland fruit fly to areas where they are not already present. 

In October, 2010, Biosecurity Australia provided confirmation to APHIS that it has been 

over one year since any Mediterranean fruit flies were found in the eastern provinces of 

Australia or Queensland fruit fly was found in Western Australia. In fact these areas 
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historically have been free of fruit flies for many years, with only minor outbreaks 

detected and eradicated. In September 2010, Biosecurity Australia provided APHIS with 

a description of the geographic boundaries of the portions of Australia that are to be 

included in the pest free areas.

The program to establish and maintain the western part of Australia as free of Queensland 

fruit fly and the eastern states of Australia as free of Medfly followed the same 

guidelines, protocols and manuals as the area of Australia that currently is recognized by 

APHIS as fruit fly free (Anonymous, 2000; IPHRWG, 1996). The Biosecurity Services 

Group and the Autralian State and territorial governments follow international protocols 

for fruit fly trapping and control programs. The trap types, baits and lures, density of 

traps and servicing intervals are all in accordance with IAEA (International Atomic 

Energy Agency) and APHIS protocols for eradication and maintenance of fruit fly pest 

free areas. Biosecurity Services Group and the Australian State and territorial 

governments maintain 25,000 fruit fly traps as part of the National Exotic Fruit Fly 

Surveillance Program. Biosecurity Services Group and the Australian State and 

territorial governments maintain quality controls over the trapping programs (Jessup et 

al., 2007). 

Biosecurity Australia has an emergency response plan for Mediterranean fruit fly and 

Queensland fruit fly. Any time there is an outbreak (defined as captures of more than one 
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fly or larvae) the plan is activated. The plan is very detailed about what to do with the 

suspicious capture and how the program will respond. A grid is created and additional 

traps are installed. Eradication activities are initiated which may include bait sprays, 

male annihilation technique, fruit sampling, and fruit disposal. A regulated area is 

established, and regulated fruit must be treated if it is to leave the area. 

Activities performed to support the pest-free areas in western and eastern Australia 

included the following risk management measures: surveillance, audits of trap placement, 

trap methods, trap records, diagnostic tests, post-harvest packing procedures, interception 

and sampling data from destructive analysis, record keeping, and training of personnel to 

maintain phytosanitary security of the importing country (such as safeguarding, signage, 

consignment integrity, and pest identification skills). 

Establishment and maintenance of this pest free area for fruit flies conforms to 

International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) # 4 and (ISPM) # 26, which 

includes systems to establish freedom, phytosanitary measures to maintain freedom, and 

checks to verify freedom has been maintained (IPPC, 1995; 2006). These PFA 

components were achieved through data assembly, trapping surveys (delimiting, 

detection and monitoring), regulatory controls, audits and documentation.

After reviewing the information provided by Biosecurity Australia, as summarized above, 

I have concluded that the eastern part of Australia including New South Wales, Northern 

Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia meets the 

requirements of 7 CFR 319.56-5 for establishing and maintaining pest-free areas. In 

addition, the survey and emergency action protocols used to determine and maintain pestfree status in Australia meet APHIS’s approval. 

Recommendations:

Based on their review of the survey data and other information APHIS has concluded that 

the eastern part of Australia including New South Wales, Northern Territory, 

Queensland, South Australia and Victoria can be recognized as free of the Mediterranean 

fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, and Western Australia can be recognized as free of the 

Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni. This action would recognize portions of 

Australia as free of the pest Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly, Ceratitis capitata

Wiedemann) and other portions of Australia as free of the Queensland fruit fly 

(Bactrocera tryoni) and allow the importation of Medfly and Queensland fruit fly host 

material (fruit) into the United States from these areas of Australia with only mitigations 

or requirements for Medfly when Medfly is the only pest of concern, or for Queensland 

fruit fly when Queensland fruit fly is the only pest of concern. 

References

7 CFR 319.56-5. 2008. Code of Federal Regulations. Title 7. Part 319-5 Pest-free areas. 

Office of Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington 

DC, USA.
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Anonymous, 2000. A Submission Supporting Area Freedom from Queensland Fruit Fly 

and Mediterranean Fruit Fly for the Riverland, Sunraysia and Riverrina Pest Free Areas 

of Mainland Australia. Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - Australia.

Jessup, A.J., B. Domniak, B. Woods, C.P.F. De Lima, A. Tomkins and C.J. Smallridge. 

2007. Area-wide management of fruit flies in Australia. In Area wide control of insect 

pests, M.J.B. Vreysen, A.S. Robinson and J. Hendrichs, eds. Springer Verlag, Dordrecht, 

the Netherlands. p. 685-697.

IPHRWG. 1996. Code of Practice for Management of Queensland Fruit Fly. The 

Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management. Prepared by Interstate 

Plant Health Regulation Working Group (IPHRWG). 

IPPC. 1995. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 4. Requirements for 

the Establishment of Pest Free Areas. Secretariat of International Plant Protection 

Convention. FAO. 4 pp.

IPPC. 2006. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 26. Establishment of 

pest free areas for fruit flies (Tephritidae). Secretariat of International Plant Protection 

Convention. FAO. 15 pp.

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__X___ APPROVED 

Conditions of Entry: 

Must meet requirements of 7 CFR 319.56-5

And any quarantine treatment required for pests 

not covered by the pest free area. 

_____ DISAPPROVED

Justification

___________________________ _________________

Signature (name) Date