United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Importation of Fresh Apricot, Prunus armeniaca Marshall,

Fruit from Continental Spain into the United States, 

including Hawaii and U.S. Territories

Risk Management Document

October 21, 2011

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Meredith Jones
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Introduction

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(USDA-APHIS) received a request from Spain to authorize importations of fresh apricot fruit 

into the United States. Since importation of fresh apricots from continental Spain is currently not 

authorized by United States regulations (7 CFR §319.56), a pathway-initiated pest risk 

assessment (PRA) was prepared by APHIS’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) to identify

the unmitigated pest risks associated with importation of fresh apricots from continental Spain 

(USDA, 2010). This document outlines the phytosanitary measures that APHIS will require if 

the proposed importation of apricot fruit from continental Spain is approved. 

The risk assessment identified the following quarantine pests (one fruit fly, one leaf rolling moth, 

and two fungal pathogens) as following the pathway of fresh apricot fruit from continental Spain:

Apiognomonia erythrostoma (Pers.: Fr.) Höhn. (Ascomycetes) Leaf scorch fungi

Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly)

Cydia funebrana (Treitschke) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Plum fruit moth

Monilinia fructigena Honey ex Whetzel (Discomycetes) Brown rot fungi

The fungal pathogen Apiognomonia erythrostoma was rated as having a Medium pest risk 

potential, and the remaining three species were assigned High pest risk potentials. APHIS-PPQ 

pest risk assessment guidelines (USDA, 2000) suggest that, for quarantine pests given an overall 

High risk potential rating, specific phytosanitary measures beyond standard port of entry

inspection are highly recommended to mitigate pest risk. For pests given an overall rating of 

Medium, additional measures beyond the standard port of entry inspection may be needed to 

mitigate pest risk.

The proposed importation of fresh apricot fruit from continental Spain, if approved, would be 

regulated by an amendment to existing fruit and vegetable import regulations (7 CFR §319.56). 

Pest risk management is the process of identifying ways to react to a perceived risk, evaluating 

the efficacy of these actions, and identifying the most appropriate options (IPPC, 2004). This 

document outlines phytosanitary measures and provides evidence of their efficacy in preventing 

the introduction of quarantine pests. The appropriate level of protection may be achieved through 

the application of a single phytosanitary measure, such as establishment of a pest-free area, pestfree place of production, quarantine treatment, or a combination of measures in a systems 

approach. 

Risk Management Measures

Apricots imported into the United States from continental Spain (excluding Balearic Islands and Canary

Islands) must be produced under a systems approach including the following risk management 

measures:

Monitoring and Oversight

 Apricots from Spain must be imported as a commercial consignment only.
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 The NPPO of Spain must provide a workplan to APHIS that details the activities

(including inspections, monitoring, trapping, and surveying) that the NPPO will carry out 

in order to meet the requirements of the systems approach. APHIS must approve the 

work plan.

 The NPPO of Spain must conduct inspections and monitor places of production and 

packinghouse operations to verify that they comply with the requirements of the work 

plan.

 If the NPPO of Spain finds that a place of production or packinghouse does not comply

with the requirements of the work plan, fruit from the place of production or 

packinghouse will not be eligible for export to the United States until APHIS and the 

NPPO of Spain conduct an investigation and implement appropriate remedial actions.

 The NPPO of Spain must review and maintain all documents related to export program 

activities in places of production and packinghouses for at least 1 year and, as requested, 

provide them to APHIS for review. 

Production Site Requirements

 Apricots must be grown in places of production registered and approved by the NPPO of 

Spain for export to the United States. The NPPO of the exporting country will visit and 

inspect the places of production monthly, starting two months (60 days) before harvest 

and continuing until the end of the shipping season.

 All fallen fruits from each place of production must be removed and destroyed weekly.

 The personnel conducting the trapping and pest surveys must be hired, trained, and 

supervised by the NPPO of Spain. The NPPO will certify that exporting places of 

production have fruit fly and moth trapping programs and follow control guidelines, 

when necessary, to reduce regulated pest populations. APHIS may monitor the places of 

production if necessary. 

Mitigations for Monilinia fructigena and Apiognomonia erythrostoma

 During the growing season apricots must be periodically inspected in the place of 

production for signs of both fungi infestations until harvest is completed. Infected leaves 

and fallen fruits must be removed from places of production to reduce the inoculum 

potential. Upon detection of fungal diseases of concern, the NPPO of Spain must notify

APHIS. APHIS may prohibit the importation into the United States of apricots from the 

production site for the season.
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Mitigations for Cydia funebrana (two options)

1. Pest-Free Area:

 Apricots must originate from a pest-free area for Cydia funebrana (in accordance to the 

International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM 4: Requirements for the 

establishment of pest-free areas; IPPC, 1996). 

2. Area of Low Pest Prevalence / Pest Management: 

 Each registered place of production must be inspected by the NPPO for signs of C. 

funebrana. Samples of 20 fruits per tree from 50 trees within every 4 hectares must be 

visually inspected by the NPPO every 7 days during the growing season. During the 

harvest period, samples of 40 fruits per tree from 50 trees within every 4 hectares must be 

visually inspected every 7 days until harvest is completed.

 Places of production must be trapped for Cydia funebrana with APHIS approved 

pheromone traps at a density of two traps per 4 hectares (minimum of 2 traps per place of 

production). Traps must be checked every 7 days from fruit formation until the harvest is 

completed.

 If the trap counts are greater than 10 moths per trap per week or more than 1% of the 

fruits sampled during the fruit sampling in one week are damaged or are found to have 

any life stage of Cydia funebrana, a control strategy must be implemented with 

treatments approved by APHIS and the NPPO of Spain. 

 The NPPO of Spain must keep records of the placement of traps, trap visits, trap counts 

and treatments for each registered place of production. The NPPO must maintain these 

records for at least one year and make them available to APHIS upon request.

Mitigations for Ceratitis capitata

 Each place of production must be trapped for Ceratitis capitata with one APHISapproved trap per 12 hectares (minimum of one trap per place of production) beginning

May 1st and remaining in place and in service until harvesting is completed. Traps must 

be serviced every 7 days. 

 Any time that trap counts are greater than 0.5 flies per trap per day, a control strategy

must be implemented and approved by APHIS and the NPPO of Spain.

 The NPPO of Spain must keep records of the placement of traps, trap visits, trap counts 

and treatments for each registered place of production. The NPPO must maintain these 

records for at least one year and make them available to APHIS upon request.

 The apricots must be subjected to a cold treatment for Ceratitis capitata according to the 

APHIS treatment schedule T107-a. 
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Post-harvest Procedures and Packinghouse Requirements

 Apricot fruit must be safeguarded by a pest-proof screen or plastic tarpaulin, or by some 

other barrier, while in transit to the packinghouse and while awaiting packing. 

 Apricots must be packed within 24 hours of harvest in a pest-exclusionary packinghouse.

 Apricots must be processed in packinghouses registered and approved by the NPPO of 

Spain for export to the United States.

 Fruit must be packed in insect-proof cartons or containers (sealed at the packinghouse to 

prevent the entry of pests), or covered with insect-proof mesh or a plastic tarpaulin for 

transport to the United States. These safeguards must remain intact until arrival in the 

United States. 

 All openings to the outside of the packinghouse must be covered by screening with 

openings of not more than 1.5 mm or by some other barrier that prevents pests from 

entering. The packinghouse must have double doors at the entrance to the facility and at 

the interior entrance to the area where the apricot fruits are packed. 

 During the time the packinghouse is in use for exporting apricot fruit to the United States, 

the packinghouse may only accept fruit from registered, approved places of production. 

Phytosanitary Inspection

 A biometric sample of apricot fruit (jointly agreed upon by APHIS and the NPPO of 

Spain) must be inspected in Spain by the Spanish NPPO following post-harvest 

processing. The sample will be visually inspected for the quarantine pests: Cydia 

funebrana, Apiognomonia erythrostoma and Monilinia fructigena, and a portion of the 

fruit will be cut open to detect the internal pest Ceratitis capitata. If any Cydia 

funebrana, Apiognomonia erythrostoma, Monilinia fructigena or Ceratitis capitata are 

found, the entire consignment of fruit will be prohibited from import into the United 

States. 

 Fruit presented for inspection at the port of entry to the United States must be identified 

in the shipping documents accompanying each consignment of fruit that specify the place 

of production in which the fruit was produced, and the packinghouse in which the fruit 

was processed. This identification must be maintained until the fruit is released for entry

into the United States. 
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Phytosanitary Certificate

 Each consignment of apricot fruit must be accompanied by a Phytosanitary Certificate 

issued by NPPO of Spain, providing an Additional Declaration (AD) stating: “The fruit in 

the consignment was grown in an approved place of production, inspected, and found 

free from Cydia funebrana, Apiognomonia erythrostoma, Monilinia fructigena, and

Ceratitis capitata.”

Efficacy of Risk Management Measures

Apricots from continental Spain will be imported under a systems approach with multiple 

measures to remove risk from the four pests listed in the risk assessment. A systems approach 

can provide an alternative to single measures to meet the appropriate level of phytosanitary

protection, or can be developed to provide phytosanitary protection in situations in which no 

single measure is available (IPPC, 2002). For example, Hass avocados from Mexico have been 

produced and exported to the United States under a systems approach for Stenoma catenifer, 

seed and stem weevils and fruit flies with no interceptions of quarantine pests for over eight 

years (Bedigian, 2004).

A pest-free place of production is one of the mitigation options for Cydia funebrana. 

Establishment of pest-free places of production in combination with other measures removes the 

need for post-harvest commodity treatments to achieve phytosanitary security (IPPC, 1996;

1999). Pest-free places of production are a major component of the Mexico Hass avocado 

systems approach. The other mitigation option for Cydia funebrana is low pest prevalence as 

determined by trapping and fruit sampling and maintained by pest control activities. Low pest 

prevalence in combination with inspection will be sufficient mitigation since apricots are not 

preferred hosts for Cydia funebrana (Sciarretta et al., 2001) and larvae produce conspicuous 

damage to the fruit including mines on the surface of the fruit and holes filled with frass (Alford, 

2005). The larvae do not pupate in the fruit, and the exiting larvae leave a hole in the fruit; 

attacked fruit ripen prematurely and are easily distinguished from the other fruit (Alford, 2005).

Trapping guidelines for Ceratitis capitata follow the International Atomic Energy Agency

guidelines on fruit fly trapping for low prevalence areas (IAEA, 2003). The populations of 

Ceratitis capitata will be maintained at low prevalence levels using trapping and field control 

measures, which will prevent swamping of the cold treatment by high larval populations. The 

cold treatment for Ceratitis capitata is an APHIS-approved cold treatment (USDA, 2011b).

Monilinia fructigena is the most common cause of fruit rot in fruit orchards, causing 

characteristic brown rot symptoms with conidial pustules often in concentric circles (CABI, 

2011). Apiognomonia erythrostoma produces distinctive reddish spots as symptoms on leaves 

and fruits (SMML, 2011). Fungicides, not required in this systems approach, are field applied to 

apricot in Spain as a standard disease control measure, which provides an extra element of 

incidental control. Field inspections, packinghouse inspections, and the Phytosanitary Certificate 

stating disease freedom are considered sufficient mitigation measures for the fungal diseases. 

Similar mitigation measures have been used successfully to mitigate Monilinia fructigena on 

China pears (7 CFR §319.56).
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Field sanitation of removing fallen fruit is required under this systems approach, and this will 

remove fruit from the field which would otherwise provide host material for pests of concern. 

Culling at the packing house, while not required in this system approach, is a standard industry

practice which removes all obviously blemished, diseased and insect-infested fruits from the 

pathway. 

Registration of places of production and packinghouses will allow trace back and auditing. Any 

problem places of production and packinghouses will be removed from the export program.

Apricots produced under this systems approach will also be subject to inspection by Department 

of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the United States port of entry. 

Infested fruit will be rejected, and trace back will be done by APHIS and the NPPO of Spain to 

identify and correct problems including removal of the packinghouse or place of production from 

the export program.

Summary

There are several risk management measures available for the high-risk pests identified above 

that will permit the importation of apricots from continental Spain while satisfying the 

appropriate level of phytosanitary protection for the United States (Table 1). A systems 

approach, employing a combination of measures acting independently, if properly implemented, 

mitigates risk and provides an acceptable level of phytosanitary protection.

All port of entry requirements described in this document are necessary for proper and effective 

enforcement and will be codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (Appendix). All other 

operational requirements will be enforced via an operational workplan with the NPPO of the 

exporting country.

Table 1. Summary of risk management measures for apricots, Prunus armeniaca, from 

continental Spain.

Measure Pest Efficacy

Monitoring and oversight All, but must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigations.

Requires that the NPPO develop a 

work plan jointly with APHIS and 

maintain oversight over all mitigation 

activities. 

Place of Production 

requirements

All, but must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigation measures.

Places of production required to be 

visited, monitored, and registered by

the Spanish NPPO for appropriate pest 

management activities.

Pest-Free Areas for 

Cydia funebrana

Cydia funebrana Provides phytosanitary security, as 

demonstrated by successful 

recognition of a number of pest-free 

areas by APHIS (USDA, 2011a). 

Low prevalence for Cydia funebrana, but Maintaining Cydia funebrana at low 
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Measure Pest Efficacy

Cydia funebrana

including trapping and 

fruit sampling

must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigation measures.

population levels is sufficient 

protection along with inspection since 

this pest leaves large frass-filled holes 

in fruit, and apricots are not a primary

host.

Low prevalence for 

Ceratitis capitata 

including trapping and 

NPPO inspection.

Ceratitis capitata, but 

must be used in 

conjunction with an 

approved quarantine 

measures.

Reducing Ceratitis capitata

populations will reduce the pest load 

present when a quarantine treatment is 

applied, preventing treatment failure 

due to high pest load.

Cold treatment Ceratitis capitata T107a is an APHIS-approved 

quarantine treatment (USDA, 2011b).

Sampling/inspection, and 

fruit removal for

Monilinia fructigena and

Apiognomonia 

erythrostoma

Monilinia fructigena and

Apiognomonia 

erythrostoma.

Sampling/inspection, and fruit 

removal for both fungal diseases will 

reduce disease infestation (CABI, 

2011; USDA, 2010).

Orchard Sanitation All, but must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigation measures.

Fallen fruits and any infected leaves 

must be removed and destroyed 

weekly.

Post-harvest procedures All, but must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigation measures.

Removal of any damaged or diseased 

fruit reduces the risk that pests will be 

exported to the United States.

Phytosanitary inspection All, but must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigation measures.

Inspection 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).

Symptoms of Monilinia fructigena 

and Apiognomonia erythrostoma are 

visually detected (CABI, 2011) 

Regular inspections are recognized as 

part of a balanced pest management 

program (Kahn and Mathur ,1999). 

Phytosanitary Certificate All, but must be used in 

conjunction with other 

mitigation measures.

The Phytosanitary Certificate requires 

the NPPO to inspect the apricots for 

quarantine pests. 
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Authors

Walter Gould, Senior Risk Manager

APHIS-PPQ

José R. Hernández, Senior Risk Manager, APHIS-PPQ

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