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



### Risk Management Document

Importation of Fresh F ruit of Tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum 

### ) from the Economic Community of West African States

June 16, 2011

Plant Health Programs (PHP) Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)
Contact Person: Philip B. Grove2 Introduction:

The pest risk assessment (PRA) document, “ Importation of Tomatoes

, Solanum lycopersicum from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) into
the Continental United States ” (USDA, 2 009 ) listed ten quarantine pests that may follow the pathway of commercial shipments of fresh tomatoes with the stem and calyx
removed. S even pests were rat ed as high risk. Three pests were rated as medium risk. APHIS has determined that measures beyond a standard port

- of

- entry inspection are required to mitigate the plant pest risk of these t e n pests.

P ests rated High :

Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillet) ( Diptera: Tephritidae)
Bactrocera invadens (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Ceratitis rosa Karsh (Diptera: Tephritidae) Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Helicoverpa assulta (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Leucinodes orbonalis (Guené e) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

P ests rated Medium :

Chrysodeixis chalcites Esper (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) Nipaecoccus viridis (Newstead) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

The E conomic C ommunity O f W est A frican S tates is comprised of 15 member states: The Republic of Benin, Bu rkina Faso, The Republic of Cape Verde, The Republic of Cote D’Ivoire, The Republic of Gambia, The Republic of Ghana, The Republic of
Guine a , The Republic of Guine a Bissau, The Republic of Liberia, The Republic of Mali, The Republic of Niger, The Federal Republic of Nigeria, The Republic of Senegal, The Republic of Sierra Leone, and the Togolese Republic.

Since 1997, APHIS ha s allowed the importation of tomatoes from various countries, including areas in Morocco and Western Sahara, using a systems approach to mitigate
risks from Ceratitis capitata ( Medfly ) . The tomatoes must be grown in registered production sites in accordance with the systems approach codified in 7 CFR § 319.56

- 2 8

, (USDA, 20 1 0) . This systems approach has also been used effectively for tomato imports
from other countries such as Spain, F rance, and Chile.

Due to the presence of Medfly

, and other pests of concern in all countries comprising
ECOWAS , member states of ECOWAS wishing to export tomatoes to the c ontinental
United Sta t es must follow the conditions of the proposed systems approach with several mitigation measures , including production in pest exclusionary structures (PESs) within registered production sites

. Production in PESs will prevent the introduction of fruit flies3 ( C

. capitata

, B

. cucurbita e , B

. invadens , and C

. rosa ), as we ll as the moths ( C

. chalcites

, H

. armigera

, H. assulta

, L

. orbonalis ) and the mealybugs ( M

. hirsutus , and N

. viridis ).

The proposed importation of tomatoes from ECOWAS, if approved, would be regulated by an amendment to the existing fruit and vegetables Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR § 319.56). This document outlines the phytosanitary measures that APHIS will require if the proposed importation of tomatoes from ECOWAS is approved.
I ssuance of permits for importation of tomato would be conti ngent on the receipt of a formal request for U.S. market access from the exporting country and approval by APHIS
of an export program using a systems approach

. A site visit by APHIS to approve the production s i tes and assure that they contain pest exclusi onary structures would be required before final approval of the export program will be given.

R isk Management Measures:

We are proposing the following set of mitigation measures:

**•** The fruit flies Bactrocera cucurbita e (melon fly), B

. invadens

, Ceratitis capitata (Medfly) and C

. rosa (natal fruit fly) currently occur in ECOWAS and are listed

as quarantine pest s in the continental United States. Tomatoes must be grown in approved registered production sites. Initial approval of the production s ites will be completed jointly by the NPPO of the requesting ECOWAS country and
APHIS. The NPPO of the exporting country will visit and inspect the production
sites monthly , beginning two months before harvest and continuing through the end of the shippin g season. APHIS may monitor the production sites if necessary.

**•** Tomato production sites must consist of a pest exclusionary structure (s) (PES)

, which must have self

- closing double doors, and all openings, including vents,

must be covered by screening with a mesh opening of 1.6mm or less. The PESs will prevent the introduction of the four fruit flies of concern ( B. cucurbitae

, B. invadens

, C. capitata and C. rosa ), as well as the moths ( C. chalcites

, H

. armigera

, H. assulta

, L. orbonalis ) and the mealybugs ( M. hirsutus , and N. viridis ).

**•** For the detection of four fruit flies of concern , traps with appro priate protein bait, must be placed inside the PES at a density of 8 traps/hectare (ha)

, with a minimum of 4 traps in each pest ex clusionary structure. The traps will be
monitored once a week.

**•** Detection of a single fruit fly of concern inside a PES during two months prior to export and continuing through the duration of the harvest, or detection of a fruit fly of concern in a consig nment at port of entry inspection which is traced back to

a PES will result in immediate cancellation of export s from that production site
until APHIS and NPPO of the exporting country mutually determine that risk mitigation is achieved.

**•** There may be no sh ade trees within 10 meters of the entry door of the PES and

no fruit fly host material within 5 0 meters of entry door of the PES . A 3 to 10 meter vegetation

- free zone around the outside perimeter of the PES is recommended but not required.4 **•** Trapping will be conducted by the NPPO of the exporting country

. The NPPO of the exporting country must maintain records of trap place ment, trap maintenance, and any captures of the fruit flies of concern . The NPPO of the exporting country

mus t maintain an APHIS approved quality control program to monitor or audit the trapping program. The trapping records must be maintained for one year for
APHIS review.

**•** Tomatoes for export to the United States must have the stem and calyx removed. The tomatoes may be in any stage of ripeness.

**•** The tomatoes must be packed within 24 hours of harvest

. The tomatoes must be safeguarded by an insect

- proof mesh screen or plastic tarpaulin while in transit to the packing house and while awaiting packing. Tomatoes must be packe d in insect proof cartons or containers or covered with insect

- proof mesh or plastic tarpaulin for transit to the airport and export to the United States. These safeguards must remain intact upon arrival in the United States or they will be refused entry

.

**•** For shipments by sea: Tomatoes must be safeguarded by an insect

- proof mesh screen or plastic tarpaulins while in transit to the packing house and while awaiting packing. Tomatoes must be packed in insect proof cartons or containers
or covered with inse ct

- proof mesh or plastic tarpaulin, and these safeguards must be intact upon arrival in the United States. Sea containers must be kept closed if
stored within 20 meters of fruit fly host prior to loading.

**•** During the time the packing house is packing frui t for export to the United States, the packing house may only accept fruit from registered production sites.

**•** Each shipment of tomatoes must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of the ECOWAS member country and bearing the
Addit ional Declaration (AD) , “These tomatoes were grown in registered production sites in ( Insert ECOWAS member country ) and the consignment has been inspected and found free of the pests of concern .”

Efficacy of Risk Management Measures:

The mitigation measures described in this document are necessary to achieve phytosanitary security for ECOWAS tomatoes that are consistent with those for t omatoes currently allowed entry into the United States under 7 CFR §319.56

- 28. Use of registered pro duction sites, including PESs equipped with double self

- closing doors, and covering of vents or openings in the PES (other than the double closing doors) with 1.6 mm or less screening in order to prevent the entry of quarantine pests is also consistent
wit h the requirements for importation of tomatoes from other countries under 7 CFR §319.56

- 28.

A search of records on tomato imports since 1997

, revealed no record s of interception of
either fruit flies or major lepidopteran quarantine pests (US Pest ID 2008 ) thereby suggesting the effectiveness of the systems approach.5 Requiring an Additional Declaration (AD) specifically requires the NPPO to inspect the
tomatoes for presence of all quarantine pests.

Summary:

By themselves, registered production sites t hat include PESs provide the level of phytosanitary security required by the United States. A systems approach, employing a combination of measures acting independently, if properly implemented, also mitigates risk and provides an acceptable level of phyto sanitary protection.

The requirement for production in a PES diminishes the l ikelihood of quarantine pests
follow ing the pathway. Therefore, the importation of tomatoes from ECOWAS would be restricted to commercial shipments only.

The requirement of a Phytosanitary C ertificate from the NPPO of the exporting member country of ECOWAS would document that the importation is a product of that ECOWAS member country . A Phytosanitary C ertificate also provides phyto sanitary security by requiring the NPPO to con duct inspections for pests of concern . Therefore, APHIS will require each cons ignment to be accompanied by a Phytosanitary C ertificate with an AD verifying that the consignment has been produced in registered production sites

.
These inspections double the number of inspection s each tomato receives by requiring phytosanitary inspections in addition to the normal packinghouse quality inspections. Importations of tomato from ECOWAS member countries would also be subject to inspection at the port of entry into the United States.

Author:

Devaiah A. Muruvanda, Ph.D. Senior Risk Manager

- Entomology

References:

USDA, 20 1 0. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 319 (7 CFR § 319 Foreign Quarantine Notices) Subpart 56 (Fruits and Vegetable). United States Government

.

USDA, 200 9

. APHIS, Center for Plant Health Science and Technology. Importation of Tomatoes, Solanum lycopersicum , from the Economic Community of West African
State s (ECOWAS) into the Continental United States, A Qualitative, Pathway

- In itiated Pest Risk Assessment, 82 pp

.

US Pest ID Database, 2008. (Accessed May 14, 2008), United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant P rotection and Quarantine, Riverdale, MD.