This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

68057 

Vol. 76, No. 213 

Thursday, November 3, 2011 

1To view the proposed rule, the pest risk 

analysis, and the comments we received, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;

D=APHIS-2010-0101. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

7 CFR Part 319 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0101] 

RIN 0579–AD39 

Importation of French Beans and 

Runner Beans From the Republic of 

Kenya Into the United States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are amending the fruits 

and vegetables regulations to allow the 

importation of French beans and runner 

beans from the Republic of Kenya into 

the United States. As a condition of 

entry, both commodities will have to be 

produced in accordance with a systems 

approach that would include 

requirements for packing, washing, and 

processing. Both commodities will also 

be required to be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate attesting that 

all phytosanitary requirements have 

been met and that the consignment was 

inspected and found free of quarantine 

pests. This action will allow for the 

importation of French beans and runner 

beans from the Republic of Kenya into 

the United States while continuing to 

provide protection against the 

introduction of plant pests. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 5, 2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Marc Phillips, Import Specialist, 

Regulatory Coordination and 

Compliance, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737; 

(301) 734–4394. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The regulations in ‘‘Subpart—Fruits 

and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56–1 

through 319.56–53, referred to below as 

the regulations) prohibit or restrict the 

importation of fruits and vegetables into 

the United States from certain parts of 

the world to prevent the introduction 

and dissemination of plant pests within 

the United States. 

On March 25, 2011, we published in 

the Federal Register (76 FR 16700– 

16703, Docket No. APHIS–2010–0101) a 

proposal 1 to amend the regulations by 

allowing French beans and runner beans 

from the Republic of Kenya to be 

imported into the United States if they 

are cut, shredded, or split and inspected 

for quarantine pests, and if certain other 

requirements are met. 

We solicited comments concerning 

our proposal for 60 days ending May 24, 

2011. We received two comments by 

that date. They were from a State 

department of agriculture and a member 

of the general public. 

One commenter stated opposition to 

the importation of French and runner 

beans from Kenya without raising any 

issues related to the pest risk analysis or 

proposed rule. 

The other commenter recommended 

that shipments of French and runner 

beans from Kenya not be permitted 

entry into the commenter’s State until 

the shipping protocol has had sufficient 

time to demonstrate the effectiveness of 

the proposed mitigation measures. 

The pest risk analysis we prepared for 

this action, which includes a 

qualitative, pathway-initiated pest risk 

assessment and a risk management 

document, not only identifies 10 

quarantine pests that could potentially 

accompany shipments of fresh French 

and runner beans from Kenya, but also 

identifies mitigation measures that must 

be completed before these commodities 

can be safely imported into the United 

States. The cutting or shredding and 

splitting of the bean described in the 

proposed rule will expose and allow 

detection of internal feeders, thereby 

mitigating the risk of the quarantine 

pests being introduced into the United 

States via the importation of this 

commodity. As we receive imports from 

the program, we will continue to 

evaluate the effectiveness of the 

program. 

Therefore, for the reasons given in the 

proposed rule and in this document, we 

are adopting the proposed rule as a final 

rule, without change. 

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory 

Flexibility Act 

This final rule has been has been 

determined to be not significant for the 

purposes of Executive Order 12866 and, 

therefore, has not been reviewed by the 

Office of Management and Budget. 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act, we have analyzed the 

potential economic effects of this action 

on small entities. The analysis is 

summarized below. Copies of the full 

analysis are available by contacting the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT or on the 

Regulations.gov Web site (see 

ADDRESSES above for instructions for 

accessing Regulations.gov). 

Kenya produced an average of about 

37,000 metric tons (MT) of French beans 

per year between 2004 and 2009, of 

which it exported an average of about 

34,000 MT, primarily to the European 

Union (EU). The EU provides a wellestablished market, and it is unlikely 

that there would be a large diversion of 

French bean exports by Kenya from this 

market to the United States. 

To examine potential effects of the 

rule for U.S. small entities, we model 

three levels of French bean exports to 

the United States from Kenya, of 

increasing magnitude: The amount that 

Kenya expects to export to the United 

States (800 MT), and amounts equal to 

5 percent and 10 percent of Kenya’s 

average annual exports worldwide, 

2004–2009 (1,750 MT and 3,500 MT). 

The largest assumed level is equivalent 

to 1.3 percent of average annual 

consumption by the United States 

during this same period. 

Yearly French bean imports from 

Kenya of 3,500 MT are estimated to 

result in a price decline of $12.35 per 

MT, or less than 1 cent per pound in the 

wholesale price of green beans, and a 

fall in U.S. production of 1,838 MT. 

Consumption is estimated to increase by 

1,660 MT. Producer welfare could 

decline by $2.84 million and consumer 

welfare could increase by $3.25 million, 

yielding an annual net welfare gain of 

about $410,000. 

While most U.S. green bean producers 

are small entities, the annual decrease 

in producer welfare per small entity for 

the 3,500 MT import scenario is 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES
68058 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 213 / Thursday, November 3, 2011 / Rules and Regulations 

estimated to be only about $64, or about 

0.7 percent of average annual sales by 

small entities. The dollar decrease in 

welfare for most small fresh bean 

producers would be even smaller, given 

that the majority planted less than an 

acre in green beans in 2007, while the 

average area planted in green beans by 

small-entity producers was 2.4 acres. 

Also, effects are likely to be smaller than 

indicated, to the extent that fresh 

French bean imports from Kenya would 

displace fresh bean imports from other 

countries. 

Under these circumstances, the 

Administrator of the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service has 

determined that this action will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

Executive Order 12988 

This final rule allows French beans 

and runner beans to be imported into 

the United States from the Republic of 

Kenya. State and local laws and 

regulations regarding French beans and 

runner beans imported under this rule 

will be preempted while the fruit is in 

foreign commerce. Fresh fruits and 

vegetables are generally imported for 

immediate distribution and sale to the 

consuming public, and remain in 

foreign commerce until sold to the 

ultimate consumer. The question of 

when foreign commerce ceases in other 

cases must be addressed on a case-bycase basis. No retroactive effect will be 

given to this rule, and this rule will not 

require administrative proceedings 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 

et seq.), the information collection or 

recordkeeping requirements included in 

this rule have been approved by the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) under OMB control number 

0579–0373. 

E-Government Act Compliance 

The Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is committed to 

compliance with the E-Government Act 

to promote the use of the Internet and 

other information technologies, to 

provide increased opportunities for 

citizen access to Government 

information and services, and for other 

purposes. For information pertinent to 

E-Government Act compliance related 

to this rule, please contact Mrs. Celeste 

Sickles, APHIS’ Information Collection 

Coordinator, at (301) 851–2908. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 319 

Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Imports, Logs, 

Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, 

Quarantine, Reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements, Rice, 

Vegetables. 

Accordingly, we are amending 7 CFR 

part 319 as follows: 

PART 319—FOREIGN QUARANTINE 

NOTICES 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 319 

continues to read as follows: 

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. 

■ 2. A new § 319.56–54 is added to read 

as follows: 

§ 319.56–54 French beans and runner 

beans from Kenya. 

French beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) 

and runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus 

L.) may be imported into the United 

States from Kenya only under the 

conditions described in this section. 

These conditions are designed to 

prevent the introduction of the 

following quarantine pests: Bactrocera 

cucurbitae, Chrysodeixis chalcites, 

Dacus ciliatus, Helicoverpa armigera, 

Lampides boeticus, Liriomyza 

huidobrensis, Maconellicoccus hirsutus, 

Maruca vitrata, Spodoptera littoralis, 

and Thaumatotibia leucotreta. 

(a) Packinghouse requirements. The 

beans must be packed in packing 

facilities that are approved and 

registered with Kenya’s national plant 

protection organization (NPPO). Each 

shipping box must be marked with the 

identity of the packing facility. 

(b) Post-harvest processing. The beans 

must be washed in potable water. Each 

bean pod must be either cut into 

chevrons or pieces that do not exceed 2 

centimeters in length, or shredded or 

split the length of the bean pod. Split or 

shredded bean pod pieces may not 

exceed 8 centimeters in length and 8.5 

millimeters in diameter. 

(c) Commercial consignments. French 

beans and runner beans must be 

imported as commercial consignments 

only. 

(d) Phytosanitary certificate. Each 

consignment of French beans or runner 

beans must be accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate issued by 

Kenya’s NPPO attesting that the 

conditions of this section have been met 

and that the consignment has been 

inspected and found free of the pests 

listed in this section. 

(Approved by the Office of Management and 

Budget under control number 0579–0373) 

Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of 

October 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–28509 Filed 11–2–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Part 381 

[Docket No. FSIS–2007–0048] 

RIN 0583–AC83 

Classes of Poultry 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending 

the definitions and standards for the 

official U.S. classes of poultry so that 

they more accurately and clearly 

describe the characteristics of poultry in 

the market today. Poultry classes are 

defined primarily in terms of the age 

and sex of the bird. Genetic 

improvements and poultry management 

techniques have reduced the grow-out 

period for some poultry classes, while 

extensive cross breeding has produced 

poultry with higher meat yields but 

blurred breed distinctions. FSIS is 

taking this action to ensure that the 

labeling of poultry products is truthful 

and not misleading. 

DATES: Effective Date: This rule is 

effective on January 1, 2014. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rosalyn Murphy-Jenkins, Director, 

Labeling and Program Delivery Division, 

Office of Policy and Program 

Development, FSIS, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), Washington, DC 

20250–3700, Telephone (301) 504–0879, 

Fax (301) 504–0872. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On September 29, 2003, FSIS 

proposed to amend the definitions and 

standards for the official U.S. classes of 

poultry (68 FR 55902). Before 

publishing the 2003 proposed rule, the 

Agency had reviewed the poultry class 

definitions with USDA’s Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) Poultry 

Programs, and both agencies discussed 

the issue with members of the poultry 

industry and others knowledgeable 

about poultry genetics and breeding. 

After examining current poultry 

production methods and reviewing the 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with RULES