United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Commodity Import Evaluation Document (CIED)

Recognition of cape gooseberry production sites that are free of 

Mediterranean fruit fly within a low prevalence area in Colombia 

Bogota Savannah and the neighboring municipalities above 2,200 

meters in the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca.

Country of origin: Colombia Date of request: October 4, 2003

Commodity: Cape Gooseberry Scientific name: Physalis peruviana L.

Introduction: A Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) for the importation of cape gooseberry 

fruit, Physalis peruviana, from Colombia into the United States was developed by the 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA, 1997) in response to a request for 

market access from Colombia. The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) (Ceratitis capitata

Wiedemann) was identified as the only quarantine pest that would follow the pathway of 

fresh cape gooseberry fruit. Cape gooseberries were subsequently allowed market access 

and may currently be shipped to all of the United States (including Hawaii and the 

territories) from Colombia with a cold treatment for Medfly (APHIS treatment T107-a) 

(USDA, 2011). 

Recognition of production sites free of Mediterranean fruit fly within a low 

prevalence area in the Bogota Savannah and the neighboring municipalities above 

2,200 meters in the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca: In 2003, the 

Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), the National Plant Protection Organization of 

Colombia (NPPO) requested APHIS to amend regulation 7 CFR 319.56 to allow 

shipment of cape gooseberries to the United States from production places recognized as 

free of Mediterranean fruit fly (ICA, 2003). In the proposal, production sites free of 

Medfly would be identified only within areas of low Mediterranean fruit fly prevalence in 

the Bogota Savannah and the neighboring areas above 2,400 meters (Figure 1). ICA 

amended this request in 2011 to production sites above 2,200 meters (Figure 2) of 

Boyacá and Cundinamarca. Cape gooseberries would be shipped from these production 

sites recognized as free of Medfly by APHIS without the cold treatment for Medfly, 

which was the only quarantine pest listed in the PRA. This low pest prevalence area in 

the Bogota- Savannah includes Municipalities in the Departments Boyacá and 

Cundinamarca (Figure 1, Figure 2). Specific farms in these municipalities have been 

recognized as free from the Mediterranean fruit fly by the ICA. 
ICA has been conducting fruit fly trapping and monitoring in these areas since 1993. 

During this period, only one Medfly was captured from a total of 65,422 traps surveyed. 

The general surveillance information that was submitted along with trapping data 

included maps, Colombian government regulations, recognition of the pest free and low 

pest areas by the ICA and scientific articles. ICA maintains a database for the fruit fly 

trapping program including trap type, GPS coordinates, altitude, location site, exporting 

farm, and reports on flies caught. ICA has a detection reporting and a detection response 

plan for the fruit fly trapping program. Exporting farms within 5 km of the detection will 

be immediately excluded from the export program. An additional 50 Jackson traps will 

be placed in a 5 sq km area surrounding the detection site. If a second detection is made 

within the detection areas within 30 days of a previous capture, eradication using a bait 

spray agreed upon by APHIS and ICA will be initiated in the detection area. Treatment 

will continue for two months. Three life cycles (based on degree-day models) of 

negative surveillance after the detection will be required before farms are re-admitted to 

the export program. ICA will take measures to ensure that only fruit from registered 

production farms/ areas are exported. Prior to harvest the registered growers will supply

ICA with the estimated production volume per farm. Prior to harvest ICA inspectors will 

validate estimated production volumes by (1) monitoring production during the growing 

season (they are already on each farm conducting fruit fly surveys) and (2) conducting 

pre-harvest visits to each farm to ensure that the ICA calculated production matches 

estimated production. The ICA inspector issuing the Phytosanitary Certificate at the 

airport will check the exported amount by each farm against their export production to 

ensure that no additional fruit has entered the system.

APHIS has reviewed and approved the survey proposal and general surveillance for low 

pest prevalence and the recognition of the specific farms as production sites free of 

Medfly. APHIS determined the survey protocols used in above surveys to be consistent 

with international standards, ISPM no. 22 (IPPC, 2005) and ISPM no. 29 (IPPC, 2007). 

APHIS has reviewed and approved the monitoring survey protocol that will help to 

ensure that the Mediterranean fruit fly free status is maintained. The survey was 

conducted in accordance with the standards described in ISPM no. 4 (IPPC, 1996) and 

ISPM no. 26 (IPPC, 2006). In addition, appropriate measures will be implemented 

should Mediterranean fruit flies be detected by the monitoring survey. 

Pest Interceptions: Colombia currently ships small quantities of cape gooseberries to 

the United States using the APHIS approved cold treatment. There are no records of any

interceptions of any pests on cape gooseberries from Colombia in the APHIS pest 

interception database (Pest ID Database. 1984-2013, accessed June 5, 2013). Colombia 

has shipped 172,330 kg of cape gooseberry to the United States using cold treatment with 

no pest interceptions from 2003 to 2009.

Required mitigation measures: The following measures must be in place to ensure that 

fruit originates from the places of production free of Mediterranean fruit fly.
 All cape gooseberry exporting farms (places of production) determined as free of 

Medfly will be registered with ICA. All places of production exporting under 

this program must be located within the area of low Mediterranean fruit fly 

prevalence in the Bogota Savannah and the neighboring areas above 2,200 meters. 

ICA must monitor the system for inspection, packing, wrapping, transportation 

and loading of the commodity. Only commercially produced fruit may be 

exported.

 All places of production where cape gooseberries for export are grown must have 

fruit fly traps. There must be a minimum of four Jackson traps (baited with 

trimedlure) per exporting farm, with at least one Jackson trap (baited with 

trimedlure) per hectare and at least one trap in the fruit harvesting and packing 

area. Packing facilities in the program must be equipped with a minimum of two 

fruit fly traps of the McPhail or multilure type using protein bait. Within urban 

areas in the low prevalence area, there will be two Jackson traps (baited with 

trimedlure) per sq. km. Along roads in the low prevalence areas, Jackson traps 

(baited with trimedlure) will be placed every 5 linear km. Airports and packing 

houses will be monitored with multilure or McPhail traps using protein bait. All 

multilure or McPhail traps will be serviced every 7 days. All Jackson traps will 

be serviced every 14 days. 

 If a Mediterranean fruit fly is detected in the low prevalence area, exporting farms 

within 5 km of the detection will be immediately excluded from the export 

program. An additional 50 Jackson traps will be placed in a 5 sq km area 

surrounding the detection site. If a second detection is made within the detection 

areas within 30 days of a previous capture, eradication using a bait spray agreed 

upon by APHIS and ICA will be initiated in the detection area. Treatment will 

continue for two months. Three life cycles (based on degree-day models) of 

negative surveillance after the detection will be required before farms are readmitted to the export program. 

 Fruits from the exporting farms must be packed in boxes that can be traced back 

to the individual farm. Fruits will be shipped to the airport for export in sealed 

and closed containers. All boxes must be labeled with:

1. The name of the orchard, farm or grove of origin or the name of the 

registered grower 

2. The name of the municipality and state in which it was produced

3. The type and amount of fruit it contains.

 ICA must inspect the cape gooseberries at a rate mutually agreed upon by APHIS 

and ICA. A proportion of the fruit from each consignment to be exported must be 

cut to look for the presence of Medfly at the packing house or prior to export. 

ICA must issue a Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) bearing an Additional 

Declaration (AD) which states that the fruits originate from a Mediterranean fruit 

fly free place of production within the low prevalence area of the Bogota 
Savannah and neighboring municipalities above 2,200 meters elevation in the 

Departments of Boyacá in Cundinamarca.

Summary of Mitigation Measures:

Mitigation Measure Evidence of removal of pests from the 

pathway

All fruits will be produced by registered 

exporters from the designated pest free 

production areas. ICA will monitor 

production by volume to exclude nonregistered production from export. Only

commercially produced fruit may be 

exported.

Registered exporters must follow the ICA 

monitored growing and exporting 

procedures for cape gooseberries. Pest free 

areas have been effectively used in the past 

to allow fruits to enter United States e.g. 

tomatoes from certain countries in Central 

America are enterable from areas free of 

Medfly.

Fruit fly trapping and monitoring program

to maintain fruit fly low prevalence.

Fruit fly trapping will ensure that the 

export areas remain free of Medfly.

Farms in areas with fruit fly detections 

must be removed from the program. Bait 

sprays must be applied and areas free of 

detections before readmission to the 

program.

Removal of farms near any Medfly

detection will prevent movement of 

infested fruit.

All boxes must be labeled that they have 

been produced in accordance with the ICA 

monitored production plan. All boxes in 

each consignment of cape gooseberries 

must be traceable to the production site in 

Colombia.

Box labeling and trace back will allow 

removal of production sites which have 

phytosanitary problems from the export 

program.

Each consignment of cape gooseberries 

must be accompanied by a phytosanitary

certificate of inspection issued by the ICA

with an Additional Declaration (AD) which 

states that the fruits originate from a 

Mediterranean fruit fly free place of 

production within the low prevalence area 

of the Bogota Savannah and neighboring 

municipalities above 2,200 meters 

elevation in the Departments of Boyacá 

and Cundinamarca.

ICA will issue a phytosanitary certificate 

after determining that the fruits were 

produced in compliance with the workplan 

in pest free Mediterranean fruit fly

production areas. The requirements of a 

phytosanitary certificate from the NPPO of 

Colombia will document that the 

importation is a product of Colombia. A 

phytosanitary certificate also provides 

phytosanitary security by requiring the 

NPPO to conduct inspections for pests. 

ICA must inspect the fruit for pests, 

including cutting fruit to look for Medfly, 

and certify that the fruit are free of pests.
Conclusion: 

Based on the mitigations presented above, APHIS finds that the risk for the introduction 

of Medfly from the cape gooseberry production area of Bogota-Savannah and 

neighboring municipalities above 2,200 meters in the Departments of Boyacá and 

Cundinamarca, is negligible. Cape gooseberry is produced in an area of low prevalence 

for Mediterranean fruit fly, which is constantly monitored by trapping by ICA. Only one 

fly has been trapped in this area since 1993. The growers must be registered with and 

follow the provisions of the ICA monitored export program. Only growers in the 

Bogota- Savannah and in the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca above 2,200 

meters, which is monitored and found free of Mediterranean fruit flies will be admitted to 

the export program. 

References :

ICA. 2003. Instituto Colombiano Agropecario. Proposal for exporting Cape Gooseberry

(Physalis peruviana L.) from an area with a low prevalence of Mediterranean fruit fly 

(Ceratitis capitata Wied.) within the savannah around Bogota, Colombia, under systems 

approach. 27 pp.

ICA. 2010. Instituto Colombiano Agropecario. Los resultados de vigilancia fitosanitaria 

de la Sabana de Bogota y la zona productora de uchuva del departamento de Boyaca para 

los anios 2009 y 2010. 79 pp.

IPPC. 1996. ISPM 4. Requirements for the establishment of pest free areas. FAO, Rome. 

16pp.

IPPC. 2005. ISPM 22. Requirements for the establishment of areas of low pest 

prevalence. FAO, Rome, 10pp.

IPPC. 2006. ISPM 26. Establishment of pest free areas for fruit flies (Tephritidae). FAO, 

Rome. 15pp.

IPPC. 2007. ISPM 29. Recognition of pest free areas and areas of low pest prevalence.

FAO, Rome. 12pp.

Pest ID Database. 1984-2013. Pest ID Database. USDA, APHIS, Plant Protection and 

Quarantine. Riverdale, MD. Last accessed June 5, 2013.

USDA, 1997. Importation of Cape Gooseberry Fruit, Physalis peruviana, from 

Colombia into the United States. March 1997. United States Department of Agriculture, 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Biological 

Assessment and Taxonomic Support. Riverdale, MD. 12 pp.

USDA. 2011. FAVIR. Fruits and vegetables import requirements database. USDAAPHIS-PPQ. 
https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual/index.cfm?action=cirReportP&PERMITTED_ID

=5774 accessed May 2011.

Recommendations

________________________________________________________________________

___ APPROVED

_____ DISAPPROVED

____Walter Gould____________ __June 4, 2013_______

Signature (name) Date 
Figure1
Figure 2