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



## Risk Management Document



## Movement of Fresh Rambutan ( Nephelium lappaceum L

. )

Fruit from P u er to Rico into the Continental United States

January 10 , 201 1

Plant Health Programs (PHP) Regulations, Permits and Manuals ( RPM )

Contact Person: Phillip B. GroveJanuary 11 , 20 11

Introduction

Currently, movement of fresh rambutan fruit from P u er to Rico to the United States is not authorized by 7 CFR §31 8

. 13

. A pathway

- initiated pest risk assessment was prepared by APHIS

Plant Protec tion and Quarantine (PPQ) to identify the unmitigated pest risks associated with

movement of fresh rambutan fruit from P u er to Rico into the continental United States (USDA, 2008a).

The risk assessment identified the following five quarantine pests as havi ng a medium unmitigated risk potential:

Coccus moestus De Lotto

- Hemiptera: Coccidae

Coccus viridis (Green)

- Hemiptera: Coccidae Dysmicoccus neobrevipes Beardsley

- Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green)

- Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

P lanococcus minor (Maskell)

- Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

APHIS

- PPQ pest risk assessment guidelines (USDA, 2000) suggest that for quarantine pests given an overall risk rating of high or medium , phytosanitary measures beyond standard port

- of

entry inspection are recommended to mitigate pest risk. Quarantine pests given an overall rating

of ‘low’ will not require specific mitigative measures beyond the port

- of

- entry inspection

.

The movement of fresh rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico , if approved, would be reg ulated by amending the Puerto Rico Manual through a notice based process

. Pest risk management is the process of identifying ways to react to a perceived risk, e valuating the efficacy of these actions, and identifying the most appropriate options (IPPC, 2 004)

. This document outlines phytosanitary measures and provides evidence of their efficacy in prevent ing the int roduction of quarantine pests. The appropriate level of protection may be achieved through the general requirements for the movement of regul ated articles as described in 7 CFR 318 .13

- 3 and certain designated measure s described in 7 CFR 318 .13

- 4

. The general requirements provide for certification of regulated articles for movement when they have been inspected by APHIS and found apparently fre e from infestation and infection or without inspection when APHIS determines that the consignment is of such a nature that no danger of infestation or infection is

involved. In addition, the general requirements provide for the movement of regulated artic les when phytosanitary and safeguarding requirements of a compliance agreement between the grower and APHIS have been met. The designated measures provide for movement after meeting certain requirements for pes t

- free

- area growing, inspection and certifica tion, treatment, or production as a commercial consignment.

Risk Management Measures for P uerto Rico Rambutan

The movement of rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico may only be allowed when the following risk

management measures are met:

 Rambutan fruit must be moved as commercial consignments as defined in 7 CFR 318.13

- 2January 11 , 20 11

 The consignment must be inspected and certified by APHIS as free from all quarantine pests including Coccus moestus, Coccus viridis, Dysmicoccus neobrevipes,
Maconellicoccus hirsutus, and Planococcus minor

.

 Shipping boxes must be labeled "Not for distribution in HI, VI, and Guam."

Consequences if actionable pests are found during inspection :

If an actionable quarantine pest is found during inspection by a USDA AP HIS PPQ Officer

, a

q uarant ine treatment approved by APHIS may be required

. In the event that other type s of pests are found ( e.g ., actionable internal feeders, hitchhikers, etc.) and treatments approved by APHIS for those pests are not applicable to rambutan

, other applicable trea tments may be selected in

order to eliminate the identified pest risk s

. In some cases, th is action may include damage to the rambutan fruit, possible rejection of the whole shipment , or canceling permits/ mitigation

measures.

Efficacy of Risk Management Measures

Puerto Rico rambutan will be visually inspected by USDA APHIS PPQ Officers following pre

departure guidelines to ensure pest freedom

. A biometric sample of fruit will be inspected for all quarantine pests.

Fruit exported to the United States must be commercially produced fruit

. Commercially produced fruit undergoes a variety of good agricultural practices that ensure that it is less likely to have pests.

If i nfested fruit is rejected

, trace back can be done by APHIS to identify and correct p roblems including removal of the place of production from the export program (Heather and Hallman, 2008)

. Inspection ensures that all stages of any pest that are present in the commodity will be detected; this is particularly effective against those pests whose later life stages are larger and more readily detected (Borror et al.

, 1989). Regular inspections are recognized as part of a balanced pest management program (Kahn and Mathur

, 1999).

Currently for importation of rambutan from Costa Rica, all that is required is a Phytosanitary

Certificate with an additional declaration “ Must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Costa Rican department of agriculture stating that (1) the fruit is free from Coccus

moestus

, C. viridis

, Dysmicocc us neobrevipes

, Planococcus lilacinus

, P. minor , and

Pse u dococcus landoi ; and (2) all damaged fruit was removed from the consignment prior to export under the supervision of the Costa Rican department of agriculture. Shipping boxes must

be labeled "Not for distribution in HI, PR, VI, and Guam." are the requirement for import ation of

rambutan from Central America and Mexico (USDA, 2011)

. The pest complex listed for rambutan in Costa Rica is the same as the pest complex for rambutan in Puerto Rico; therefore the measures should be equivalent.

SummaryJanuary 11 , 20 11

The risk management measures listed above will permit the movement of rambutan fruit from

P u er to Rico while satisfying the appropriate level of phytosanitary p rotection for the United

States

.

Author

Walter Gould, Senior Risk Manager

APHIS

- PPQ

References

Borror, D. J., Triplehorn, C. A. and N. F. Johnson. 1989. Introduction to the study of insects, 6 ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, TX.

Heather, N.W. and G.J. Hallman. 2008. Pest mana gement and phytosanitary barriers. CABI publishing, Wallingford UK. 257 pp.

IPPC. 2002 . The use of integrated measures in a systems approach for pest risk management. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 14. Rome: Secretariat of the

In ternational Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

IPPC. 2004. Pest risk analysis for quarantine pests, including analysis of environmental risks and living modified organisms. International Standards for Phytosanit ary Measures No. 11. Rome: Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Kahn and Mathur. 1999. Containment facilities and safeguards for exotic plant pathogens and pests. APS Press, St. Paul MN. 213pp.

USDA. 2000. Guidelines for Pathway

- Initiated Pest Risk Assessments, Version 5.02. USDA

APHIS, PPQ; http://oars.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/pra/commodity/cpraguide.pdf

USDA . 2008a. Evidence

- based, p athway

- i nitiated p est r isk analysis for the i mportation of f resh

r ambutan f

ruit ( Nephelium lappaceum Linnaeus) from Puerto Rico into the c ontinental

United States

. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Raleigh, NC. 46 pp.

USDA. 2008 b . Puerto Rico trip report by Joseph Corpuz, Dec. 10, 2008. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quar antine, Raleigh, NC. 5 pp.

USDA. 2011. Fruit and Vegetable Import Requirements database. https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual/index.cfm?ACTION=pubHome Accessed Jan. 2011.