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



## Commodity Import Evaluation Document (CIED)



### Country of Origin : Argentina 

### Date of Request : March 16, 2009



### Commodity: All Mediterranean fruit fly host material from the southern part of Mendoza that is currently enterable to the United States from other provinces of Arge ntina without mitigations for fruit flies. Mitigations for other pests are still required.

Common name(s): N/A

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### Recognition of additional Provinces as Medfly Pest-Free Areas (PFA) for Argentina

Currently, Medfly host materials (fruit) wi thout treatment from Argentina may be imported into the United States from areas in Argentina that are free of Medfly (C. capitata ) or from areas with C. capitata after an approved APHIS treatment is used to mitigate the pest. APHIS currently rec ognizes the Patagonia region of Argentina, including those areas along the valleys of th e Rio Colorado and Rio Negro rivers and also including the provinces of Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, Sa nta Cruz, and Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina as free of Me diterranean fruit fly (Medfly) ( Ceratitis capitata ) [Wiedemann]. However in 2004, the Na tional Food Safety and Quality Service (Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria, SENASA) of Argentina requested an increase in the areas that may export Medfly host material (fruit) to the United States (U.S.). In response to SENAS A’s request, APHIS conducted site visits (APHIS, 2005; 2009) to the Province of Mendoza to evaluate the fruit fly program and pest survey protocols, and the phytosanitary ri sks associated with im porting fruit from the additional area declared pest-f ree by Argentina. Survey a nd detection protocols for a PFA must be evaluated and approved by APHIS before the declared PFA is recognized by APHIS as pest-free. Before host comm odities associated with the PFA can be imported into the United States, the requireme nts of 7 CFR 319.56-5 must be met. This includes following the criteria for establishing and maintaining a PFA in the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No.4: “ Requirements for the Establishment of Pest free areas ” (IPPC, 1995).2 During the most recent site visit, SENASA pr ovided APHIS survey data and information relating to their esta blishment and management of the pest-free area known as the

Southern and Central Oases in the Southern half of the Province of Mendoza. This geographical area is a well defined area. Th ere are natural barriers acting as buffer zones between populations of fruit flies in the northern part of Mendoza and other areas of Argentina, and SENASA has a cooperative program with ISCAMEN (Instituto de Sanidad y Calidad Agropecuaria Mendoza) th e provincial phytosanit ary agency of the

Province of Mendoza to reduce and eradicate populations of fru it flies in the northern part of Mendoza Province. SENASA and ISCAMEN ope rate effective barrier stations at all border points; road stations, and airports to prevent the entry of qua rantine pests and to protect pest-free areas. In addition, there ar e no native hosts, and no fruit trees are found outside of cultivated or dooryard areas. Outs ide of irrigated areas, the entire region is a scrub desert with very low rainfall and little or no na tural vegetation.

The program to establish and maintain th e Province of Mendoza as free of Medfly followed the same guidelines, protocols and manua ls as the other areas of Argentina that are currently recognized as fruit fly free.

SENASA follows international pr otocols for fruit fly trapping and control programs. The trap types, baits and lures, density of trap s and servicing interval s are all in accordance with IAEA (International Atomic Energy Ag ency) and APHIS protoc ols for eradication and maintenance of fruit fly pest free areas. SENASA maintains maps of traps and places of production. SENASA has an extensive progra m manual that explicitly describes how the program is to be operated. In Mendoza Province, SENASA maintains 28 trap networks with 4,728 traps. SENASA main tains quality controls over the trapping program. In addition to the extensive trapping program, SENASA samples fruit for Medfly larvae. SENASA indicat ed during higher risk season s, the fruit fly trap lines increased and other personnel were added to the laboratories to handle the increased

workload.

SENASA has an emergency response plan for Me diterranean fruit fly. Any time there is an outbreak (defined as captures of more than one fly or larvae) the plan is activated. The plan is very detailed about what to do w ith the suspicious capture and how the program will respond. A grid is created and additional traps are installed. Fruit sampling and eradication activities are initiated. A regulat ed area is established and regulated fruit

must be treated if it is to leave the area. The emergency program will continue through three life cycles calculated by degree days. If there are no captur es in this time the eradication is complete and the normal fruit fly program resumes.

SENASA maintains a sterile Medfly producti on facility in Mendoza for a preventative release program and to support eradication and suppression activiti es. Releases are increased during high risk peri ods or when outbreaks occu r. The production facility maintains a high level of quali ty control and biosecurity ba sed on IAEA standards.

In summary, activities performed to support th e pest-free area in the southern part of Mendoza included the following risk management measures: surveillance, audits of trap3 placement, trap methods, trap records, diagnos tic tests, post-harvest packing procedures, interception and sampling data from destructiv e analysis, record k eeping, and training of personnel to maintain phytos anitary security of the importing country (such as safeguarding, buffer maintenance, signage, integr ity of exclusionary facility, consignment integrity, and pest identification skills). Establishment and maintenance of this of pest

free area for fruit flies conformed to Internat ional Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) # 4 and (ISPM) # 26, which includes sy stems to establish freedom, phytosanitary measures to maintain freedom, and checks to verify freedom has b een maintained. These PFA components where achieved through data assembly, trapping surveys (delimiting, detection and monitoring), regulatory controls, audits and documentation.

In March 2009, SENASA provided confirmation to APHIS that it has been over one year since any Mediterranean fruit flies were f ound in the South and Ce ntral Oases in the Province of Mendoza. In April, 2009, SENAS A provided APHIS with a description of the geographic boundaries of the portion of Mendoza that is to be included in the pest

free area.

After reviewing the trip reports from site visits, as summarized above, I have concluded the southern part of the province of Mendo za meets the requirements of 7 CFR 319.56-5 for establishing and maintaining pest-free ar eas. In addition, the survey and emergency action protocols used to determine and main tain pest-free status in the province of Mendoza meet APHIS’s approval.

Recommendations:

Based on their review of the survey data, other information and the findings of the January - February 2005 and March 2009 site visits APHIS has concluded that the southern part Mendoza province in Argentina can be recognized as free of Medfly. The southern part of the provin ce of Mendoza should be added to the existing Medfly PestFree Areas of Argentina. This action would r ecognize portions of provinces of Argentina as free of Medfly and allow the importation of Medfly host material (fruit) into the United States from these areas of Argentina without additional mitigations or requirements for Medfly when Medfly is the only pe st of concern.

References

7 CFR 319.56-5. 2008. Code of Federal Regulations . Title 7. Part 319- 5 Pest-free areas. Office of Federal Register, National Archiv es and Records Administration, Washington DC, USA.

APHIS. 2005. APHIS fruit fly review trip report, Mendoza, Argentina, January 30- February 5, 2005. W. Snell, APHIS, 12 pp.

APHIS. 2009. Medfly free status of Mendo za, Argentina, trip report, March 04-20, 2009

with addendum. W. P. Gould, APHIS-PPQ. 27 pp.4 IPPC. 1995. International Standards for Phytos anitary Measures No. 4. Requirements for

the Establishment of Pest Free Areas. Secretariat of International Plant Protection Convention. FAO. 4 pp.

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### __X ___ APPROVED

Conditions of Entry: 

### Must meet requirements of 7 CFR 319.56-5

_____ DISAPPROVED

Justification

Meredith Jones November 19, 2009

___________________________ _________________ Signature (name) Date