Document ID: EPA-HQ-OPP-2006-0766-0073
Agency: epa
Document Type: Supporting & Related Material
Title: 
Posted Date: 2014-11-14T05:00Z

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
                         WASHINGTON, D.C. 20460      

                            	OFFICE OF CHEMICAL SAFETY AND POLLUTION PREVENTION

MEMORANDUM

DATE:	March 5, 2013

SUBJECT:	ChemSAC Review of the Analysis of the USDA IR-4 Crop Grouping Proposal to Establish a New Crop Group 23 Tropical and Subtropical Fruit  -  Edible Peel, and Amend the Commodity Definitions [40 CFR 180.1 (g)] Related to the Proposed Crop Group.  

FROM:	Bernard A. Schneider, Ph.D., Senior Plant Physiologist
            Chemistry and Exposure Branch  
            Health Effects Division (7509P)  

TO:	Steve Funk, Ph.D., Chairperson HED Chemistry Science Advisory Council (ChemSAC) and Members
	Jennifer Selwyn, and Monica Le, and Susan Wong, Health Canada, PMRA
            Alma Liliana Tovar Díaz, Deputy Director of Certification and Recognition Senasica-Sagarpa, Mexico
	Barbara Madden, Minor Use Officer, RD (7505P)

cc: 	IR-4 Project, Bill Barney, Jerry Baron, Dan Kunkel, Debbie Carpenter, Van Starner 

ACTION REQUESTED:

	William P. Barney, Crop Grouping Project Coordinator, and Kathryn Homa, Assistant Coordinator, USDA Interregional Research Project No. 4 (IR-4), State Agricultural Experiment Station, Rutgers University have submitted a petition (November 16, 2010) on behalf of the IR-4 Project, and the Tropical Fruits Workgroup of the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC) to establish a new Crop Group (40 CFR § 180.41) Crop Group 23, Tropical and Subtropical Fruit  -  Edible Peel Group, and propose addition of Commodity Definitions 40 CFR 180.1 (g).  

	The above-mentioned Tropical and Subtropical fruit crop group petition requested the following five proposals:

1. Establish a new crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) as "Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Edible Peel".

2. Add the following 108 commodities to this new crop group:

      1. Açaí, Euterpe oleracea Mart., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      2. Acerola, Malpighia emarginata DC., (Malpighiaceae)
      3. African plum, Vitex doniana Sweet, (Lamiaceae (alt. Labiatae) (also placed in Verbenaceae))
      4. Agritos, Berberis trifoliolata Moric., (Berberidaceae)
      5. Almondette, Buchanania lanzan Spreng., (Anacardiaceae)
      6. Ambarella, Spondias dulcis Sol. ex Parkinson, (Anacardiaceae)
      7. Apak palm, Brahea dulcis (Kunth) Mart.,  (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      8. Appleberry, Billardiera scandens Sm., (Pittosporaceae)
      9. Arazá, Eugenia stipitata McVaugh, (Myrtaceae)
      10. Arbutus berry, Arbutus unedo L., (Ericaceae)
      11. Babaco, Vasconcellea x heilbornii (V. M. Badillo) V. M. Badillo, (Caricaceae)
      12. Bacaba palm, Oenocarpus bacaba Mart., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      13. Bacaba-de-leque, Oenocarpus distichus Mart., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      14. Bayberry, Red, Morella rubra Lour., (Myricaceae)
      15. Bignay, Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng., (Phyllanthaceae)
      16. Bilimbi, Averrhoa bilimbi L., (Oxalidaceae (also placed in Averrhoaceae))
      17. Breadnut, Brosimum alicastrum Sw., (Moraceae)
      18. Cabeluda, Plinia glomerata (O. Berg) Amshoff, (Myrtaceae)
      19. Cajou (pseudofruit), Anacardium giganteum Hance ex Engl., (Anacardiaceae)
      20. Cambucá, Marlierea edulis Nied., (Myrtaceae)
      21. Carandas-plum, Carissa edulis Vahl, (Apocynaceae)
      22. Carob, Ceratonia siliqua L., (Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae) (also placed in Caesalpiniaceae))
      23. Cashew (pseudofruit), Anacardium occidentale L., (Anacardiaceae)
      24. Ceylon iron wood, Manilkara hexandra (Roxb.) Dubard, (Sapotaceae)
      25. Ceylon olive, Elaeocarpus serratus L., (Elaeocarpaceae)
      26. Cherry-of-the-Rio-Grande, Eugenia aggregata (Vell.) Kiaersk., (Myrtaceae)
      27. Chinese olive, black, Canarium tramdenum C. D. Dai& Yakovlev, (Burseraceae)
      28. Chinese olive, white, Canarium album (Lour.) Raeusch., (Burseraceae)
      29. Chirauli-nut, Buchanania latifolia Roxb., (Anacardiaceae)
      30. Ciruela verde, Bunchosia armeniaca (Cav.) DC., (Malpighiaceae)
      31. Cocoplum, Chrysobalanus icaco L., (Chrysobalanaceae)
      32. Date, Phoenix dactylifera L., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      33. Davidson's plum, Davidsonia pruriens F. Muell., (Cunoniaceae (also placed in Davidsoniaceae))
      34. Desert-date, Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile, (Zygophyllaceae (also placed in Balanitaceae))
      35. Doum palm coconut, Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      36. False sandalwood, Ximenia americana L., (Olacaceae)
      37. Feijoa, Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret, (Myrtaceae)
      38. Fig, Ficus carica L., (Moraceae)
      39. Fragrant Manjack, Cordia dichotoma G. Forst., (Boraginaceae)
      40. Gooseberry, Abyssinian, Dovyalis abyssinica (A. Rich.) Warb., (Salicaceae (also placed in Flacourtiaceae))
      41. Gooseberry, Ceylon, Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardner) Warb., (Salicaceae (also placed in Flacourtiaceae))
      42. Gooseberry, Indian, Phyllanthus emblica L., (Phyllanthaceae (also placed in Euphorbiaceae))
      43. Gooseberry, Otaheite, Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels, (Phyllanthaceae (also placed in Euphorbiaceae))
      44. Governor's plum, Flacourtia indica (Burm. F.) Merr., (Salicaceae (also placed in Flacourtiaceae))
      45. Grumichama, Eugenia brasiliensis Lam, (Myrtaceae)
      46. Guabiroba, Campomanesia xanthocarpa O. Berg, (Myrtaceae)
      47. Guava, Psidium guajava L., (Myrtaceae) [Includes by crop definition: 
      48. Guava berry, Myrciaria floribunda (H. West ex Willd.) O. Berg, (Myrtaceae)
      49. Guava, Brazilian, Psidium guineense Sw., (Myrtaceae)
      50. Guava, Cattley, Psidium cattleianum Sabine, (Myrtaceae)
      51. Guava, Costa Rican, (Psidium friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Nied.), (Myrtaceae)
      52. Guava, Para, Psidium acutangulum DC., (Myrtaceae)
      53. Guava, purple strawberry, Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum, (Myrtaceae)
      54. Guava, strawberry, Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. littorale (Raddi) Fosberg, (Myrtaceae)
      55. Guava, yellow strawberry, Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum forma lucidum O. Deg., (Myrtaceae)
      56. Guayabillo, (Psidium sartorianum (O. Berg) Nied.)
      57. Illawarra plum, Podocarpus elatus R. Br. Ex Endl., (Podocarpaceae)
      58. Imbé, Garcinia livingstonei T. Anderson, (Clusiaceae (alt. Guttiferae))
      59. Imbu, Spondias tuberosa Arruda ex Kost., (Anacardiaceae)
      60. Indian-plum, Flacourtia jangomas (Lour.). (basionym), (Salicaceae (also placed in Flacourtiaceae))
      61. Jaboticaba, Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O. Berg, (Myrtaceae)
      62. Jamaica-cherry, Muntingia calabura L., (Muntingiaceae, ((also placed in Elaeocarpaceae, Tiliaceae))
      63. Jambolan, Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels, (Myrtaceae)
      64. Jelly palm, Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      65. Jujube, Chinese, Ziziphus jujuba Mill., (Rhamnaceae)
      66. Jujube, Indian, Ziziphus mauritiana Lam., (Rhamnaceae)
      67. Kaffir-plum, Harpephyllum caffrum Bernh. Ex C. Krauss,  (Anacardiaceae)
      68. Kakadu plum, Terminalia latipes Benth. Subsp. psilocarpa Pedley,  (Combretaceae)
      69. Kapundung, Baccaurea racemosa (Reinw.) Mull. Arg., (Phyllanthaceae (also placed in Euphorbiaceae))
      70. Karanda, Carissa carandas L., (Apocynaceae) 
      71. Kwai muk,  Artocarpus hypargyreus Hance ex Benth., (Moraceae)
      72. Lemon aspen, Acronychia acidula F. Muell., (Rutaceae)
      73. Mangaba, Hancornia speciosa Gomes, (Apocynaceae)
      74. Marian plum, Bouea macrophylla Griff., (Anacardiaceae)
      75. Mombin, Malayan, Spondias pinnata (J. Koenig ex L. f.) Kurz, (Anacardiaceae)
      76. Mombin, purple, Spondias purpurea L., (Anacardiaceae)
      77. Mombin, yellow, Spondias mombin L., (Anacardiaceae)
      78. Monkeyfruit, Artocarpus lacucha Buch.-Ham., (Moraceae)
      79. Monos plum, Pseudanamomis umbellulifera (Kunth) Kausel, (Myrtaceae)
      80. Mountain cherry, Bunchosia cornifolia Kunth, (Malpighiaceae)
      81. Nance, Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth, (Malpighiaceae)
      82. Natal plum, Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC, (Apocynaceae)
      83. Noni, Morinda citrifolia L., (Rubiaceae)
      84. Olive, Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea, (Oleaceae)
      85. Papaya, Mountain, Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC., (Caricaceae)
      86. Patauá, Oenocarpus bataua Mart., (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      87. Peach palm, Bactris gasipaes Kunth var. gasipaes, (Arecaceae (alt. Palmae))
      88. Persimmon, black, Diospyros texana Scheele, (Ebenaceae)
      89. Persimmon, Japanese, Diospyros kaki Thunb., (Ebenaceae)
      90. Pitomba, Eugenia luschnathiana Klotzsch ex O. Berg, (Myrtaceae)
      91. Plum-of-Martinique, Flacourtia inermis Roxb., (Salicaceae (also placed in Flacourtiaceae))
      92. Pomerac, Syzygium malaccense (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry, (Myrtaceae)
      93. Rambai, Baccaurea motleyana (Mull. Arg.) Mull. Arg., (Phyllanthaceae)
      94. Rose apple, Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston, (Myrtaceae)
      95. Rukam, Flacourtia rukam Zoll. & Moritizi, (Salicaceae (also placed in Flacourtiaceae))
      96. Rumberry, Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) Mc Vaugh, (Myrtaceae)
      97. Sea grape, Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L., (Polygonaceae)
      98. Sentul, Sandoricum koetjape (Burm. F.) Merr., (Meliaceae)
      99. Sete-capotes, Campomanesia guazumifolia (Cambess.) O. Berg,  (Myrtaceae)
      100.  Silver aspen, Acronychia wilcoxiana (F. Muell.) T.G. Hartley, (Rutaceae)
      101.  Starfruit,  Averrhoa carambola L., (Oxalidaceae (also placed in Averrhoaceae))
      102.  Surinam cherry, Eugenia uniflora L., (Myrtaceae)
      103.  Tamarind, Tamarindus indica L., (Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae) (also placed in Caesalpiniaceae))
      104.  Uvalha, Eugenia pyriformis Cambess., (Myrtaceae)
      105.  Water apple, Syzygium aqueum (Burm. F.) Alston, (Myrtaceae)
      106.  Water pear, Syzygium guineense (Willd.) DC., (Myrtaceae)
      107.  Water berry, Syzygium cordatum Hochst. Ex C. Krauss, (Myrtaceae)
      108.  Wax jambu, Syzygium samarangense (Blume) Merr. & L.M.Perry, (Myrtaceae).
   And cultivars, varieties and/or hybrids of these."

3. Recommend the following four commodities: Olive, fig, guava, and date to be representative commodities for the new crop group.

4. Add the following three tropical and subtropical crop subgroups:

Subgroup 23A: Tropical and Subtropical, Small Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup  - 
Proposed Representative Crop:  Olive

	There are fifty-seven commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

	Acerola; African plum; Agritos; Almondette; Appleberry; Arbutus berry; Bayberry, Red; Bignay; Breadnut; Cabeluda; Carandas-plum; Ceylon iron wood; Ceylon olive; Cherry-of-the-Rio-Grande; Chinese olive, black; Chinese olive, white; Chirauli-nut; Cocoplum; Desert-date; False sandalwood; Fragrant Manjack; Gooseberry, Abyssinian; Gooseberry, Ceylon; Gooseberry, Otaheite; Governor's plum; Grumichama; Guabiroba; Guava berry; Guava, Brazilian; Guava, Costa Rican; Guayabillo; Illawarra plum; Indian-plum; Jamaica-cherry; Jambolan; Jujube, Chinese; Kaffir-plum; Kakadu plum; Kapundung; Karnada; Lemon aspen; Mombin, yellow; Monos plum; Mountain cherry; Olive; Persimmon, Black; Pitomba; Plum-of-Martinique; Rukam; Rumberry; Sea grape; Sete-capotes; Silver aspen; Water apple; Water pear; Water berry; Wax jambu.

Subgroup 23B: Tropical and Subtropical, Medium to Large Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup - Proposed Representative Crops:  Fig and Guava.

	There are forty two commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

	Ambarella; Arazá; Babaco; Bilimbi; Cajou (pseudofruit); Cambucá; Carob; Cashew (pseudofruit); Ciruela verde; Davidson's plum; Feijoa; Fig; Gooseberry, Indian; Guava; Guava, Cattley, Guava, Para; Guava, purple strawberry; Guava, strawberry; Guava, yellow strawberry; Imbé; Imbu; Jaboticaba; Jujube, Indian; Kwai muk; Mangaba; Marian plum; Mombin, Malayan; Mombin, purple; Monkeyfruit; Nance; Natal plum; Noni; Papaya, Mountain; Persimmon, Japanese; Pomerac; Rambai; Rose apple; Sentul; Starfruit; Surinam cherry; Tamarind; Uvalha.

Subgroup 23C: Tropical and Subtropical Palm Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup  - 
Proposed Representative Crop:  Date

	There are nine commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

Açaí; Apak palm; Bacaba palm; Bacaba-de-leque; Date; Doum palm coconut; Jelly palm; Patauá; Peach palm.

5. Add Commodity Definition [40 CFR 180.1 (g)] for Guava?

      A new crop definition is proposed for guava that includes many of the closely related genus (Psidium), species and varieties.  The following is a proposed crop definition for Tropical and Subtropical Fruit, Edible Peel:

A
B
Guava 
(Psidium guajava L.)
Guava (Psidium guajava L.);  Guava, Para (Psidium acutangulum DC.);  Guava, Brazilian (Psidium guineense Sw.); Guava, cattley (Psidium cattleianum Sabine); Guava, Costa Rican (Psidium friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Nied.); Guava, purple strawberry (Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum);  Guava, strawberry (Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. littorale (Raddi) Fosberg); Guava, yellow strawberry; (Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum forma lucidum O. Deg.); Guayabillo (Psidium sartorianum (O. Berg) Nied.)

BACKGROUND:

      The Tropical and subtropical fruit, edible peel proposal was initiated at the USDA/IR-4 Crop Grouping Symposium in Washington, DC, October 2002.  This workgroup was Chaired by Michael Braverman (IR-4) and Co-Chaired by Jonathan Crane (University of Florida), Edith Lurvey (IR-4), Nancy Dodd (EPA), Will Donovan (EPA), and Maria Rodriguez (EPA). 

      This new crop group was further discussed and developed within the Tropical Fruit, Edible Peel Workgroup of the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC), which consisted of 62 U.S. crop or regulatory experts from agriculture commodity groups, universities, agrichemical industry, IR-4 Project, USDA, EPA, and also 33 international crop or regulatory experts representing over 30 countries.  

      An important aspect of developing this new crop group is the harmonization effort with the Codex Crop Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds.  The Codex classification system is currently under revision also with many proposed tropical and subtropical fruit additions.  The IR-4/EPA Crop Grouping Working Group and the ICGCC are collaborating with the revision of the Codex crop classification.  In the current Codex Crop Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds, Assorted Tropical and Subtropical Fruits  -  Edible peel are included in Group 005 and classified in Type 01 Fruits.  The IR-4/ICGCC submission was forwarded to the Codex Electronic Working Group for the revision of the Codex Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds.  This submission also includes many of the recently proposed additions of tropical fruits, edible peel to the Codex classification.  The inclusion of tropical fruits with edible peels will ultimately benefit US growers in exporting commodities that would have Codex MRL's established based on a harmonized tropical and subtropical fruits, edible peel crop group.  

      Fruits that will be processed primarily into juice, jams, jelly or wine were also included in the edible peel crop group since it was assumed that pesticide residues could contaminate the commodity during processing.  Examples include (1) açaí, which is soaked in water to soften the outer shell; (2) arazá, which is rarely eaten raw due to its acidity and is mostly prepared into a juice or jelly; (3) red bayberry, which has a knobby surface and is prepared into juice, sweets, jam and wine; (4) bilimbi, which is extremely acidic/sour and is usually not eaten raw, but is soaked and boiled to make jam, jelly and beverages and (5) patauá, which is soaked before it is eaten to soften the pulp.  

      Palm commodities are proposed to be classified in a separate subgroup based on the botanical similarity of trees in the family Arecaceae (alt. Palmae).  Generally, trees within the palm family contain a tall, unbranched stem that can reach 80 meters in height, a rosette of leathery, evergreen palmate (fan-like) to pinnate (feather-like) spirally arranged leaves that measure several meters long, spike or branched inflorescences, and berry or drupe fruit.  In most palms, fruit is produced in clusters that hang from the tree.  Because fruit is produced in clusters that are partially exposed to the elements and fruit is located considerably higher on palm trees than other tropical and subtropical fruits, similar use patterns of pesticide applications are expected to occur and similar residue patterns can be expected within the palm group. 

      Thirteen proposed tropical fruits with an edible peel (abrico-da-praia, bacupari, bacupari-do-campo, cambuci, curriola, guabiju, jacaratia, jua, mama-cadela, marmelada, per-do-cerrado, Puerto Rican guava and sorva) were rejected from consideration from the crop group either because there was not enough information available to properly classify them into crop groups and subgroups or they are still rarely cultivated.

      Tables 27, 28, 29, and 30 of this analysis (in separate report), compare the existing U.S., and Codex tolerances established on Tropical and Subtropical Fruits with an edible peel.  Most of the proposed additions to the Codex Classification have been included in the US proposed new crop group.  The majority of these tolerances are U.S. tolerances and it should be noted that over half of the U.S. tolerances are tolerances for those commodities that are included in the guava edible peel crop definition as follows: 

General commodity 
Specific Commodities Included in Definition 
Comments 
Guava 
Guava, feijoa, jaboticaba, wax jambu, starfruit, passionfruit, acerola
Primarily edible peel; note/peel rarely contaminates Passiflora spp. during juicing

      The proposed representative crop for subgroup 23A (small fruits, edible peel) is olive and olive has the majority of tolerances compared to other proposed member crops, acerola and wax jambu.  The same trend follows for the proposed representative crops for subgroup 23B (medium to large fruit) with the majority of tolerances listed for fig and guava compared to ambarella, feijoa, jaboticaba and persimmon.  The only tolerances listed for subgroup 23C are for date, the proposed representative commodity. 

      Table 3 Tropical and Subtropical Fruit, Edible Peel Production in 2008 of this analysis (in separate report) shows the production (2008) of Tropical and Subtropical fruits, edible peel from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) website.  The world total hectares for carob, cashew fruit (called cashew apple), date, fig, guava, and olive are over 17,737,858 hectares (ha) in 2008, and the total production of these fruits has grown to over 62,762,678 metric tons in 2008 (FAO 2008).  Note that the proposed representative crops for the new US Tropical and Subtropical, edible peel crop group are all included in the data reported by the FAO.  

      The proposed Tropical and Subtropical fruits, edible peel; crop group consists of a diverse group of plants from many plant families.  Within this group, fruit size of tropical and subtropical fruits with edible peels ranged from the fruit of chirauli-nut fruit,(Buchanania latifolia Roxb.) with an diameter of 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) to the babaco fruit, (Vasconcellea x heilbornii (V. M. Badillo) V. M. Badillo) with a diameter of 8 inches (20.3 cm).  In addition to size, the texture of tropical and subtropical fruit also varies from a thin smooth peel to a peel with fine hairs or pubescence.  

      Many publications have documented the relationship between surface area and mass of a commodity (Maclachlan, D.J. and D. Hamilton, 2010; B.D. Ripley, G.M. Ritcey, R. Harris, M.A. Denomme, L. Lissemore, 2003; F. Matsumura, G.M. Boush, T. Misato, eds., 1972; and B. Schneider, 2002).  In general, the smaller the fruit, the larger the ratio of surface area to weight becomes.  For example, pesticide deposits on grapes can be expected to be about 3X the pesticide deposit on apples due to the higher surface area per unit weight (Bates, 1990).  Nonbell peppers are also often cited as an example.  Because of their size, they normally have a higher residue than bell peppers with the same good agricultural practices (GAP) and are likely to drive a tolerance or MRL for peppers.  There is also indication that surface area/mass ratio plays a more important role on pesticide deposits than pubescence/serration present on surfaces (Sundaram, 1991).  

      To classify Tropical and Subtropical fruits into groups (edible versus inedible peel) and subgroups, Excel spreadsheets were developed to be able to sort commodities with common characteristics.  These spreadsheets include information regarding the common name, scientific name, taxonomic family name, production in the US, fruit shape, maximum radius (cm) and maximum height (cm) from the literature, calculated volume, calculated surface area, surface area to mass (volume) ratio, texture description and peel texture.  These spreadsheets allowed the sorting of commodities into small versus medium to large fruit and smooth peel versus a rough or hairy peel.  Fruits described in the literature as small fruit generally had a surface area/mass (volume) ratio of >1.5:1; so this criteria was used to separate small versus medium to large fruit (surface area/mass (volume) ratio of <=1.5:1). 

      Since sorting the spreadsheets into both fruit size (surface area/mass (volume) ratio) and peel texture resulted in subgroups that could not be supported by an appropriate representative commodity (lack of production in the U.S.), so this scheme was rejected.  However, sorting the commodities into fruit size (small versus medium to large fruit) based on the surface area to mass (volume) ratio, with the addition of a palm subgroup resulted in the proposed crop grouping scheme.

      Based on above background and the input from the International Crop Grouping Consulting Committee (ICGCC), IR-4 and the ICGCC propose that the Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Edible Peel be established as a new crop group with three subgroups:  (1) Subgroup 23A - Tropical and Subtropical, Small Fruits, Edible Peel; (2) Subgroup 23B - Tropical and Subtropical, Medium to Large Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup, and (3) Subgroup 23C - Tropical and Subtropical Palm Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup.  

      Selection of representative commodities are based on a representative commodity that is most likely to:  (1) contain the highest residues; (2) be major in terms of production and/or consumption and (3) similar in morphology, growth habit, pest problems and edible portion to the related commodities within a group or subgroup.  Based on these criteria, one representative commodity is proposed (olive) for Subgroup 23A; two representative commodities (fig and guava) are proposed for Subgroup 23B and one representative commodity (date) is proposed for Subgroup 23C.  

HED RECOMMENDATIONS:

	Each of the IR-4 proposals and HED recommendations will be discussed below, followed by a series of other recommendations on terminology, database development, and harmonization with Codex.  The EPA would like to commend the valuable and high quality input of the ICGCC, all its members, and the Committee Chairperson Bill Barney, USDA IR-4,  and Kathryn Homa, Assistant Coordinator, USDA IR-4 for her research and high quality and comprehensive monographs that were used to develop the IR-4 proposal.  We also want to commend Dr. Yuen-Shaung Ng, Biologist, HED, Andrew Ertman, Sidney Jackson, and Laura Nollen, Biologists, RD, EPA for their input and development of various databases in this report and Dr. Paul Schwartz, USDA, Office of Minor Use Pesticides for his advice, peer review, and research office location.

IR-4 Proposals 1 and 2:

1.  "Establish a new crop group in 40 CFR 180.41 (c) as "Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, Edible Peel".

And

2."Add the following 108 commodities to this new crop group":

	See the list of 108 proposed commodities for this crop group under the Action Requested Section Proposal 2."

HED Recommendation for IR-4 Proposals 1 and 2:

	We agree with the IR-4 scientific approach and logic used in developing this crop group and the three crop subgroups.  Specifically the development of the proposed Tropical and Subtropical fruits, edible peel, crop group consists of a diverse group of plants from many plant families, with a wide range of fruit sizes with edible peel and in addition to size, the texture of tropical and subtropical fruit also varies from a thin smooth peel to a peel with fine hairs or pubescence.  Sorting the commodities into fruit size (small versus medium to large fruit) based on the surface area to mass (volume) ratio, with the addition of a palm subgroup is a logical scheme.

	Based on similarities in fruit size and having an edible peel, cultural practices, geographical distribution, lack of animal feed items, comparison of available established tolerances, and pest problems, and for international harmonization purposes, I recommend that ChemSAC concur to establish a new Tropical and Subtropical edible peel crop group with 107 commodities and three crop subgroups.  Chinese jujube will not be included since it has become member of Crop group Stone Fruit Group 12-12.  

	Adding these commodities into a group will benefit the growers by enabling tools for crop protection.  Some "minor orphan" tropical fruit commodities have become more popular in some countries and areas today than they were 10 years ago, such as the açaí and noni.  Increased globalization of cooking in the United States has resulted in different fruits to be enjoyed worldwide.  Some of these "minor" fruits have great potential to be grown on a larger scale in some areas in the future due to their unique nutritional and medicinal values.  Being excluded from the crop groups, means that tolerances requested for these commodities would have to be established based on separate residue studies.  A crop group regulation would benefit growers and consumers, save considerable taxpayer's money on residue studies, save time for government agencies on review of residue data and facilitate the establishment of import tolerances.  

      In addition, after IR-4 submitted this petition an additional tropical fruit called Borojó (Borojoa patinoi Cuatrec.) was submitted by Panama to the ICGCC as a crop to be included as an edible peel tropical fruit.  This crop is currently being produced on over 3,000 ha in South America and has been increasing in popularity.  After reviewing information on this crop, I can recommend adding it to the commodities proposed for this crop group.  

	The following Table is a list of the proposed commodities and the scientific names of the 108 commodities were also updated and are listed below.  

"HED Corrected Proposed Tropical and Subtropical Fruit  -  Edible Peel 23."

Commodities
Açaí, Euterpe oleracea Mart.
Acerola, Malpighia emarginata DC.
African plum, Vitex doniana Sweet
Agritos, Berberis trifoliolata Moric.
Almondette, Buchanania lanzan Spreng.
Ambarella, Spondias dulcis Sol. ex Parkinson
Apak palm, Brahea dulcis (Kunth) Mart.
Appleberry, Billardiera scandens Sm.
Arazá, Eugenia stipitata McVaugh
Arbutus berry, Arbutus unedo L.
Babaco, Vasconcellea x heilbornii (V. M. Badillo) V. M. Badillo
Bacaba palm, Oenocarpus bacaba Mart.
Bacaba-de-leque, Oenocarpus distichus Mart.
Bayberry, Red, Morella rubra Lour.
Bignay, Antidesma bunius (L.) Spreng.
Bilimbi, Averrhoa bilimbi L.
Borojó, Borojoa patinoi Cuatrec.
Breadnut, Brosimum alicastrum Sw.
Cabeluda, Plinia glomerata (O. Berg) Amshoff
Cajou, fruit, Anacardium giganteum Hance ex Engl.
Cambucá, Marlierea edulis Nied.
Carandas-plum, Carissa edulis Vahl
Carob, Ceratonia siliqua L.
Cashew apple, Anacardium occidentale L.
Ceylon iron wood, Manilkara hexandra (Roxb.) Dubard
Ceylon olive, Elaeocarpus serratus L.
Cherry-of-the-Rio-Grande, Eugenia aggregata (Vell.) Kiaersk.
Chinese olive, black, Canarium tramdenum C. D. Dai& Yakovlev
Chinese olive, white, Canarium album (Lour.) Raeusch.
Chirauli-nut, Buchanania latifolia Roxb.
Ciruela verde, Bunchosia armeniaca (Cav.) DC.
Cocoplum, Chrysobalanus icaco L.
Date, Phoenix dactylifera L.
Davidson's plum, Davidsonia pruriens F. Muell.
Desert-date, Balanites aegyptiacus (L.) Delile
Doum palm coconut, Hyphaene thebaica (L.) Mart.
False sandalwood, Ximenia americana L.
Feijoa, Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret
Fig, Ficus carica L.
Fragrant Manjack, Cordia dichotoma G. Forst.
Gooseberry, Abyssinian, Dovyalis abyssinica (A. Rich.) Warb.
Gooseberry, Ceylon, Dovyalis hebecarpa (Gardner) Warb.
Gooseberry, Indian, Phyllanthus emblica L.
Gooseberry, Otaheite, Phyllanthus acidus (L.) Skeels
Governor's plum, Flacourtia indica (Burm. F.) Merr.
Grumichama,  Eugenia brasiliensis Lam
Guabiroba, Campomanesia xanthocarpa O. Berg
Guava, Psidium guajava L.
Guava berry, Myrciaria floribunda (H. West ex Willd.) O. Berg
Guava, Brazilian, Psidium guineense Sw.
Guava, Cattley, Psidium cattleianum Sabine
Guava, Costa Rican, (Psidium friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Nied.)
Guava, Para, Psidium acutangulum DC.
Guava, purple strawberry, Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum
Guava, strawberry, Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. littorale (Raddi) Fosberg
Guava, yellow strawberry, Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum forma lucidum O. Deg.
Guayabillo, (Psidium sartorianum (O. Berg) Nied.
Illawarra plum, Podocarpus elatus R. Br. Ex Endl.
Imbé, Garcinia livingstonei T. Anderson
Imbu, Spondias tuberosa Arruda ex Kost.
Indian-plum, Flacourtia jangomas (Lour.). (basionym)
Jaboticaba, Myrciaria cauliflora (Mart.) O. Berg
Jamaica-cherry, Muntingia calabura L.
Jambolan, Syzygium cumini (L.) Skeels
Jelly palm, Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc.
Jujube, Indian, Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.
Kaffir-plum, Harpephyllum caffrum Bernh. Ex C. Krauss
Kakadu plum, Terminalia latipes Benth. Subsp. psilocarpa Pedley
Kapundung, Baccaurea racemosa (Reinw.) Mull. Arg.
Karanda, Carissa carandas L.
Kwai muk, Artocarpus hypargyreus Hance ex Benth.
Lemon aspen, Acronychia acidula F. Muell,
Mangaba, Hancornia speciosa Gomes
Marian plum, Bouea macrophylla Griff.
Mombin, Malayan, Spondias pinnata (J. Koenig ex L. f.) Kurz
Mombin, purple, Spondias purpurea L.
Mombin, yellow, Spondias mombin L.
Monkeyfruit, Artocarpus lacucha Buch.-Ham.
Monos plum, Pseudanamomis umbellulifera (Kunth) Kausel
Mountain cherry, Bunchosia cornifolia Kunth
Nance, Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth
Natal plum, Carissa macrocarpa (Eckl.) A.DC
Noni, Morinda citrifolia L.
Olive, Olea europaea L. subsp. europaea
Papaya, Mountain, Vasconcellea pubescens A. DC.
Patauá, Oenocarpus bataua Mart.
Peach palm, fruit, Bactris gasipaes Kunth var. gasipaes
Persimmon, black, Diospyros texana Scheele
Persimmon, Japanese, Diospyros kaki Thunb.
Pitomba, Eugenia luschnathiana Klotzsch ex O. Berg
Plum-of-Martinique, Flacourtia inermis Roxb.
Pomerac, Syzygium malaccense (L.) Merr. & L.M. Perry
Rambai, Baccaurea motleyana (Mull. Arg.) Mull. Arg.
Rose apple, Syzygium jambos (L.) Alston
Rukam, Flacourtia rukam Zoll. & Moritizi
Rumberry, Myrciaria dubia (Kunth) Mc Vaugh, (Myrtaceae)
Sea grape, Coccoloba uvifera (L.) L.
Sentul, Sandoricum koetjape (Burm. F.) Merr.
Sete-capotes, Campomanesia guazumifolia (Cambess.) O. Berg
Silver aspen, Acronychia wilcoxian, (F. Muell.) T.G. Hartley
Starfruit,  Averrhoa carambola L
Surinam cherry, Eugenia uniflora L.
Tamarind, Tamarindus indica L.
Uvalha, Eugenia pyriformis Cambess 
Water apple, Syzygium aqueum (Burm. F.) Alston
Water pear, Syzygium guineense (Willd.) DC
Water berry, Syzygium cordatum Hochst. Ex C. Krauss
Wax jambu, Syzygium samarangense (Blume) Merr. & L.M.Perry
Cultivars, varieties, and hybrids of these commodities.

	Additional notes: 

   * HED also recommends changing the preferred commodity name for Cashew (pseudofruit) to Cashew apple, which is the commodity name, used in commerce.  
   * The commodity Peach palm change to Peach palm, fruit to distinguish from the Peach palm, nut that is a member in the Tree nut crop group.
   * Similarly Cajou, pseudofruit should be changed to Cajou, fruit to distinguish from the Cajou, nut which is a member in the Tree nut crop group.
   * HED also recommends that in the crop group table the term "varieties and/or hybrids of these" should be changed to, "Cultivars, varieties, and hybrids of these commodities" to avoid all confusion with terminology regarding whether they are cultivars, varieties, or hybrids of the tropical fruit edible peel commodities.  

IR-4 Proposal 3:

3. "Recommend the following four proposed commodities: Olive, fig, guava, and date to be representative commodities for the new crop group."

HED Recommendation for IR-4 Proposal 3:

	I recommend ChemSAC concur to add olive, fig, guava, and date as representative commodities for the new Tropical and subtropical fruit  - edible peel Crop Group 23.  These representative commodities account for > 95% of the harvested U.S. acres for the members of the new crop group.  The representative commodities are based on similarities in fruit surface area, edible portions, and cultural practices and geographical locations, pest problems, as well as their high production (both acres and yield) and consumption.  Comparison of the established tolerances on these commodities will support that residue levels will adequately cover the wide number of commodities.  

      Selection of representative commodities are based on a representative commodity that is most likely to: (1) contain the highest residues; (2) be major in terms of production and/or consumption and (3) similar in morphology, growth habit, pest problems and edible portion to the related commodities within a group or subgroup.  Based on these criteria, one representative commodity is proposed (olive) for Subgroup 23A; two representative commodities (fig and guava) are proposed for Subgroup 23B and one representative commodity (date) is proposed for Subgroup 23C.  Established tolerances for the proposed tropical fruit edible peel representative commodities are discussed in the "comparison of potential residue levels in the tropical and subtropical fruit-edible peel section of this analysis, and compare the existing U.S. and Codex tolerances.

IR-4 Proposal 4:

4. "Add the following three tropical and subtropical crop subgroups:

Subgroup 23A.  Tropical and Subtropical, Small Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup
	Proposed Representative Crop:  Olive

Subgroup 23B.  Tropical and Subtropical, Medium to Large Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup
	Proposed Representative Crops:  Fig and Guava

Subgroup 23C.  Tropical and Subtropical Palm Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup
	Proposed Representative Crop:  Date

	These subgroups would contain the following commodities:

Subgroup 23A: Tropical and Subtropical, Small Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup  - 
      Proposed Representative Crop:  Olive

	There are fifty-six commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

	Acerola; African plum; Agritos; Almondette; Appleberry; Arbutus berry; Bayberry, Red; Bignay; Breadnut; Cabeluda; Carandas-plum; Ceylon iron wood; Ceylon olive; Cherry-of-the-Rio-Grande; Chinese olive, black; Chinese olive, white; Chirauli-nut; Cocoplum; Desert-date; False sandalwood; Fragrant Manjack; Gooseberry, Abyssinian; Gooseberry, Ceylon; Gooseberry, Otaheite; Governor's plum; Grumichama; Guabiroba; Guava berry; Guava, Brazilian; Guava, Costa Rican; Guayabillo; Illawarra plum; Indian-plum; Jamaica-cherry; Jambolan; Kaffir-plum; Kakadu plum; Kapundung; Karnada; Lemon aspen; Mombin, yellow; Monos plum; Mountain cherry; Olive; Persimmon, Black; Pitomba; Plum-of-Martinique; Rukam; Rumberry; Sea grape; Sete-capotes; Silver aspen; Water apple; Water pear; Water berry; Wax jambu.

Subgroup 23B:  Tropical and Subtropical, Medium to Large Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup
	Proposed Representative Crops:  Fig and Guava

	There are forty-three commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

	Ambarella; Arazá; Babaco; Bilimbi; Borojó, Cajou (pseudofruit); Cambucá; Carob; Cashew (pseudofruit); Ciruela verde; Davidson's plum; Feijoa; Fig; Gooseberry, Indian; Guava; Guava, Cattley, Guava, Para; Guava, purple strawberry; Guava, strawberry; Guava, yellow strawberry; Imbé; Imbu; Jaboticaba; Jujube, Indian; Kwai muk; Mangaba; Marian plum; Mombin, Malayan; Mombin, purple; Monkeyfruit; Nance; Natal plum; Noni; Papaya, Mountain; Persimmon, Japanese; Pomerac; Rambai; Rose apple; Sentul; Starfruit; Surinam cherry; Tamarind; Uvalha.

Subgroup 23C.  Tropical and Subtropical Palm Fruits, Edible Peel Subgroup
	Proposed Representative Crop:  Date

	There are nine commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

Açaí; Apak palm; Bacaba palm; Bacaba-de-leque; Date; Doum palm coconut; Jelly palm; Patauá; Peach palm.

HED Recommendation for IR-4 Proposal 4:

      Sorting the spreadsheets into both fruit size (surface area/mass (volume) ratio) and also peel texture resulted in subgroups that could not be supported by an appropriate representative commodity (lack of production in the U.S.) scheme was rejected, however, sorting into fruit size (small versus medium to large fruit) based on the surface area to mass (volume) ratio, with the addition of a palm subgroup resulted in this logical proposed crop subgrouping scheme.  Using calculated surface area, surface area to mass (volume) ratio, and a peel texture description, sorting commodities into small versus medium to large fruit resulted in small fruit generally having a surface area/mass (volume) ratio of >1.5:1; and this allowed a separation of the two subgroups into small versus medium to large fruit with a surface area/mass (volume) ratio of <=1.5:1. 

      Again, the selection of representative commodities are based on a representative commodity that is most likely to:  (1) contain the highest residues; (2) be major in terms of production and/or consumption and (3) similar in morphology, growth habit, pest problems and edible portion to the related commodities within a group or subgroup, and (4) having production in the U.S.  Based on these criteria, we agree with one representative commodity olive for Subgroup 23A; two representative commodities fig and guava for Subgroup 23B and one representative commodity date for Subgroup 22C.  Some "minor orphan" tropical fruit commodities have become more popular in some countries and areas today than they were 10 years ago, such as the açaí and noni.  Increased globalization of cooking in the United States has resulted in different fruits to be enjoyed worldwide.  Commodity terminology has also been updated for the three crop subgroups as follows:

1). Subgroup 23A: Tropical and Subtropical, Small Fruit, Edible Peel Subgroup - Proposed Representative Crop:  Olive

	There are fifty-six commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

	Acerola; African plum; Agritos; Almondette; Appleberry; Arbutus berry; Bayberry, Red; Bignay; Breadnut; Cabeluda; Carandas-plum; Ceylon iron wood; Ceylon olive; Cherry-of-the-Rio-Grande; Chinese olive, black; Chinese olive, white; Chirauli-nut; Cocoplum; Desert-date; False sandalwood; Fragant Manjack; Gooseberry, Abyssinian; Gooseberry, Ceylon; Gooseberry, Otaheite; Governor's plum; Grumichama; Guabiroba; Guava berry; Guava, Brazilian; Guava, Costa Rican; Guayabillo; Illawarra plum; Indian-plum; Jamaica-cherry  Jambolan; Kaffir-plum; Kakadu plum; Kapundung; Karnada; Lemon aspen; Mombin, yellow; Monos plum; Mountain cherry; Olive; Persimmon, Black; Pitomba; Plum-of-Martinique; Rukam; Rumberry; Sea grape; Sete-capotes; Silver aspen; Water apple; Water pear; Water berry; Wax jambu.

2). Subgroup 23B: Tropical and Subtropical, Medium to Large Fruit, Edible Peel Subgroup - Proposed Representative Crops:  Fig and Guava.

	There are forty-three commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

	Ambarella; Arazá; Babaco; Bilimbi; Borojó , Cajou, fruit; Cambucá; Carob; Cashew apple; Ciruela verde; Davidson's plum; Feijoa; Fig; Gooseberry, Indian; Guava; Guava, Cattley, Guava, Para; Guava, purple strawberry; Guava, strawberry; Guava, yellow strawberry; Imbé; Imbu; Jaboticaba; Jujube, Indian; Kwai muk; Mangaba; Marian plum; Mombin, Malayan; Mombin, purple; Monkeyfruit; Nance; Natal plum; Noni; Papaya, Mountain; Persimmon, Japanese; Pomerac; Rambai; Rose apple; Sentul; Starfruit; Surinam cherry; Tamarind; Uvalha.

3) Subgroup 23C: Tropical and Subtropical Palm Fruit, Edible Peel Subgroup - Proposed Representative Crop:  Date

	There are nine commodities proposed for this subgroup and include:

Açaí; Apak palm; Bacaba palm; Bacaba-de-leque; Date; Doum palm coconut; Jelly palm; Patauá; Peach palm, fruit.

IR-4 Proposal 5:

5. "Add Commodity Definition [40 CFR 180.1 (g)] for Guava?"

      The current crop definition for tropical and subtropical fruit with edible peel is proposed to be removed because the commodities will be included in crop subgroups.

General commodity 
Specific Commodities Included in Definition 
Comments 
Guava 
Guava, feijoa, jaboticaba, wax jambu, starfruit, passionfruit, acerola 
Primarily edible peel; note/peel rarely contaminates Passiflora spp. during juicing 

      IR-4 is proposing a new crop definition is proposed for guava that includes many of the closely related genus (Psidium spp.), species and varieties.  The following is the proposed crop definition for guava:

A
B
Guava 
(Psidium guajava L.)
Guava (Psidium guajava L.);  Guava, Para (Psidium acutangulum DC.);  Guava, Brazilian (Psidium guineense Sw.); Guava, cattley (Psidium cattleianum Sabine); Guava, Costa Rican (Psidium friedrichsthalianum (O. Berg) Nied.); Guava, purple strawberry (Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum);  Guava, strawberry (Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. littorale (Raddi) Fosberg); Guava, yellow strawberry; (Psidium cattleianum Sabine var. cattleianum forma lucidum O. Deg.); Guayabillo (Psidium sartorianum (O. Berg) Nied.)

HED Recommendation for IR-4 Proposal 5:

      Currently, there is one Commodity Definitions for tropical fruits  -  edible peel for guava that was approved by the ChemSAC [40 CFR 180 (1) (g)] in 1998.  The current crop definition for tropical and subtropical fruit with edible peel is proposed to be removed because the commodities will be included in the new crop subgroups, and passionfruit will be transferred to another new Tropical and subtropical fruit  -  inedible peel crop group 23 when it is analyzed.  I recommend for ChemSAC to approve deleting the previously ChemSAC approved guava commodity definition under 40 CFR Part 180.1(g) because each of these commodities are listed separately as members of the new proposed Tropical and subtropical fruit  -  edible peel crop group.  Also, a guava definition is no longer necessary since it is one of the proposed representative commodities for crop subgroup 23B, "Tropical and Subtropical, Medium to Large Fruit, Edible Peel Subgroup".  Since the guava, commodity definition has not been published in the Federal Register there is no issue deleting it.  

Additional HED Conclusions:

HED Conclusion 6:

	Another important aspect of crop grouping is the harmonization effort with the Codex Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds.  The proposed EPA crop group for Tropical and subtropical fruit group  -  edible peel is very similar to the corresponding Codex Assorted tropical and sub-tropical fruit group  -  edible peel.  The Codex Group 005, assorted tropical and subtropical fruit group  -  edible peel (Crop Group 005), consists of twenty-eight commodities.  Most of the Codex commodities are the same as those proposed by USDA IR-4 in this petition with certain exceptions.  Kumquat (FT0289) and limequat (FT2324) are included in this Codex group but EPA has kumquat and limequat as part of the revised Citrus fruit group 10-10, since they are citrus fruits or a citrus fruit hybrid in the case of limequat.  Carambola is called starfruit in the U.S.  Tree tomato (FT0312) is now included in the EPA Fruiting vegetable group 8-10.  There are five commodities proposed in the U.S. not yet in the Codex classification and these are agritos, cambuca, otaheite gooseberry, yellow mombin, and black persimmon.  In addition, Codex has feijoa in its inedible peel tropical and sub-tropical inedible peel group while the US has its documented ad an edible peel fruit.  A revision of the Codex Classification is underway with consideration to include adding new commodities, creating subgroups, and selecting representative commodities.  

HED Conclusion 7:

      Guidance for HED SOP 99.6 - "Classification of Food Forms with Respect to Level of Blending" issued August 20, 1999, and HED SOP 2000.1  -  "Guidance for Translation of Field Trial Data from Representative Commodities in the Crop Group Regulation to Other Commodities in Each Crop Group/Subgroup" issued September 12, 2000 can be updated to reflect the new Tropical and Subtropical Fruit - Edible Peel Group 23.  The updates are discussed in the HED SOP 2001 Section of this analysis.

HED Conclusion 8:

      Guidance on expressing tolerance terminology for the new Tropical and subtropical fruit group - edible peel crop group 23 is discussed under the "Tolerance expression guidance section of this analysis.  New lookup and preferred EPA terms for the members of the Tropical and subtropical fruit group - edible peel crop group are listed in the EPA Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary section of this report and these terms should be added to the updated EPA Food and Feed Commodity Vocabulary website (http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/foodfeed).