The Foreign Agricultural Service posted the details of a deal that will extend the ability to export beef to Japan to beef from cattle less than 30 months old. Japan’s beef import restrictions, introduced by Japan in response to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, originally limited the age of cattle to 20 months. The new terms will take effect Feb. 1. Highlights of the agreement include:
On Jan. 29 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes Jan. 28 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
On Jan. 28 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service is proposing to allow imports of fresh apricots from continental Spain. The imports would have to meet certain conditions, including: registration of production locations and packinghouses, pest monitoring, sanitary practices, chemical and biological controls, and phytosanitary treatment. The fruit would also have to be imported in commercial consignments, with each consignment identified throughout its movement from place of production to port of entry in the U.S., APHIS said. Consignments would have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Spain certifying that the fruit is free from all quarantine pests and has been produced in accordance with the systems approach. Comments are due by April 1.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to allow importation of avocados from continental Spain, with some conditions. The avocados would have to be produced “in accordance with a systems approach” that would include: requirements for importing in commercial consignments; registration and monitoring of places of production and packinghouses; grove sanitation; and inspection for quarantine pests by the national plant protection organization of Spain. Consignments of avocados other than the Hass variety would also have to be treated for the Mediterranean fruit fly either prior to moving to the U.S. or upon arrival prior to release. Consignments would need to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the avocados were grown and inspected and found to be free of pests in accordance with the proposed requirements. Comments on the APHIS proposal are due by April 1.
On Jan. 25 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries for Jan. 18-24:
On Jan. 23 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service outlined its procedures for determining the equivalence of foreign regulatory systems to U.S. import requirements for meat, poultry, and egg products. If a country’s regulatory system is deemed equivalent, the U.S. allows imports of meat, poultry, and egg products from that country. The equivalency procedure includes annual document reviews, on-site systems audits at least every three years, and port of entry reinspections. FSIS decides how often to conduct on-site audits and port reinspections based on each country’s performance, allowing the agency to target resources on riskier exporters, it said.