On June 27 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

Amidated, non-organic pectin will be allowed in organic production until October 21, said the Agricultural Marketing Service, extending the implementation date for removal of the substance from June 27. AMS 2012 sunset review final rule, published June 6, had removed amidated, non-organic pectin from the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances to allow only non-amidated forms of pectin, and in so doing prohibit amidated forms of pectin in organic production, effective June 27. AMS said it is extending the implementation date (with no change to the actual effective date of the amendments) because, after publication of the final rule on June 6, AMS received new information from industry that some organic processors are currently using amidated, non-organic pectin in their products. The industry indicated that these processors would need time to reformulate these products, AMS said.

On June 26 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On June 25 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails June 25 announcing changes to some 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.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are asking for comments on a new paper: “State of the art on the initiatives and activities relevant to risk assessment and risk management of nanotechnologies in the food and agriculture sectors,” said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. This document is available for review at here. Comments should be sent to Masami Takeuchi (Masami.Takeuchi@fao.org) with a copy to Mina Kojima (kojimam@who.int) by no later than November 30.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails June 22 announcing changes to some 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.

The Foreign Agricultural Service corrected its 2012 list of updated quantity trigger levels and applicable periods for products that may be subject to additional import duties under the safeguard provisions of the World Trade Organization Agreement on Agriculture.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced it created a new website (here) to provide stakeholders with information about the commodity import approval process for plants and plant products and give them the opportunity to consult with APHIS on risk assessments as they are being drafted.

Imports of Dracaena plants from Costa Rica to the continental U.S. will be allowed, with certain conditions, effective July 26, said the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in a final rule. The conditions will apply to plants less than 460 mm in length, which are currently allowed to be imported, and will also allow for the importation of plants over 460 mm and up to 1,371.6 mm in length, which are currently prohibited.