The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails June 5 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.

User fees for cotton producers for 2012 crop cotton classification services will continue at $2.20 per bale, the same as in 2011, said the Agricultural Marketing Service. According to AMS, this fee and the existing reserve are sufficient to cover the costs of providing classification services for the 2012 crop, including costs for administration and supervision.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis (CCMAS) invited member countries and interested observers to participate in an electronic working group to develop Explanatory Notes on Principles for the Use of Sampling and Testing in International Food Trade. The working group, which will work in English, is led by Germany with the assistance of New Zealand, the U.S., the Netherlands, and Japan. A web-based shared workspace will be provided. Each member country or observer organization may nominate one "participant" and 3 "guests" who will be granted access to the shared workspace. Persons interested in receiving updates from the U.S. participant should contact the U.S. Codex Office (USCodex@fsis.usda.gov) by June 15. Other members and observer organizations should contact Meena Chandra of New Zealand (meena.chandra@maf.govt.nz) by June 30.

Mexico removed restrictions on imports from four California counties of some commodities, including stone fruit and table grapes, following eradication of the European grapevine moth from Fresno, Mendocino, Merced, and San Joaquin counties, said APHIS. The commodities had been under quarantine since the first detection of the moth in 2009. Mexico also began requiring additional treatments on exports of fresh table grapes and stone fruit from counties under quarantine for the pest, said APHIS. Mexico removed its restrictions on exports following APHIS’ announcement that the moths had been eradicated in the four counties.

On June 5 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails June 4, 2012, 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.

Organic products certified in the U.S. or European Union may now be sold as organic in either market, under a new U.S.-EU equivalency partnership, announced the Department of Agriculture. The arrangement covers products exported from and certified in the U.S. or the EU only. All products traded under the partnership must be shipped with an organic import certificate, which shows the location where production occurred, identifies the organization that certified the organic product, and verifies that growers and handlers did not use prohibited substances and methods. In addition to certifying that the terms of the partnership were met, the certificates allow traded products to be tracked. According to USDA, U.S. crops produced using certain antibiotics and EU agricultural products derived from animals treated with antibiotics, as well as EU aquatic animals, are excepted from the agreement.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the public meeting for the 35th Session or the Codex Alimentarius Commission will be June 5 in Washington, D.C. The public meeting will discuss U.S. draft positions for the items on the agenda for the Commission, including adoption of proposed standards and amendments to existing standards, the proposed revocation of existing standards, the approval of new work proposals and budgetary matters. The Commission will meet in Rome, Italy, July 2-7, 2012. Individuals may also participate via teleconference by calling 1-888-858-2144; Participant Code: 6208658. Agenda for the meeting with links to documents to be discussed available here.

On June 4, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On June 1, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports: