The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a proposed rule to amend and republish the list of select agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products. This action would implement the findings of the third biennial review of the list. In addition, APHIS is proposing to reorganize the list based on the relative potential of each select agent or toxin to be misused to adversely affect human, plant, or animal health. APHIS is also proposing a number of amendments to the regulations, including the addition of definitions and clarification of language concerning security, training, biosafety, biocontainment, and incident response. Comments are due by December 2, 2011.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a proposed rule to amend the phytosanitary treatment regulations to provide generic criteria to allow irradiation facilities to be located anywhere in the Southern States of the U.S., subject to approval, rather than only in the currently approved locations. Proposed requirements include arranging for treatment before departure from the port of entry or points of U.S. origin, requiring APHIS and the facility to agree to all parameters (such as how each consignment will move, the use of refrigeration, and monitoring activities within 4 square miles of a facility, etc.)
The Environmental Protection Agency and DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have signed agreements with U .S. Customs and Border Protection to join the Import Safety Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC), a multi-agency center for targeting commercial shipments that pose potential threats to health and safety.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is announcing its determination of nonregulated status for a genetically engineered cotton (COR67B) that is resistant to several insect pests. The finding is based on the agency's analysis of field and laboratory data submitted by Syngenta Biotechnology, Inc., references provided in the petition, peer-reviewed publications, the plant pest risk assessment, and its review of the comments provided by the public. This cotton is therefore no longer subject to APHIS regulations.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has updated the following PPQ electronic manuals as of September 29, 2011 (since the last update on September 21):
APHIS is advising the public that it has prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental United States of fresh tejocote fruit from Mexico. APHIS believe that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of this produce. Comments are due by November 28, 2011. (D/N APHIS--2011--0077)
APHIS is advising the public that it has prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental United States of fresh pomegranate fruit from India. APHIS believe that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of this produce. Comments are due by November 28, 2011. (D/N APHIS--2011--0087)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a final rule, effective September 29, 2011, which APHIS states makes technical corrections to its January 2010 final rule on organizational and procedural changes to the phytosanitary treatment regulations. The corrections provide for the APHIS Administrator to approve treatments that are not found in the Treatment Manual and restore inadvertently deleted text explaining that irradiation can be used as a substitute for other treatments.
A Food and Drug Administration official who spoke at the September 2011 annual NCBFAA1 Government Affairs Conference gave an update on the Border Interagency Executive Council's efforts to (i) align participating government agency (PGA) “trusted trader” programs; and (ii) share information and images via the Document Image System (DIS).
Broker Power is providing readers with some of the top stories for September 19-23, 2011 in case they were missed last week.