On March 28, 2011, the Foreign Agriculture Service issued the following GAIN reports:
An official from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is encouraging the public to submit comments as part of the agency’s review of the Lacey Act Declaration requirements for imported plants and plant products. Once this review is completed, APHIS will submit a report to Congress detailing its results and is authorized to issue certain regulations.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued an interim rule, effective March 25, 2011, to amend the regulations regarding the importation of horses from countries affected with contagious equine metritis (CEM) by incorporating an additional certification requirement for imported horses 731 days of age or less and adding new testing protocols for test mares and imported stallions and mares more than 731 days of age. Comments are due by May 24, 2011.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has updated the following PPQ electronic manuals as of March 24, 2011 (since March 17, 2011):
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a proposed rule to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of French beans and runner beans from the Republic of Kenya into the U.S. As a condition of entry, both commodities would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include requirements for packing, washing, and processing; and be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. Comments are due by May 24, 2011.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has announced a meeting May 10, 2011 to provide specific regulatory guidance related to the Federal Select Agent Program established under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. The meeting is being organized APHIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discuss entity registration, security risk assessments, biosafety requirements, and security measures. Persons who wish to attend the meeting must register by April 12, 2011.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announces that it has developed additional guidance to distinguish between pellets derived from seed meal and pellets derived from grain screenings. Pelletized seed meal is enterable into the U.S. after inspection and verification that it does not contain any seed or grain screenings. Any other pelletized grain-based pellets, such as grain screenings pellets, are enterable only if they are being imported for use as fuel and are accompanied by a declaration to that effect. The guidance is available by emailing documents@brokerpower.com.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared a pest risk analysis that evaluates the risks associated with the importation into the continental U.S. of fresh persimmon fruit (Diospyros kaki) from the Republic of South Africa. Based on this analysis, 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. Comments are due by May 20, 2011.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is correcting its final rule that was effective on December 1, 2010 in which it added the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina to the list of regions recognized as free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), rinderpest, swine vesicular disease (SVD), classical swine fever (CSF), and African swine fever. In the final rule, APHIS neglected to add Santa Catarina to the lists of regions that are subject to certain import restrictions on pork and pork products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with SVD- and CSF-affected countries, and is now correcting that error. (See ITT's Online Archives or 11/15/10 news, 10111525, for BP summary of the original final rule.)
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued a proposed rule to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation into the continental U.S. of baby kiwi fruit from Chile, subject to a systems approach under which the fruit would have to be grown in a place of production that is registered with the Government of Chile and certified as having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis, among other things. Comments are due by May 20, 2011.