The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has prepared and is accepting comments on a pest risk assessment that evaluates the risks associated with the importation of fresh guava fruit from Taiwan into the continental United States. Based on this analysis, APHIS scientists have determined that the measures Taiwan will take are sufficient to protect against introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds into the continental United States via fresh guava imports. APHIS is making this pest risk assessment and these measures available to the public for review and comment.
To safeguard U.S. agriculture, the importation of guava from Taiwan would be subject to a series of measures taken by growers, packers, and shippers that, in combination, minimize pest risks before the commodity is imported into the continental United States. Specifically, the following conditions would apply: registration of packinghouses and places of production, regular inspections, grove sanitation, trapping for fruit flies, cold treatment, lot identification, and issuance of a phytosanitary certificate. Taiwan’s national plant protection organization would also enter into an operational work plan with APHIS that details the daily procedures it will implement to fulfil these requirements.
For more information:
www.aphis.usda.gov