Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service October 7, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This is to notify all interested parties, including individuals and entities possessing, using, or transferring federally listed biological agents and toxins, that a meeting will be held 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 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Justice's Federal Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Justice Information Services. Issues to be discussed include personnel reliability programs, pre-employment background screenings, occupational health programs, and BSL4 surety programs.

We are advising the public of our decision to begin allowing the interstate movement into the continental United States of fresh rambutan fruit from Puerto Rico. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we 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 interstate movement of rambutan from Puerto Rico.