Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service June 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that we are proposing to recognize Japan as being free of highly pathogenic avian influenza and Newcastle disease. This proposed recognition is based on a risk evaluation we have prepared in connection with this action, which we are making available for review and comment.

We are proposing to amend the fruit and vegetable regulations to allow the importation of tree tomatoes from Ecuador into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the tree tomatoes would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include requirements for importation in commercial consignments, registration and monitoring of places of production, field monitoring and pest-control practices, trapping, and inspection for quarantine pests by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador. This action would allow the importation of tree tomatoes from Ecuador while continuing to protect against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

We are amending the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation of fresh pitahaya fruit into the continental United States from Ecuador. As a condition of entry, the fruit will have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for fruit fly trapping, pre-harvest inspections, approved production sites, and packinghouse procedures designed to exclude quarantine pests. The fruit will also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador stating that the consignment was produced and prepared for export in accordance with the requirements of the systems approach. This action will allow for the importation of fresh pitahaya fruit from Ecuador while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

We are advising the public that we are adding 22 taxa of plants for planting that are quarantine pests and 34 taxa of plants for planting that are hosts of 8 quarantine pests to our lists of taxa of plants for planting whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis. A previous notice made datasheets that detailed the scientific evidence we evaluated in making the determination that the taxa are quarantine pests or hosts of quarantine pests available to the public for review and comment. This notice responds to the comments we received and makes available final versions of the datasheets, with changes in response to comments.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with its efforts to control Johne's disease in the United States.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of Hass avocados from Mexico.

This is to inform the public of two additional upcoming meetings regarding the Animal Disease Traceability (ADT) system. These regional meetings will provide additional opportunities for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to hear from the public, particularly from the cattle and bison sectors, about the successes and challenges of the current ADT framework and provide a venue for the exchange of ideas about ways to overcome these challenges and fill gaps in the existing system.