Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has determined that fresh jujube fruit from China can be safely imported into the continental United States under a systems approach. APHIS based this decision on the findings of our pest risk analysis and a thorough evaluation of comments made by the public on the analysis.
A systems approach is a series of measures taken by growers, packers, and shippers that, in combination, minimize pest risks prior to importation into the United States. In this case, the systems approach includes place of origin restrictions, pest-free areas of production, fruit fly trapping and management, registration of places of production and packinghouses, and importation of commercial shipments only. The systems approach also requires China’s national plant protection organization to inspect shipments prior to export and issue a phytosanitary certificate.
With the publication of this final notice, APHIS and China must next agree to and sign the operational work plan. Once that is complete, APHIS will update its fruits and vegetables import requirement database and begin issuing permits for fresh jujube fruit from China.
The docket with information about this decision will be available upon publication in the Federal Register on March 12, 2020 here: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0004
