Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is amending the entry requirements for the importation of fresh blueberry fruit ( Vaccinium spp.) from Chile into the United States. APHIS is taking this action in response to a request submitted by Chile's Servicio Agricola Ganadero (SAG) to amend a previous Federal Order issued on December 24, 2013.
To prevent the introduction of European Grapevine Moth (Lobesia botrana, EGVM) into the United States, APHIS is requiring blueberry shipments from regions VI, VII, and VIII destined to the United States to be fumigated with methyl bromide at the point of origin or at the first U.S. port of arrival under Title 7 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 305. In addition consignments not requiring fumigation, specifically shipments from regions other than VI, VII, and VIII, will be subjected to an increased rate of inspection, through the APHIS preclearance program, at the port of export.
APHIS scientists determined that Chilean blueberries arriving at the port of entry under cold storage and treated with methyl bromide at a rate of 4 lbs at 40 °F for 3 hours will effectively mitigate EGVM. Therefore, APHIS has decided to permit Chilean blueberries to be fumigated at U.S. ports of Elizabeth, NJ, Long Beach, CA, Miam~ FL, Wilmington, DE and Philadelphia, PA utilizing either the 2 lb rate (at 60 or 70 degrees), in accordance with the methyl bromide label, or, the 4 lb rate (at 40 degrees). Because of the substantial growth of the EGVM population in Chile during recent seasons and its unexpected detection on fresh blueberry, APHIS has determined that these additional requirements are necessary to prevent the entry ofEGVM into the United States following the fresh blueberry pathway.
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