Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is lifting the Federal Order issued on March 18, 2015, prohibiting certain fruits and vegetables from the Dominican Republic into theUnited States. The original action was taken in response to the multiple detections of live Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic.
On March 13, 2015, the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the Dominican Republic notified APHIS of confirmed Medfly captures in the Punta Cana area. On March 18, 2015, APHIS issued Federal Order DA-2015-14 restricting the entry of the following products from Dominican Republic:
•avocado •longan •pepper
•clementine •mamey (sapote) •pummelo
•grape •mandarin •tangelo
•grapefruit •mango •tangerine
•lemon •orange •tomato
•litchi •papaya •tuna (cactus fruit)
APHIS subsequently updated the Federal Order three times to relieve restrictions on the importation of Hass avocados, which are not a Medfly host, and to relieve restrictions on commodities imported from provinces in the Dominican Republic that APHIS determined to be free of Medfly.
The NPPO of Dominican Republic, with the technical assistance of APHIS, the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Food and Agriculture Organization, developed and established a comprehensive nationwide monitoring network and initiated an eradication campaign conducting bait sprays and Medfly sterile release. APHIS evaluated the Medfly trapping, eradication activities, and trapping results. No medflies have been trapped in the Dominican Republic since January 9, 2017. APHIS has determined the trapping results provided by the NPPO and APHIS technical team meet the requirements for eradication of Medfly. Therefore, APHIS is lifting the Federal Order restricting the import of Medfly host fruits and vegetables from Dominican Republic into the United States.
For additional information regarding this Federal Order, please contact Senior Regulatory Policy SpecialistTony Roman at 301-851-2242 or via email at Juan.A.Roman@aphis.usda.gov.
Source: USDA APHIS