Philadelphia, Pa. — South Africa’s Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum (WCCPF) is proud to report 100 percent clearance by the U.S.D.A. of its Clementines bound for the U.S. It is a zero percent rejection rate in an industry where anything below 10 percent is considered acceptable.
Before leaving South Africa and again on arrival in the U.S., samples of all citrus are examined for live insects or larvae by U.S. D.A. inspectors. During the last 21 days, the U.S.D.A. has found no rejections in all the Clementines bound for the U.S.
“We are not surprised by this news,” said Gerrit van der Merwe, chairman of the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum and a grower and exporter. “For many years, our aggressive and scientific farming practices have worked to reduce pests. We meet and exceed all U.S.D.A. requirements for our fruit and our program is a model for safety and freshness.”
Growers the world over take steps at the grove level and all along the production chain to eradicate pests from their products. Among the most successful is the aggressive effort in the Western Cape region to eliminate the false codlingmoth. Endemic to sub-Saharan Africa, the pest has become resistant to customary treatments. Growers of the WCCPF have embraced an advanced scientific program known as X-SIT or Sterile Insect Tecnique where false codlingmoth insects are sterilized. When released to mate, there are no resulting offspring. The effort has reduced the population of FCM by 95 percent.
“The dedicated and committed growers who are part of the X-SIT program have seen excellent results to control these problem pests,” said van der Merwe. “Those who have resisted the program find the FCM continues to be an issue for them and puts their fruit as well as that of others at risk.” The program is most effective when applied across an entire region.
The X-SIT program was pioneered in Citrusdal, South Africa, a primary growing region for fruit exported to the U.S.
An additional step taken by the Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum is in shipping the citrus cold from Cape Town to the port of Philadelphia in special refrigerated reefer vessels or temperature controlled containers.
The fruit remains at a cold 32°F for 24 days to assure any errant pests will be eliminated from the shipment. Other countries exporting to the U.S. prefer to use fumigation or chemical treatments of their fruit on arrival in the U.S. While that may kill pests on their fruit, it introduces chemicals to the product and reduces the freshness and shelf life in stores and in consumers’ homes.
“The cold temperature of 32°F for 24 days is very tough for the fruit as it is very cold,” said van der Merwe. “While the cold will kill any latent pests, the extended time can also be damaging to the fruit. The internationally recognized and accepted protocols and in fact, all scientific studies indicate cold for no longer than 22 days is more than sufficient for the purposes of addressing latent pests.”
The U.S.D.A. increased the requirements of South African Summer Citrus from 22 to 24 days in 2005 after one larva was said to be found in a single carton. The authenticity of the claim was never verified.
Citrus from South Africa is a welcomed addition to consumer tables across the U.S. from June through October. As a wintertime fruit, domestic citrus such as oranges and Clementines from Florida and California are not available in the summer months here. Since exporting to the U.S. from South Africa began in 1999, the shipments have grown from an initial 50 tons then to some 41,000 tons in 2010.
Next to Spain, South Africa is the second largest exporter of citrus in the world, producing 60 percent of all citrus fruits grown in the Southern Hemisphere. Other than the United States, South Africa’s primary export markets include the European Union, Far East, Middle East, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the rest of Africa.
The WCCPF facilitates logistical, marketing and sales support coordination of products for its members. Its mission is to maintain and expand its role as the preferred supplier in the U.S. and throughout the world, and continue to be a reliable supplier of safe summer citrus for the U.S. and all global markets.
For more information, visit www.summercitrus.com or find South African Summer Citrus, including healthy recipes featuring South African citrus, at www.facebook.com/summercitrus.
Source: Western Cape Citrus Producers Forum