Export Certificates
The Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service states that it plans to deploy March 31 three enhancements to the Public Health Information System export module to make the 9060-export application process more efficient for export applicants.
- PHIS will hold the applicant’s search results on the application list while the applicant opens and closes an individual record. This will reduce the need for repetitive searching and filtering.
- The keyword search box on the application list will be split into two search boxes (one for application numbers, one for export establishments) to reduce the amount of data PHIS consumes, making the search operate more efficiently.
- PHIS will allow applicants to edit more data fields (e.g., exporter and importer name and address, product details, etc.) in an original application after FSIS review begins to increase the opportunity for applicants to find and correct errors before final FSIS approval.
Corn Exports to Mexico
The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service reports that on March 17 Mexico adopted a constitutional amendment that (1) bans domestic cultivation of genetically modified corn (defined as corn produced with techniques that overcome the natural barriers of reproduction or recombination, such as transgenics) and (2) requires any other use of such corn to be evaluated to be free of threats to the biosafety, health, and biocultural heritage of Mexico and its population. FAS notes that while this amendment codifies Mexico’s longstanding de facto ban on cultivation, it leaves ambiguous the scope of restrictions on “other use[s],” such as corn grain imported for food or feed use.
Lettuce from Mexico
The USDA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will expand the Risk-Based Sampling at Ports of Entry program to include new varieties of lettuce arriving at select U.S. ports of entry starting the week of March 31. This change will apply to iceberg, romaine, butterhead, red/green leaf, and other lettuce from Mexico transported across the southern border by truck.
According to CBP, the goals of this program are to reduce inspections on entities importing commodities compliant with current pest and disease regulations and to provide incentives for producers to increase the quality of their goods.
CBP notes that while this update will not change the entry process or requirements, trade entities should file entry as early in the arrival process as possible and include APHIS core message set data to ensure their shipments are processed according to RBS POE procedures.
Poultry from Canada
Effective March 13, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has imposed the following restrictions on the importation of poultry and related products originating from or transiting zone PCZ-264 in Ontario, Canada, due to concerns about highly-pathogenic avian influenza.
- Importation of poultry, commercial birds, ratites, avian hatching eggs, unprocessed avian products and byproducts, and certain fresh poultry products is prohibited.
- Importation of processed avian products and byproducts, imported as cargo, must be accompanied by an APHIS import permit and/or government certification confirming that the goods were treated in accordance with APHIS requirements.
- Importation of fresh, unprocessed shell/table eggs and egg products, void of the shell (e.g., liquid eggs and dried egg whites), imported as cargo, is prohibited unless they are consigned from the port of arrival directly to an APHIS-approved breaking and pasteurization facility. An import permit and/or certificate is not required in such cases.
- Fully finished, non-shelf stable and/or non-commercially packaged and labeled food products containing pasteurized egg/egg product ingredients, originating from or transiting all of Canada, must be accompanied by an APHIS import permit.
Separately, APHIS has removed restrictions on imports of poultry and related products originating from or transiting zone PCZ-258 in Ontario (effective March 21) or Chiba prefecture in Japan (effective March 28).
Mangos from India
APHIS is accepting comments through April 23 on a draft pest risk assessment regarding a request to revisit U.S. import requirements for the shipping of fresh mango fruit from India. APHIS granted India market access for mango in 2007 subject to certain pest mitigation measures for plant pathogens, including irradiation upon arrival. India has now requested transferring irradiation treatment oversight responsibility from APHIS to the Indian national plant protection organization.
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