Copy of USDA citrus shipping rule released
Published on
06/29/2009 04:20PM
Though the U.S. Department of Agriculture hasn’t officially released its proposed rule that would end the ban on shipping Florida citrus to other producing states, a copy of the proposal expected to be released June 30 is circulating in the industry.
The rule, proposed by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, would allow Florida citrus to be shipped to all U.S. markets without any packinghouse inspection requirement the USDA instituted in 2007.
That rule was started after it quarantined the state’s citrus from being shipped to other citrus producing regions because of the citrus canker disease.
The proposal relieves some restrictions on the interstate movement of fresh citrus fruit from the quarantined region while maintaining conditions that would prevent the artificial spread of canker.
“We have determined that currently available scientific evidence provides additional certainty that commercially packed, treated fruit is not an epidemiologically significant pathway for the spread of citrus canker,” the USDA said.
“Therefore, no mitigations beyond treatment with an APHIS-approved disinfectant are necessary.”
The proposal includes a 60-day comment period.
The rule, when officially announced, can be found in the Federal Register.
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