APHIS PROPOSES RULES FOR IMPORTED JAPANESE UNSHU ORANGES
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has issued interim citrus import rules to allow Unshu oranges grown on Honshu Island, Japan, to be imported in the United States without fumigation, as long as the fruit is distributed in non-citrus-producing states.
APHIS said these oranges meet certain growing, packing and inspection requirements that keep them free from citrus canker. “This action is warranted to relieve a restriction that is not needed to mitigate pest risk,” the agency said.
Meanwhile, APHIS will continue to require fumigation if the fruit is distributed to citrus-producing states.