The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced that it is amending its fruit and vegetable regulations to allow the importation of Chilean baby kiwifruit into the US, subject to a systems approach.
Previously, under the regulations, imports of baby kiwifruit from Chile to the US were only allowed if the fruit was fumigated with methyl bromide.
Under the systems approach, the fruit must be grown in a place of production that is registered with the Chilean government and certified as having a low prevalence of Brevipalpus chilensis (Chilean false red mite).
The fruit must undergo pre-harvest sampling at the registered production site, and then, following post-harvest processing, the fruit must be inspected at an approved imspection site.
Each consignment of fruit entering the US must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that the fruit had been found free of Chilean false red mite based on field and packinghouse inspections.
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