June 8, 2020 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), amended the November 15, 2019 Federal Order’s restrictions on imports of tomatoes and peppers (including seed lots, transplants, and fruit).
Amendments on imports of tomatoes and peppers fruit include:
- Imports from the Dominican Republic, France, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Spain must be inspected to ensure they are free of disease symptoms
- For countries that already require a phytosanitary certificate, an additional declaration that the fruit was inspected and found free of tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is required.
- Countries that currently do not require a phytosanitary certificate must provide an industry inspection certification document issued by the grower or packer for each shipment
Also removed was a reference to obscured tomato and pepper seeds, clarifying that they remain eligible for importation under the obscured seed program.
If you have any questions regarding amendments of the Federal Order on imports of tomatoes and peppers, please contact either your Livingston account manager or our regulatory affairs group at usregaffairs@livingstonintl.com.