The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to ease the approval process for cold treatment facilities in the Southern and Western U.S., it said (here). The proposed rule would set general criteria for approving cold treatment facilities across the U.S., replacing the location-specific criteria currently in place, APHIS said. “These criteria, if met, would allow us to approve new cold treatment facilities without rulemaking and facilitate the importation of fruit requiring cold treatment while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of pests of concern,” it said.
On June 28 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Food Safety and Inspection Service is making regulatory changes that will allow it to implement the export component of its electronic Public Health Information System (PHIS), it said in a final rule (here). Under the new system, exporters of FSIS-regulated products will, for a fee, be able to apply for export certificates and establishment approval; create, revise and submit product lists; cancel pending applications and certificates; request replacement certificates; and return exported products. FSIS said it will phase in implementation of the new system by foreign importing country beginning in June 2017.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced changes June 27 to Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables and flowers.
On June 27 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration is suspending for a period of one year the fee it charges for supervision of official inspection and weighing services of domestic grain and land carriers to Canada and Mexico performed by delegated States and/or designated agencies, it said (here). GIPSA said it is suspending the fee from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, because it has reached the legal maximum of six months of reserve funding for supervision services.
On June 24 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Department of Agriculture's Commodity Credit Corporation announced Special Import Quota #20 for upland cotton will be established on June 30, allowing importation of 14,671,661 kilograms (67,386 bales) of upland cotton (here). It will apply to upland cotton purchased not later than Sept. 27 and entered into the U.S. by Dec. 26. The quota is equivalent to one week's consumption of cotton by domestic mills at the seasonally adjusted average rate for the period February through April, the most recent three months for which data are available.
On June 23 the Foreign Agricultural Service posted the following GAIN reports:
The Agricultural Marketing Service on June 23 issued a final rule (here) revising U.S. grade standards for processed raisins by removing the term “midget” throughout the standards. The changes “will modernize and clarify the standards by removing dual terminology for the same requirement,” AMS said. The final rule takes effect July 25, 2016.