Certain fruits or vegetables may be moved interstate provided that the fruits or vegetables originate from an area that is free of a specific pest or pests. In some cases, fruits or vegetables may only be moved interstate if the area of origin is free of all plant pests that attack the fruits or vegetables. In other cases, fruits or vegetables may be moved interstate if the area of origin is free of one or more plant pests that attack the fruit or vegetable and the risk posed by the remaining plant pests that attack the fruit or vegetable is mitigated by other specific phytosanitary measures contained in the regulations in this subpart.

(a) Application of standards for pest-free areas. APHIS will make a determination of an area's pest-free status based on information provided by the State. The information used to make this determination will include trapping and surveillance data, survey protocols, and protocols for actions to be performed upon detection of a pest.

(b) Survey protocols. APHIS must approve the survey protocol used to determine and maintain pest-free status, as well as protocols for actions to be performed upon detection of a pest. Pest-free areas are subject to audit by APHIS to verify their status.

(c) Determination of pest freedom.

(1) For an area to be considered free of a specified pest for the purposes of this subpart, the Administrator must determine, and announce in a notice published in the Federal Register for a public comment period of 60 days, that the area meets the criteria of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(2) The Administrator will announce his or her decision in a subsequent Federal Register notice. If appropriate, APHIS will allow movement of the regulated article from a pest-free area because:

(i) No comments were received on the notice or

(ii) The comments on the notice did not affect the overall conclusions of the notice and the Administrator's determination of risk.

(d) Decertification of pest-free areas; reinstatement. If a pest is detected in an area that is designated as free of that pest, APHIS will publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing that the pest-free status of the area in question has been withdrawn and that interstate movement of host crops for the pest in question is subject to application of an approved treatment for the pest. If a treatment for the pest is not available, interstate movement of the host crops would be prohibited. In order for a decertified pest-free area to be reinstated, it would have to meet the criteria of paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section.

(e) General requirements for the interstate movement of regulated articles from pest-free areas—(1) Labeling. Each box of fruits or vegetables that is moved interstate from a pest-free area under this subpart must be clearly labeled with:

(i) The name of the orchard or grove of origin, or the name of the grower; and

(ii) The name of the municipality and State or territory in which the fruits or vegetables were produced; and

(iii) The type and amount of fruits or vegetables the box contains.

(2) Compliance agreement. Persons wishing to move fruits or vegetables from a pest-free area in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands must enter into a compliance agreement with APHIS in accordance with §318.13-3(d).

(3) Safeguarding. If fruits or vegetables are moved from a pest-free area into or through an area that is not free of that pest, the fruits or vegetables must be safeguarded during the time they are present in a non-pest-free area by being covered with insect-proof mesh screens or plastic tarpaulins, including while in transit to the packinghouse and while awaiting packaging. If fruits or vegetables are moved through an area that is not free of that pest during transit to a port, they must be packed in insect-proof cartons or containers or be covered by insect-proof mesh or plastic tarpaulins during transit to the port and subsequent movement into or through the United States. These safeguards described in this section must remain intact until the fruits or vegetables reach their final destination.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 0579-0346)