USDA proposes rules to allow Israeli eggplant imports

 The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has proposed rules to allow the importation of commercial shipments of fresh eggplant from Israel into the United States.

   As a condition of entry, the eggplant would be grown under a systems approach that would include requirements for pest exclusion at the production site, fruit fly trapping inside and outside the production site, and pest-excluding packinghouse procedures.

   Eggplant shipments would also require a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Israeli national plant protection organization with an additional declaration confirming that the eggplant had been produced in accordance with the proposed requirements.

   For more details, access the Nov. 12 Federal Register. Comments regarding the proposed rules must be submitted to the agency by no later than Jan. 12. 

Source: American Shipper