US Department of Agriculture okays rambutan from Vietnam

April 22, 2011 | 09:07

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Fresh rambutan from Vietnam (and Malaysia) can now be imported to the US, provided it is irradiated and meets other phytosanatiary requirements, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on April 19.

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The notice from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) states that a pest-risk analysis showed that the irradiation and phytosanitary measures "will be sufficient to mitigate the risks".

Other requirements for the rambutan from Vietnam include rambutan may be imported only for commercial consignments; the fruit must be irradiated in accordance with US law; and if irradiation takes place outside of the US, each consignment must be pre-cleared by APHIS inspectors in the country of origin.

Irradiated rambutan are already allowed into the US from Hawaii and Thailand . The fruit can be imported into the US from Mexico and central America without irradiation.

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