The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service is amending U.S. grade standards for pecans in the shell and shelled pecans, it said in a recent notice. The final rule, effective July 26, replaces current grades with U.S. Extra Fancy, U.S. Fancy, U.S. Choice and U.S. Standard grades. AMS is also updating terminology, definitions and defect scoring guides, it said.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service initiated 525 agricultural quarantine inspection cases, issued 198 AQI-related official warnings and reached 428 AQI-related pre-litigation settlement agreements in FY 2023, leading to the collection of more than $1 million in penalties, APHIS said in an annual summary of enforcement data released June 27. The agency said one case involved a $360,000 civil penalty “for improper disposal of regulated garbage,” and in another case APHIS negotiated a $150,000 pre-litigation settlement agreement to resolve violations of the Plant Protection Act involving the shipment of plants for planting without APHIS-issued permits or phytosanitary certificates.

The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service released updated guidance this week on ways to prevent “violative residues in meat and poultry slaughter establishments." FSIS said it collects data on chemical residues in domestic and imported meat, poultry and egg products, and the guidance can help meat processing establishments meet the agency’s requirements on keeping “products that are adulterated because of illegal residues out of commerce.” Public comments on the guidance are due Aug. 26.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will soon allow imports of fresh ginseng roots from South Korea into the U.S., it said in a notice released June 21. An agency pest risk analysis found “the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh ginseng roots” from South Korea, APHIS said. Imports will be authorized beginning June 24.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has amended restrictions for importing tomatoes and peppers to reflect recent study findings on how the tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) gets transported.

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is proposing to amend certain Section 8e fees related to the inspection and certification of fresh fruits, vegetables and other products.

USDA has suspended until further notice the inspection of avocados and mangos originating from the western Mexico state of Michoacan.

USDA has determined the total amounts of WTO tariff-rate quotas for raw cane sugar and certain sugars for FY 2025. The agency established that from Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025, the in-quota aggregate quantity of raw cane sugar will be at 1,117,195 metric tons raw value (MTRV), while the FY 2025 in-quota aggregate quantity of certain molasses (or refined sugar) will be at 232,000 MTRV. USDA's notice will be effective on June 14, the date that it will be published in the Federal Register.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recognized the U.K. and 21 EU member states as being free from the citrus longhorned beetle (CLB) and Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), according to a notice released June 11. As a result, APHIS is removing these countries from the list of countries where CLB and ALB are present. In addition to this change, the agency also said it is changing the entry conditions and relieving certain restrictions on imports of host plants of CLB and ALB into the U.S. from Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and the U.K. The changes are effective June 12. Meanwhile, EU member states that continue to be listed as countries where ALB and/or CLB are present are: Austria, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany and Italy.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that the regions of Tuscany and Umbria in Italy are free of swine vesicular disease (SVD), it said in a notice released June 11. APHIS came to this conclusion following a risk evaluation and a public review and comment period. A final environmental assessment is also available related to this proceeding. As a result of this action, live swine, pork, and pork products may safely be imported into the U.S. from the regions of Tuscany and Umbria, Italy, subject to conditions in the regulations. The government of Italy had asked APHIS to evaluate the SVD disease status of the two regions. The determination is effective July 12.