Fruit fly quarantine may expand to cover SoCal ports? fruit importers

Fruit fly quarantine may expand to cover SoCal portsÆ fruit importers The discovery of Mediterranean fertile fruit flies in traps on the Palos Verde Peninsula threatens to engulf fruit importers at both Southern California ports in a proposed expanded quarantine area.
   The U.S. Department of Agriculture, after finding the newly trapped specimens last week, has asked the Office of Administrative Law to allow the agency to expand the current 13-mile fruit fly quarantine to more than 60 miles, which would easily cover the nearby ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Fruit importers using either port would be required to sign compliance agreements with state and federal officials before a shipment could be processed through port terminals.