USDA RELEASES REPORT ON MITIGATING PLANT PEST RISK

USDA RELEASES REPORT ON MITIGATING PLANT PEST RISK    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has released a report on its use of systems approaches to reduce plant pest risk.
   The report, which was prepared according to the Plant Protection Act, found that “systems approaches are both scientifically and theoretically sound.” It also found that APHIS plant pest risk systems “facilitated trade and concurrently thwarted the introduction and establishment of unwanted plant pathogens.”
   “Using systems approaches is just one of the many ways APHIS safeguards American agriculture from foreign pests and diseases,” said Bill Hawks, undersecretary for USDA’s marketing and regulatory programs. “This study strongly supports those methods we have in place.”
   A systems approach is defined by APHIS as “a defined set of plant health procedures, at least two of which independently reduce the risk of introducing pests during the import or export of agricultural products.”
   The study also includes examples of how APHIS successfully uses systems approaches to safely import agricultural products, such as Unshu oranges from Japan and Korea.
   For more information, access online: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html .