Cupid’s little helpers

Cupid’s little helpers Could be a bummer to have a sweetheart at Customs and Border Protection this time of year.
   That’s the impression from the agency’s press office this week — instead of whispering sweet nothings, they’re talking about the perils of chocolate and flowers.
   A press release today from CBP in Philadelphia detailed the hidden dangers that might be lying in the holds of ships bringing cocoa beans into the country. Philadelphia is where 71 percent of the cocoa beans imported in to the country are discharged.
   Customs said the dreaded Khapra Beetle, one of the world’s most destructive pests of grain products and seeds, might be down there in the hold among the burlap bags holding the cocoa beans.
   CBP said agriculture specialists at Miami International Airport are ready to handle the annual wave of Valentine's Day flowers. CBP officials at the airport, the single-busiest U.S. gateway for flower imports, check the plants for insects, pests and diseases that could potentially impact U.S. agriculture and the floral industry.
   In 2007, the CBP said, Miami's CBP agriculture specialists processed more than 5 billion imported flower stems.
   Miami is the primary gateway because many of the imports originate in Latin America. CBP said the top flower imports in Miami are roses and mixed bouquets from Colombia, followed by roses from Ecuador.
   Following Miami, New York handles the 2 billion flowers stems and Los Angeles processes 168 million stems each year.
   On a typical day, CBP entomology-savvy inspectors around the country seize 4,296 prohibited meat or plant materials and intercept 164 agricultural pests.
   An interesting fact, but one you might want to keep to yourself on Valentine’s day.
   That is, unless your sweetie is the sort who likes chocolate-covered ants.