Port NOLA joins USDA cold treatment pilot

The Port of New Orleans has received the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s approval to participate in a cold treatment pilot program that allows for improved transit of time-sensitive imported fruits from South America.    The Port of New Orleans has joined a U.S. Department of Agriculture Southeast cold treatment pilot program that allows for the improved transit of time-sensitive inbound fruit from South America.
   “This program gives current and future port shippers additional options to transport refrigerated cargo, while reducing transit time from origin to the consumer,” Brandy D. Christian, the port authority’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
   Prior to this program, refrigerated cargo had to move through specialized treatment facilities in the northeast United States to be cleared for distribution. With more than 900 refrigerated plugs available at New Orleans’ port facilities, the port authority said its terminals can easily handle additional perishable cargo.
   Cold treatment is a process during which fresh fruits are brought to a certain temperature for a certain period to meet the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s quarantine requirements to kill off potential pests in these shipments, such as fruit flies.
   Commodities included in the pilot are blueberries, citrus and grapes from Peru; blueberries and grapes from Uruguay; and blueberries, apples and pears from Argentina.
   The Port of New Orleans said it is “well-positioned to grow in the refrigerated import sector with additional leverage coming from efficient rail connections to inland markets.”
   “It is an exciting development for the Port of New Orleans to be approved by APHIS as a pilot port in the Southeast for cold-treatment in-transit of certain tree fruit and stone fruit from South America,” said John Hyatt, vice president of the Irwin Brown Co., a New Orleans freight forwarder.
   “Historically, fruit subject to infestation by med-fly could not be imported south of the Mason Dixon Line, a geographical designation. With this test program, more niche cargoes of this type, can be considered as candidates for on-shore/on-dock cold treatment,” he added.