USDA: Wood-packaging treatment rules set for April or May

USDA: Wood-packaging treatment rules set for April or May    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has pulled back from its initial implementation date for new wood-packaging treatment rules at the beginning of next year to April or May.
   The new rules, which comply with internationally developed standards, requires all wood-packaging material to be treated and marked under an official program created and managed by the plant protection authorities of exporting countries.
   Although APHIS has extended the implementation date, it expects shippers to begin complying with the new rules starting Jan. 1.
   The agency said in a recent notice to the industry that it would begin issuing notices to overseas plant protection authorities for material not treated or marked.
   “These notices will clearly state our intention of implementation later in the year and will serve as an information dissemination tool,” the APHIS notice said. “No additional action will be taken on noncompliant material at this time.”
   Work on an international wood-packaging treatment and marking standard started several years ago after increasing outbreaks of wood-eating pests were linked to wood-packaging materials used in international cargo transport. The Asian longhorned beetle infestations in New York and Chicago, for example, were linked to untreated wood-packaging materials used in shipments from China and Hong Kong.