APHIS approved the importation of precleared, commercial shipments of fresh mangoes from India on March 12, provided certain conditions are met. To ensure that plant pests of quarantine significance do not enter the United States though the importation of this fruit, the mangoes must be treated with specified doses (minimum 400 gray) of irradiation prior to export at an APHIS-certified facility. Each shipment must also be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of India with additional declarations certifying that the treatment and inspection of the mangoes was made in accordance with APHIS regulations. In addition, inspectors with the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection may further inspect precleared commodities at the port of first arrival.
Irradiation became an approved phytosanitary treatment for fruits and vegetables entering the United States in 2002. Mangoes from India are the first irradiated commodity to enter the United States. The use of irradiation provides an alternative to other pest control methods, such as fumigation and cold and heat treatments.