 |
 Baltimore CBP Finds Surprise in Celery Seed Shipment
(Wednesday, February 13, 2013)
Baltimore – U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations agriculture specialists at the port of Baltimore discovered that a shipment of celery seed from India was heavily infested with Khapra Beetle on Feb. 7. The CBP agriculture specialists did not find any live insects but immediately collected specimens of the dead insects and sealed the container. The specimens were forwarded to a U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist who confirmed them Friday as Trogoderma granarium, commonly known as Khapra Beetle. The importer was issued in Emergency Action Notice requiring the 500-bag, 55,000-pound shipment of celery seed to be re-exported or destroyed. The importer chose to have the shipment re-exported. The Khapra Beetle is considered one of the world’s most destructive insect pests of grains, cereals and stored foods and remains the only insect in which CBP takes regulatory action against even while in a dead state. “Khapra Beetle is one of the most invasive insects CBP agriculture specialists encounter,” said Ricardo Scheller, CBP Port Director for the Port of Baltimore. “And we take our mission to intercept these destructive pests and protecting America’s agricultural industry very seriously.” The Khapra Beetle is labeled a ‘dirty feeder’ because it damages more grain than it consumes, and because it contaminates grain with body parts and hairs. These contaminants may cause gastrointestinal irritation in adults and especially sickens infants. Khapra Beetles can also tolerate insecticides and fumigants, and can survive for long periods of time without food. According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, previous infestations of Khapra Beetle have resulted in massive, long term-control and eradication efforts at great cost to the American taxpayer.California implemented extensive eradication measures following a Khapra Beetle infestation discovered there in 1953. The effort was deemed successful, but at a cost of approximately $11 million. Calculated in today’s dollars, that would be about $90 million.Related information:
(
USDA Restricts the Importation of Commercial and Noncommercial Quantities of Rice from Countries Where Khapra Beetle Is Known to Occur ) CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. On a typical day, they inspect tens of thousands of international air passengers, and air and sea cargoes nationally being imported to the United States and seize 4,919 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 476 insect pests.To learn more about CBP agriculture specialists, please visit .U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws. |  prev | next | (6 of 173)
|
| back to Local News Releases |
|
| | |
 |
