see also: in October 2004:   Container Security Initiative Port of Gioia Tauro, Italy Becomes 31st Operational Port   CBP Border Patrol Agents Intercept Large Cache of Drugs   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Dedicates New Border Patrol Academy in New Mexico   Annual Trade Symposium Rescheduled for January 2005   U.S. Customs and Border Protection Establishes Attaché Program   Four New Ports in UK to Implement the Container Security Initiative   Samenfink Heads Customs and Border Protection's Modernization Office ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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MIAMI – The actions of an alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agriculture Specialist and the prompt response by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) identifiers and Florida State officials recently avoided a pest emergency at the Port of Miami. Habanero peppers, infested with more than 200 suspected fruit fly larvae, were intercepted August 23, 2004 in a shipment manifested as being from the Netherlands, but suspected to have originated elsewhere.

CBP Agriculture Specialist Marisol Perez-Cajamarca not only found the fruit fly larvae after cutting a sample of the peppers, but took the extra steps to safeguard the commodity at the warehouse, and carry the specimen through the identification process by USDA. The larvae was positively identified through DNA testing. To prevent the introduction of additional Medfly-infested host material, USDA now requires that all shipments of peppers from the Netherlands be accompanied by a photosanitary certificate stating that the peppers in the shipment have been inspected and verified as being grown in greenhouses in the Netherlands.

“We avoided a potential emergency or quarantine situation in Florida,” said Jayson Ahern, Assistant Commissioner, Field Operations at CBP. “This is an example of the continued cooperation and quick response between CBP, USDA and local officials.”

The pest, now positively identified as ceratitis capitata, Mediterranean Fruit Fly, is one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests, threatening more than 250 kinds of fruits, nuts and vegetables. An additional pest, initially identified as False Coddling Moth, was also found by CBP Agriculture Specialists in the same shipment of peppers.

“We remain committed to taking the appropriate steps to keep Medfly and other pests of agricultural concern out of the continental United States,” said Dr. Richard Dunkle, Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. “This latest interception at our borders is another example of the effective DHS-USDA partnership.”

USDA, along with State departments of agriculture, maintains trapping programs in high-risk areas of States susceptible to Medfly establishment. USDA and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services monitor more than 56,000 fruit fly traps statewide. State agricultural officials are also checking area produce markets, and, if necessary, will place additional fruit fly detection traps near markets where these shipments of habanero peppers may have already been received. CBP agriculture specialists, now part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, remain on high alert for this and other pests at U.S. ports of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 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.