Preserving Florida's Environment and Agriculture
Plant Protection & Quarantine
June 2002
Americans have grown accustomed to seeing healthy varieties of food
at supermarkets, diverse selections of plants at their local nurseries,
and marvelous animals, trees, and ornamental plants at local zoos and
parks. However, people do not always realize the protective measures
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) and other agencies take to preserve these
environmental and agricultural resources.
APHIS touches the lives of all Americans by ensuring the availability
of domestic and imported foods in the marketplace, facilitating the
exportation of agricultural commodities to foreign countries, and preserving
the vitality of U.S. public and private lands. APHIS is also responsible
for regulating agricultural commodities brought into the United States.
Many commodities are prohibited entry into the United States because
they may harbor alien invasive speciesexotic plant and animal pests
and diseasesthat could seriously damage America's crops, livestock,
and environment.
Florida Under Siege
Agricultural smugglers place America's agriculture, economy, environment,
and food supply at risk. Because they circumvent legal importation requirements,
smugglers present a great risk of introducing plant and animal pests
and diseases into the United States that cost millions of dollars to
eradicate.
Smugglers illegally avoid U.S. restrictions and safeguards designed
to exclude plant and animal pests and diseases, as well as alien invasive
species. These products also often fall well short of high sanitation
and health standards maintained by American farmers.
Because of its tropical climate, unique animal and plant life, and
robust $6 billion agriculture industry, Florida is inherently susceptible
to the introduction of foreign plant and animal pests and diseases.
The State has been plagued by repeated outbreaks of exotic pests and
diseases over the past few years. USDA and the Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) spent about $25 million to
eradicate Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) outbreaks from Tampa and
surrounding areas in 1997; efforts to eradicate bacterial citrus canker
from Florida currently cost more than $10 million annually.
But these eradication expenses alone do not reflect the full impact
on Florida growers. The full impact must include lost production areas
and lost opportunities to market products in domestic and foreign markets.
The costs of controlling and eradicating pest and disease outbreaks
are ultimately borne by consumers in the form of higher grocery costs.
In addition to losing production areas because of regulatory actions,
growers also suffer from smugglers' unfair business practices. Smugglers
undercut local markets by selling their high-risk products, which may
not meet basic sanitation and pesticide residue safeguard requirements,
at much lower prices. Several producers in south Florida have been put
out of business because of this unfair competition.
Enforcing the Law
In response to the growing volume of smuggled and improperly imported
agricultural products entering the United States, APHIS' Plant Protection
and Quarantine and FDACS have recently launched the Florida Interdiction
and Smuggling Team (FIST), a group of specially trained officers from
Federal and State regulatory agencies. Specializing in smuggling interdiction
and trade compliance, FIST officers investigate and bring agricultural
smugglers to justice. These investigators determine the pathways through
which prohibited products enter the United States, and then seize and
destroy all prohibited materials at the law-breaker's expense. If warranted,
FIST pursues civil or criminal penalties. Some of APHIS' national smuggling
interdiction efforts have led to grand jury indictments, as well as
hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and seized, prohibited agricultural
products.
High-Risk Produce
Although they may look luscious and wholesome, illegally imported fruits
and vegetables may harbor a variety of agricultural pests and diseases.
Many fruits and vegetables from certain foreign countries are restricted
from entering the United States because exotic fruit flies and other
pests and diseases are known to occur in these countries.
Medfly, citrus canker, and melaleuca are a few examples of alien invasive
species that have had a huge impact on Florida residents, growers, and
the State's environment in recent years. Medfly is a devastating pest
of more than 200 varieties of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Citrus canker,
a serious disease of most citrus, causes lesions on leaves, stems, and
fruit, as well as premature fruit drop. In Florida, not only is there
an abundance of commercial citrus crops to serve as hosts, but there
is a plethora of backyard citrus, as well. Melaleuca and other noxious
weeds threaten to crowd out native Florida vegetation and deplete essential
natural resources, including unique ecosystems such as the Everglades.
These threats are real. Each year, APHIS intercepts an increasing number
of plant pests and infested agricultural products in Florida that could
destroy ecosystems and agriculture across America, as well as negatively
impact the U.S. food supply. The following are among a few of the high-risk
agricultural products prohibited or restricted entry into the United
States from certain countries:
| avocado |
kaffir lime |
papaya |
star apple |
| citrus |
litchi |
pomelo |
tejocote |
| durian |
longan |
rambutan |
| guava |
mango |
red rice |
Meat and Meat Products
Animal disease organisms can live for months in meat and meat products,
such as sausage and many types of canned hams sold abroad. Foot-and-mouth
disease, African swine fever, and classical swine fever (hog cholera)
are a few of the several livestock diseases that could cost billions
of dollars to eradicate if introduced to U.S. livestock. These diseases
are not present in the United States but are known to occur in many
foreign countries from which travelers and importers bring meat products.
All meat shipments regardless of amount or purpose, except for small
amounts of commercially canned meat for personal consumption, must be
accompanied by official foreign government meat inspection certificates.
These certificates, in part, establish country of origin and the specific
processing. The type of processing varies depending on the animal disease
situation in the country from which the meat originates. Commercially
canned meat is allowed if the inspector can determine that the meat
was cooked in the can after it was sealed, thus making the product shelf-stable
without refrigeration.
More Than Agriculture at Stake
When smuggled agricultural products skirt APHIS' health and quality
safeguards, pathways are opened for the introduction of undesirable
pests and diseases to enter the United States. Illegally imported agricultural
products present a great threat to U.S. agriculture and trade, but some
of them can also pose potential human health risks, such as: bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease); highly pathogenic avian
influenza (Asian bird flu); or eosinophilic meningitis or eosinophilic
gastroenteritis, potentially lethal diseases carried by snails, slugs,
and rodents.
In addition to introducing pests and diseases, smuggled meat products
are often inferior and fail to meet basic safety and sanitation requirements.
Additional Information
Smuggled and illegally imported agricultural products affect everybody
in Florida in one way or another: from the potential destruction of
local ecosystems and depletion of natural resources to the devastation
of U.S. agriculture and America's food supply. APHIS needs your help
in protecting these vital resources. If you suspect any agricultural
smuggling, please contact your local FIST officer immediately. Your
confidentiality will be maintained.
If you have any questions about the FIST program or if you want to
report smuggling activity, please call one of the following numbers:
Fort Lauderdale: (954) 356-7252
Fort Myers: (941) 768-4758
Fort Pierce: (561) 464-1038
Gainesville: (352) 331-3990
Jacksonville: (904) 396-2363
Miami: (305) 536-4758
Orlando: (407) 648-6856
Tampa: (813) 228-2121
West Palm Beach: (561) 844-9935
If you have questions about the legal importation of foreign plant
and animal products, contact the USDA Import Permit Unit at (301) 734-8645
or check the APHIS Web site
(http://www.aphis.usda.gov)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination
in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative
means for communication of program information (Braille, large print,
audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600
(voice and TDD).
To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office
of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202)720-5964 (voice and
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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