On February 17, 2005, at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island, New York, CBP agriculture specialists were processing cargo coming in from the Far East. A group of containers had been targeted for a more in-depth inspection. One of those containers was manifested as a refrigerated container with a cargo of dried dates that normally wouldn’t require refrigeration.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of USDA

One of the Carposinadae larvae that hitched a ride on a forbidden date.

During the inspection of that container, CBP Agriculture Specialist Fred Virrazzi discovered not dried dates, but fresh fruits. The "dates" were Chinese dates, which are not true dates at all. They are a fruit called jujube, and the dried product of these fruit is called "Chinese date." Feeding on the fruit were some live larvae and indications of a substantial and active population of what the agriculture specialist thought was Coleoptera, a beetle-like insect.

Fresh dates from foreign countries are prohibited from being imported into the United States because of the high-risk that they might be infested with fruit fly—a pest that has cost this country billions of dollars to control and eradicate. This time, a different type of insect was found among the prohibited dates—one that is unknown for the most part in the United States, and had never been seen in sea cargo before. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) identifier Robert Tracey, an entomologist in N.J., and identifying experts from the Smithsonian Institution confirmed the insect as Carposinadae. According to interception records, there have been only 7 finds of this species in the last 35 years.

“This action shows the critical importance of the CBP agriculture specialist in our organization,” said Jayson Ahern, Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations. “The American people should feel confident that the health of U.S. plant and animal resources is being vigilantly safeguarded by our highly trained and dedicated personnel.”

As part of their overall training, conducted jointly by CBP and USDA, CBP agriculture specialists receive intensive instruction in pest identification and interception techniques. Agriculture specialists identify pests “on the spot” in many cases. In other instances, USDA has identification authority for an intercepted pest and the pest must be turned over to USDA/Plant Protection and Quarantine identifiers for positive confirmation. That’s what happened in this case: CBP agriculture specialists intercepted the live larvae and other material present among the cargo. It was later positively identified as Carposina niponesis, a significant insect pest in the Far East, but fortunately, not yet an agricultural pest known in this country. This pest is known as one of the most destructive pests of pome fruits (apples, pears, quince) in the Far East.

The shipment of dates was re-exported to the country of origin. EC