According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), China modified its policy concerning the inspection rule aimed at addressing Zika. The modification will still require disinsection certification for vessels originating from Florida, but not from the rest of the United States. China had already put Zika inspection requirements in place on the U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. China added disinsection certification on the national level after the World Health Organization’s (WHO) listed the U.S. as a country with reported cases of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) claimed the U.S. had 2,722 cases of Zika as of August 31, while U.S. territories reported 14,110 cases.
A notice from the USDA’s FAS said, “On Sept. 2, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) stated that it has decided to regionalize its Zika requirements for shipments of cargo from the United States based on a risk-assessment performed by AQSIQ, using data supplied by the CDC. AQSIQ experts determined that due to the low risk of Zika transmission through shipments of cargo, vessels originating from the United States, other than the state of Florida, do not require disinsection certification.”
However, FAS cautioned this recent update “is not official USDA guidance,” and warned that “final import approval of any product is subject to the importing country’s rules and regulations as interpreted by border officials at the time of product entry.” FAS added, “However, if, during the course of routine sampling and inspection, local CIQ officials discover any adult mosquitoes, eggs, larva or infected cases, the vessel and its contents will be subject to the full Zika requirements described below. Also, if a vessel loads or unloads in Florida or a Zika infected country, it is subject to the full requirements.”
For full information on the updated disinsection certification, please click the link below or contact OCEANAIR Compliance at (781) 286-2700 or compliance@oceanair.net.
