Fresh rambutan from Vietnam (and Malaysia) can now be imported to theUS, provided it is irradiated and meets other phytosanatiaryrequirements, according to a notice published in the Federal Register onApril 19.
The notice from the US Department ofAgriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) statesthat a pest-risk analysis showed that the irradiation and phytosanitarymeasures "will be sufficient to mitigate the risks".
Other requirements for the rambutan from Vietnam include rambutan maybe imported only for commercial consignments; the fruit must beirradiated in accordance with US law; and if irradiation takes placeoutside of the US, each consignment must be pre-cleared by APHISinspectors in the country of origin.
Irradiatedrambutan are already allowed into the US from Hawaii and Thailand. The fruit can be imported into the US from Mexico and centralAmerica without irradiation./.