APHIS Reaches Two Significant Safeguarding Milestones

APHIS Reaches Two Significant Safeguarding Milestones

Photo: APHIS Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy (center, holding scissors) marks the official opening of our newest sterile insect release facility in Sarasota. The facility supports the agency’s Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) Preventive Release Program, which plays a critical role in preventing Medfly outbreaks in Florida.

April 17, 2019 – APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program marked the opening of its newest Sterile Insect Release Facility in Sarasota, Florida. The facility supports the agency’s Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) Preventive Release Program, which plays a critical role in preventing the establishment of Medflies in Florida. Medfly is considered one of the world’s most damaging agricultural pests because it attacks more than 200 different types of fruits and vegetables, rendering them unfit for consumption.   

Every week, PPQ rears and releases about 100 million sterile flies over high-risk areas in Florida. These sterile flies mate with wild Medflies and produce no offspring, helping to breed out of existence any possible Medfly populations before they can become a threat. As a result, no Medfly outbreaks have occurred in areas under Florida's preventive release program. The new facility doubles the capacity of the one it replaces.

Visit APHIS’ website to learn more about our fruit fly program: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-health/ff

 

Photo: APHIS Deputy Administrator Osama El-Lissy congratulates the Miami Plant Inspection Station on clearing more than 1 billion units of plants, plant cuttings and seeds in 2018—a significant achievement that safeguarded U.S. agriculture against the introduction of potentially harmful plant pests and facilitated safe trade of propagative material.

April 18, 2019 –APHIS' Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program celebrated its Miami Plant Inspection Station’s clearance of more than 1 billion units of plants, plant cuttings, and seeds in a single year. PPQ has 16 plant inspection stations, and the Miami facility is the busiest. Its highly-trained staff perform a variety of activities, including propagative material inspections, export certification, post-entry certification, pest identification, and treatment monitoring.

In fiscal year 2018, the Miami Plant Inspection Station processed more than 60 percent of all plants imported into the United States. They also processed and identified more than 23,400 pests intercepted in arriving shipments, helping to keep potentially damaging pests out of our country. In addition, the Station issued more than 10,200 export certificates, verifying that U.S. agricultural exports met foreign trading partner’s plant health requirements.

Visit APHIS’ website to learn more about our plant inspection stations: www.aphis.usda.gov/planthealth/pis