USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service says it updated and issued a federal order to deregulate tomato brown rugose fruit virus-positive tomatoes and peppers for consumption.
Under this federal order, APHIS said it will continue to maintain its safeguards for imported and domestic tomato and pepper plant propagative materials, including seed. APHIS said it will allow growers to market fruit grown at facilities with detections of the virus, also known as ToBRFV, rather than destroying it.
ToBRFV was first identified in Israel in 2014 and has been reported in many countries. Its main hosts are tomatoes and peppers and is mainly a problem in greenhouses. Once found, it cannot be controlled. The only option for growers are the destruction of plant material and the disinfection of the greenhouse.
APHIS said the new federal order was based on a pathway risk assessment that examined the likelihood and risk of introducing ToBRFV into the U.S. via fresh tomatoes and peppers, propagative materials and seeds. APHIS said it is unlikely that ToBRFV is unlikely to reach commercial production areas in the U.S. through fruit brought to market for consumption. The service said it is likely the virus would reach the U.S.-based production areas through propagative plant materials.
APHIS said it will continue the safeguards for domestic and imported plant propagative materials and seed.
In 2019, APHIS introduced a federal order to restrict tomato and pepper propagative material imports including plants for planting, plant parts, cuttings and seeds.
