On February 5, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) informed it is temporarily modifying conditions for the movement of regulated articles (fresh citrus fruit) from the Redlands Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis, or OFF) quarantine area of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California for the duration of the 2024 harvest season, effective immediately.

Due to the imminent harvest period, growers in the Redlands quarantine area currently have only two post-harvest treatments available (methyl bromide fumigation with a subsequent cold holding period or irradiation) to move fresh citrus fruit from non-core areas of the quarantine to areas outside of the quarantine. However, neither of these options is economically viable for citrus production in the Redlands quarantine at this time.

This Federal Order provides relief to the growers by establishing a new treatment approach under which fresh citrus fruit from non-core areas may enter domestic commerce outside of the quarantine, using alternative fumigation and subsequent cold treatment methods.

This approach applies only to the Redlands OFF quarantine for the 2024 harvest season. It does not permit international export of fresh citrus fruit from this area unless the citrus meets existing export certification requirements for regulated articles from fruit fly quarantined areas.

APHIS regulates the interstate movement of OFF host articles from all OFF quarantine areas in the United States following 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 301.32 et seq. and any applicable provisions of this Federal Order.

The current OFF quarantine areas, the OFF regulated articles/host list, and this Federal Order are posted on the APHIS fruit fly webpage.