Valencian citrus sector calls for cold treatment for mandarins following false moth detection

The Citrus Management Committee (CGC), the association that brings together private Spanish citrus exporters, demanded an investigation from the European Commission in September into the scope of non-compliance regarding the application of cold treatment against the ‘False moth’ in the European imports of oranges from South Africa. Now, according to Europhyt data for the month of February, the presence of this same pest, T. leucotreta, has been detected in mandarins from Israel. All this confirms what this association has been insisting on: that to avoid the risk of entry of this quarantine pathogen, cold treatment requires monitoring the temperature of the central part of the fruit (of the pulp) through, at least three probes, and it is essential that the programmed temperature be reached throughout the product during the specified treatment time; that must be imposed on imports from all countries that have declared this pest – South Africa but also Israel – and all citrus fruits that can host it, not only oranges – as the EU decided – but also mandarins as well as the grapefruits.