European Union still buying Fla. citrus
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Californians won't be able to purchase Indian River grapefruit in their supermarkets this coming season, but consumers in Florida's biggest fresh citrus markets — including Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands and France — will be slicing the fruit as usual. Officials with the European Union said Wednesday they have no plans to ban Florida citrus shipments and will continue, as they have for the past few years, to accept fruit from groves certified free of citrus canker.
"We're not planning any ban. We have had a policy in place for many years. That has not changed," said Wolf Maier, a counselor for Food Safety Health and Consumer Affairs with the EU Delegation of the European Commission to the United States, in Washington. Maier said the system has built-in safeguards, such as inspections and certification, that ensure the fruit shipped is disease-free.
"We have had a long relationship of trust with Florida," Maier said. "We have no reason to doubt the guarantees provided. "
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