Caribbean Fruit Fly Protocol Program

The Caribbean fruit fly (Caribfly), Anastrepha suspensa (Lowe), is indigenous to the West Indies. It was first found on the Florida mainland in the Miami-Dade area in 1965. The Caribfly larva attacks the fruit of many tropical and subtropical fruits of Central and South Florida. Due to the threat of the Caribfly infesting Florida fruit, other countries and states have established regulations to control its spread.

In the 1980s, the Caribbean Fruit Fly Protocol Program (CFFPP) was designed as a safe and effective way to facilitate the export of citrus to areas requiring regulatory safeguards. Today, the types of fruit being certified are: citrus, peach and carambola. Certification is based on the fruit being harvested from specific CFFPP-controlled areas termed designated areas. The CFFPP provides survey and removal of preferred hosts (guava, Surinam cherry, loquat and rose apple) throughout the “off” season. The program also includes monitoring of: traps, harvesting, packinghouses and bait spray applications during the harvest season. 

The CFFPP is a voluntary program that was developed in cooperation with Florida fruit growers and is fully funded by the participants.  

The CFFPP is administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine. 

Citrus Certification

Currently, CFFPP certifies grapefruit, oranges and tangerines for export to: California, Texas, Republic of Korea, Japan and various other states and countries. For more details, please see the following:

• California Protocol (QC222) [ 3.5 MB ]
• Citrus Certification Easy Steps [ 198.1 kB ]
• Citrus Harvesting Easy Steps [ 186.8 kB ]
• Citrus Packinghouse Easy Steps [ 171.5 kB ]
• Japan Protocol Florida Citrus [ 59 kB ]
• Korea: Protocol Florida Citrus [ 392 kB ]
• Texas Caribfly Regulations [ 225.8 kB ]

Domestic Peach Certification

Groundbreaking protocols were established in 2014 with a Peach Protocol now in place for shipment of peaches to Texas. For more details, please see the following:

• Peach Easy Steps [ 192.5 kB ]  
• Peach Protocol — Texas [ 78.1 kB ]

Domestic Carambola Program

Our newest program, Protocol for Shipment of Carambola (Star Fruit), began its first season in June 2015. For more details, please see the following:

• Approved Carambola Packing Houses and Shippers List [ 109.2 kB ]
• Carambola Easy Steps [ 224.9 kB ]
• Carambola Protocol (QC 1439) — California [ 642.3 kB ]
• Carambola Protocol — Texas [ 69.7 kB ]

More Information

• More Information About the Caribbean Fruit Fly