EXCLUSIVE: Agriculture Commissioner Simpson is turning away trucks hauling infested produce

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida’s agriculture is being protected at state lines where authorities are now turning away trucks hauling loads of produce and plants with insect infestations.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson revealed the exclusive information to Brendon Leslie, Host of Florida’s Voice, while visiting a GOP supporters gathering at Ron Dao’s restaurant in Fort Myers.

“I was in Lake City at one of those stations. We call it a Blitz Day where we’re really watching these things out there,” said Simpson.

“One of the things I learned is if those certain types of mites or bugs or psyllid or something comes out of California, we can turn the truck around in North Florida if it comes from Mexico,” he said.

Currently, the department’s Office of Agriculture Law Enforcement operates 23 inspection stations where authorities ensure a safe food supply is entering Florida.

According to a memo obtained by Florida’s Voice, “it has been a longstanding practice of Department inspectors to allow commercial shipments of foreign origin stopped at stations to continue to their destinations despite the presence of pests, disease or unsafe food found during an inspection.”

The memo continued to say the department had been “under the mistaken belief litigation between the State of California and Mexico involving avocado shipments preludes taking action on infected or infested shipments while in transit.”

Among the concerns for investigators are invasive insects like the potato psyllid, Exotic fruit flies, Ambrosia Beetle, Bean Plataspid, Cassava Lace Bug, Citrus Black Spot and the Exotic Fruit Fly Pests.

Simpson said his department officers will no longer allow such shipments to enter Florida.

“I told our team there [ ] we’re going to turn them around in Tallahassee,” Simpson said. “Now they’re going to go back where they came from if they’re bringing in the harmful disease ridden type foods into our state.” 

Trucks hauling plants, food or livestock infested or infected or exposed to a plant pest not known to be established in the state will now be “refused entry, returned to the owner, quarantined, treated or destroyed,” according to the memo.

“We’re working very hard to protect our local food supply our local supply chain to make sure we have the most safe and affordable abundant food anywhere in the world,” Simpson told Leslie.