Date: Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Re:	USDA Cargo Hold – Port of Philadelphia

Dear NASA Member:

The USDA has advised that as of today all wine containers from Australia/New Zealand have been placed on hold at the Port of Philadelphia .

These holds include containers that had previously been released by USDA. There are currently 49 containers (various lines) on hold and since this hold was implemented, three containers received "USDA Action Notices" and must now either be fumigated, re-exported or devanned and loaded into another container.

As explained by the USDA, there has been a run of bugs/snails on containers arriving from Australia/New Zealand.  At this time, the USDA is concentrating on all wine containers.  They also advised that they will continue to place all wine containers on hold coming in from this area for the near future.  This will pertain to all lines with cargo from Australia/New Zealand.

We are not sure whether this policy has been extended to other ports, nor do we know why wine is being targeted.  No additional information is available at this point in time, but we will keep you advised as we receive further word.

Best regards,
JF Hillebrand USA, Inc.

David J. Ferris
Managing Director
T +1 732 680 4516 (direct)
F +1 732 388 0631
d.ferris@jfhillebrand.com