FDA Requirements

Food Importer Input Sought on Prior Notice Information Requirements

Excerpt from: Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg  |  January 05, 2017

The Food and Drug Administration is inviting public comments by March 6 on the proposed extension of approval of an information collection associated with prior notice of food, including food for animals, that is imported or offered for import into the U.S.

Information collected in the prior notice submission includes the following.

– the submitter and transmitter
– the entry type and U.S. Customs and Border Protection identifier
– the article of food, including complete FDA product code
– the manufacturer, for an article of food no longer in its natural state
– the grower, if known, for an article of food in its natural state
– the FDA country of production
– the name of any country that has refused entry of the product
– the shipper, except for food imported by international mail
– the country from which the article of food is shipped or, if the food is imported by international mail, the anticipated date of mailing and country from which the food is mailed
– the anticipated arrival information or, if the food is imported by international mail, the U.S. recipient
– the importer, owner, and ultimate consignee, except for food imported by international mail or transshipped through the U.S.
– the carrier and mode of transportation, except for food imported by international mail
– planned shipment information, except for food imported by international mail

Any person with knowledge of the required information may submit prior notice; thus, the respondents to this information collection may include importers, owners, ultimate consignees, shippers, and carriers.

The FDA notes that it received 14.0 million prior notices in 2016, up from 12.9 million in 2015 and 12.0 million in 2014.