FDA Importer Guide • Draft Guidance

FDA just recently published an easy FDA Importer Guide (Draft Guidance) and a Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Food Import Industry.  These guides are specifically for Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for importers of food for animals and humans.

Under the FSVP requirements, importers of food for animals and humans are responsible for their suppliers’ actions. Find FSVP Data Requirements for filing via ACE here.

U.S. Importers are Responsible

U.S. importers are responsible that their suppliers use specific processes and procedures that provide the same level (or better) of public health protection as the United States’ FDA preventative controls or produce safety regulations.

Importers are also responsible to ensure that the suppliers’ food is not misbranded or misrepresented with respect to allergen labeling.

The Draft Guidance provides the FDA’s current thinking on how best to comply with these requirements.

The Small Entity Compliance Guide offers specific guidance on the modified procedures allowed for very small importers or importers of food from certain small foreign suppliers.

Currently all guidances are in draft form and are to be used a commenting purpose only, not implementation.

View the full list of FDA Guidance Documents here:

To find more information on FDA, see below:

 

FSVP Resources

FSVP Data Requirements

FDA Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP)