Given that October is upon us, it seems appropriate to remind everyone that an FDA registration window just opened for renewal. As many of you already know, on December 12, 2003 FDA established a new set of regulations that required food facilities to register with the department. Under FDA and FSMA law, any person dealing with domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. must register with FDA. This renewal must take place between the months of October and December, every even-numbered year. Effective January 1, 2015, any importing facility that fails to register with the FDA is subject to be held at the port upon arrival under the FD&C Act. To avoid such actions and delays, it is in the best interest of import brokers to remind, clarify, and advise contact clients to renew their registration by December 31, 2014.
For more information on the FDA food facility registration requirement, see FDA’s website at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FoodFacilityRegistration/default.htm.
For assistance with registration issues contact FDA Industry Systems Help Desk at 800-216-7331 or 301-575-0156. For assistance via email, utilize the form on FDA’s website: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/email/cfsan/bioterrorismact/helpf2.cfm.