The Bioterrorism Act and Food Safety Modernization Act requires all domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. to register with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The requirement includes food, food ingredients, and dietary supplements. Registrations must be renewed every other year during the period between October 1 and December 31 of even-numbered years.
If a facility does not renew its registration it will be considered expired, and beginning January 1, 2017, import shipments subject to the requirement will be detained and is subject to refusal. Federal civil and/or criminal actions may be filed for failure to register or renew a registration. Importers of impacted products should be diligent in their efforts to renew their own registrations and validate registration renewals by their vendors.
Registration is available online at FDA¹s website. An alternate paper process is available if Internet access is not available. Information regarding the food facility registration requirement can be found on the FDA website.
If you import shipments subject to the facility registration requirement, be sure to renew your registration before the end of the year. When you have completed your registration, please contact your Schenker brokerage office to provide any updated information affecting your import shipments.
