FDA Updates for Contamination Protection

CBP Verification of Bond Amounts & Requests for Additional Security for Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB) entries

On Monday, 14 Nov 2022, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published CSMS #53992279 advising importers. The trade that reminds everyone to verify the bond amounts for customs declarations filed as Temporary Importations Under Bond (TIBs) are sufficient. Where necessary, CBP will request additional security under a Single Transaction Bond (STB) when a Continuous Bond is on file but insufficient to cover the TIB requirements.

FDA’s “New Era of Smarter Food Safety” rolls out new rule to improve traceability of contaminated foods

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced changes in foodborne illness prevention on Tuesday, 15 November 2022, by finalizing a rule to trace contaminated food through the food supply better, whether sourced in the US or abroad.

The final rule establishes additional traceability recordkeeping requirements for those that manufacture, process, pack, or hold certain foods, including fresh leafy greens, nut butter, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, and ready-to-eat deli salads.
In collaboration with industry, the FDA says it will be able to more rapidly and effectively identify the origin and route of travel of certain contaminated foods to prevent or mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks, address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death, and minimize overly broad advisories or recalls that implicate unaffected food products.

Foods subject to the final rule requirements appear on the Food Traceability List (FTL). To determine which foods should be included in the FTL, the FDA developed a risk-ranking model for food tracing based on the factors that Congress identified in Section 204 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). These foods include fresh leafy greens, melons, peppers, sprouts, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, tropical tree fruits, shell eggs, nut butter, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, ready-to-eat deli salads, cheeses (other than hard cheese), finfish and crustaceans.

Key features of the final rule include:

Critical Tracking Events: at specific points in the supply chain – such as harvesting, cooling, initial packing, receiving, transforming, and shipping FTL foods – records containing Key Data Elements are required.
Traceability Plan: information essential to help regulators understand an entity’s traceability program. These include a description of the procedures used to maintain required records, descriptions of procedures used to identify foods on the FTL, descriptions of how traceability lot codes are assigned, a point of contact for questions regarding the traceability plan, and a farm map for those that grow or raise food on the FTL.
Additional Requirements: maintenance of records as original paper or electronic records, or true copies; providing requested records to the FDA within 24 hours of a request (or within a reasonable time to which the FDA has agreed); and providing records in an electronic sortable spreadsheet when necessary to assist the FDA during an outbreak, recall or other threat to public health.

Related Information:

REMINDER: FDA Biennial Food Facility Registration Opens up 01 Oct 2022

Food facilities are required to renew their registration every other year, beginning on 01 October and ending on 31 December of each even-numbered year. This year’s renewal period began on 01 October 2022 and ends on 31 December 2022.

The FDA will consider registration for a food facility to be expired if the registration is not renewed as required. The FDA will consider a food facility with an expired registration as having failed to meet its registration requirements, which is prohibited under the FD&C Act. The FDA will cancel a facility’s registration if it has failed to renew as required. If a registration is canceled for failure to renew, and the facility is required to register and is still operating, the facility can re-register.

Parties who have questions about Food Facility registration can access the links below:

Should you have additional questions on any of the above-covered topics or any other trade-related questions, please feel free to contact the Customs Brokerage Product Team at custominfo.ff.us@geodis.com, or the Trade Services team at tradeservices.ff.us@geodis.com.

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FDA Enhances Food Traceability to Combat Contamination