FDA Proposes New Requirements For Importers To Show Food Is Safe

摘要

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rolled out a new proposed regulation that aims to better ensure that exporters of food to the United States are taking steps to control risks to consumers. The proposed regulation, published July 29, lays out the requirements for U.S. importers to create and maintain what FDA calls foreign supplier verification programs (FSVPs). Under these programs, importers must assess which types of safety risks are posed by the food they are importing and retrieve and maintain documentation from the exporter showing how they are mitigating those risks. For foods that pose higher risks, the proposed rule requires importers to conduct or obtain the results of an annual on-site audit of the exporter's facility to ensure that the foreign supplier is "adequately addressing the risks." This could include agricultural goods that are not cooked or other ready-to-eat foods. For other food categories, the requirements are not as stringent; seafood and juice, which are subject to separate FDA safety regimes, are exempt from the new rule.