Americans eat a lot of imported foods. For that reason, the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) mandates that foods imported from other countries be held to the same high standards required of domestic food.
The Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVPs) rule for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals is one of the requirements as per the FSMA rule, which requires importers in the United States to verify their foreign suppliers to ensure their suppliers follow food safety standards equivalent to the standards established by the FDA.
The rule requires that importers of food to the U.S. are using the most appropriate verification activities to significantly minimize or prevent risks and prevent adulterated foods from reaching America’s dinner tables, as well as foods that are misbranded with respect to allergen labeling. Importers are also required to verify that their suppliers are producing food in a manner that provides the same level of public health protection as required under the other new FSMA regulations on preventive controls and produce safety. The verification activities could include annual onsite audits of a supplier’s facility, sampling and testing of food, or a review of the supplier’s relevant food safety records.
Importers are responsible for actions that include:
- Determining known or reasonably foreseeable hazards with each food;
- Evaluating the risk posed by a food, based on the hazard analysis, and the foreign supplier’s performance;
- Using that evaluation of the risk posed by an imported food and the supplier’s performance to approve suppliers and determine appropriate supplier verification activities;
- Conducting supplier verification activities;
- Conducting corrective actions.
Additionally, certain categories of imported food are not covered by FSVP. These include:
- Juice, fish, and fishery products subject to and in compliance with FDA’s Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations for those products, and certain ingredients for use in juice and fish and fishery products subject to the HACCP regulations;
- Food for research or evaluation;
- Food for personal consumption;
- Alcoholic beverages and certain ingredients for use in alcoholic beverages;
- Food that is imported for processing and future export;
- Low-acid canned foods (LACF), such as canned vegetables, but only with respect to microbiological hazards covered by other regulations, as well as certain ingredients for use in LACF products (but only with respect to microbiological hazards);
- Certain meat, poultry and egg products regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the time of importation.
The companies who do not have an importer in the USA are required to appoint an FSVP agent responsible for foreign supplier verification related activities. So we can help you comply with Foreign Supplier Verification requirements and act as your FSVP agent.
