US FDA asks agri-exporters to adhere to registeration norms

Some exporters are exporting commodities by procuring products on a job-work basis from unregistered processing facilities

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the official health protection agency in America, has warned Indian exporters of agricultural commodities to hold consignments upon arrival at a US port if they fail to register with it by December 31.

The bulk of Indian agri exporters have registered themselves but some have been exporting commodities by procuring products on a job-work basis from unregistered processing facilities. The FDA requires all old and new exporters, with their processing facilities, to be registered.

Registration also means having to face audit and inspection of processing units. The US is India’s largest importer for natural honey, guar gum and casein.

Under Section 102 of the Food Safety Modernization Act, enacted by the US in 2010, all domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or store food, food ingredients, pet foods or dietary supplements are required to renew their registration with the FDA every other year.

FDA encourages online registration. US law states that beginning January 1, 2015, if a foreign food facility required to register with FDA fails to do so, any food from there that is being imported or offered for import into the US could be held at the ports upon arrival.

“The re-registration is a regular exercise which the FDA is following periodically. It has nothing to do with the quality of agri commodities (exported from India),” said A K Gupta, Director, Agriculture and Processed Foods Exports Development Authority.

The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 directs FDA to take steps to protect the public from a threatened or actual terrorist attack on US food supply and other food-related emergencies.

The main aim of the registration is to determine the location and source of any potential bioterrorism incident or an outbreak of food-borne illness and quickly notify facilities that might be affected.