Food facilities required to register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must renew their registrations between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, according to the Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report.
Under section 102 of the Food Safety Modernization Act, 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.
Facilities can register online, via mail or by fax, but the FDA encourages online registration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection states that beginning on Jan. 1, 2015, if a foreign food facility required to register with FDA fails to do so, food from that facility that is being imported or offered for import into the U.S. could be held at the port upon arrival. As a result, import brokers who file prior notices for food shipments are encouraged to contact clients with high-volume food shipments, inquire about the food facility registration renewal status of foreign manufacturing facilities associated with their shipments and confirm any new registration numbers.
The FDA has made available three guidance documents to help with the registration process, including biennial registration renewal. They are:
- “What You Need to Know About the Registration of Food Facilities – Small Entity Compliance Guide” was updated in 2012 to reflect FSMA and contains information regarding who is required to register and who may be exempt, how often facilities must register and renew registrations, when the FDA may suspend a registration, and how facilities may submit their registrations and registration renewals.
- “Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Fifth Edition)” was updated in 2012 and contains questions and answers regarding food facility registration.
- “Necessity of the Use of Food Product Categories in Food Facility Registration” contains information regarding food product categories included in the food facility registration form.
