US FDA warns Indian agri-exporters

Wants exporters to register by Dec 31, failing which it will hold consignments

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has said it will hold the consignments of Indian exporters selling agri-commodities at the US port if they fail to register with the administration by December 31. 

While a number of Indian agri-exporters are already registered with the US FDA, some have been exporting commodities from unregistered processing facilities. 

US imports natural honey, guargum and casein and is significant for Indian agri-exporters due to higher realisations. 

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. 

US Customs and Border Protection states that beginning 1 January 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 US could be held at the port upon arrival. 

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

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