Procedures and forms to send food to the USA
The FDA is the federal agency of the United States that is in charge of Public Health by the regulation of food and drugs in the country. ''The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act) directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as the food regulatory agency of the Department of Health and Human Services, to take additional steps to protect the public from a threatened or actual terrorist attack on the U.S. food supply and other food-related emergencies.'' Contact our team to set up shipping solutions for food to the USA.
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The measures taken by the FDA (United States Food & Drug Administration) have changed in what concerns importation of foodstuff. The legislations have been reinforced in order to prevent bio-terrorist attacks. There are now a few extra steps to follow for those who want to send edible goods to the USA, being either for human or animal consumption. Keep in mind that the procedures with the FDA are mandatory. If the needed paperwork is not correctly filled out, your items will not see delivery and will be either destroyed or returned. For any doubts or information, Jet Worldwide or the courier company you are planning on using will be able to help you out. Here are the few steps to follow:
- First, you need to be registered with the FDA.
It is possible to register with the FDA directly from their web site. It is also possible to do it through an intermediary.
- Then, before sending out your goods, you will need to fill in a prior notice and submit it to the FDA. This form is available on the FDA website. The FDA's interface for the prior notice interface is available online 24/7.
The FDA needs to be advised in advance for any importation of food products, either for human or animal consumption, unless they are part of the few exceptions.
The prior notice allows the FDA to :
- Revise and evaluate the information before the product's arrival into the United States
- Better prepare and deploy resources for inspections
- Better intercept any contaminated product
- When your form is submitted and accepted by the FDA, you will then be given a reference number which you will have to join with your shipment’s commercial invoice. You will need three copies of the FDA confirmation in addition to your three copied of commercial invoice.
What is considered foodstuff?
- a) Any beverage or food product consumable by human and/or animal
- b) Chewing gun
- c) Any ingredient used in the production of items a) and b)
Note : ''Food'' does not include substances that were in contact with food, or pesticides.
Food imports requiring prior notice :
- Food imported for use, storage or distribution in the United States (including gifts and trade and quality assurance/quality control and market research samples)
- Food trans shipped through the USA to another country
- Food imported for future export, or food for use in a Foreign Trade Zone, unless it is part of the few exclusions
These steps are essential to the delivery of your food goods to the United States. They are, however, a few exceptions to the rule. Among the foodstuffs described above, these items are exempted:
- Foods carried by a traveler for his personal consumption
- Foods exported to the United States and immediately exported outside of the USA
- Foods produced in a personal residence, exported as a gift, for no commercial reasons
- Shipments between individuals with no commercial reasons
- Items that are usually in contact with foods but do not contain any
It is important to join a adequately filled prior notice in order to avoid any complications during shipping process
For additional information, here are a few pertinent links:
Official FDA website:http://www.fda.gov/
Official US customs website: http://www.cbp.gov/
Jet Worldwide's team of experts will gladly guide you through every step of the process to securely ship your food products to the United States.
