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U.S. Response: FDA Wants Food Importers to Give Them 24-hour Notice The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday proposed a regulation to require 24-hour notice before food imports reach U.S. shores (see GSN, May 23, 2002). Under the proposed plan, an importer must electronically notify the FDA by noon the day before the shipment reaches a U.S. port or border crossing. FDA Officials anticipate about 20,000 notices per day. “The more we know about the source of the food we eat the better prepared we’ll be to monitor its safety,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. “We are determined to do everything we can to preserve the American public’s confidence in the safety and security of the food supply,” he added. The regulation will not apply to meat, poultry or egg imports that are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or to food and beverages carried in personal luggage by individual travelers. The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 requires prior notice of food shipments begin Dec. 12, 2003, even if the FDA regulations have not been finalized by that point. The FDA has opened a 60-day public comment period and officials said a final ruling in expected by Oct. 12 (FDA release, Jan. 30). Food importers and non-U.S. companies will most likely criticize the rule, the Financial Times reported (see GSN, May 6, 2002). Importers are concerned that international companies will not be aware of the new regulations and that the one-day notice rule will make compliance difficult for Mexican and Canadian exporters who transport goods by land (Alden/Bowe, Financial Times, Jan. 30).
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