Facility registration belongs to the producer
A foreign plant that makes food for the US market registers its facility with the FDA and names a US agent; the registration is renewed every two years. That duty sits with the producer of each line, not with us. We are an export company, not the factory. When you ask, we state for each line whether the producer is registered and pass the registration details on with the offer; we do not present a producer’s registration as our own.
Prior notice belongs to whoever files the entry
Every shipment of food, a container or a sample parcel, needs a prior notice with the FDA before it arrives. In practice the importer’s customs broker files it with the entry, using the producer’s registration number and the shipment data from our invoice and packing list. For samples sent by courier, the courier’s paperwork carries the notice. What we do is make sure the numbers on the documents match the registration, so the filing is not bounced.
FSVP belongs to the importer
Under the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs rule the US importer of record verifies that the foreign supplier produces food to US standards. The importer decides how: a review of the producer’s food safety records, third-party audit reports, testing. Our part is to obtain those documents from the producer and put them in the file: the technical data sheet with ingredients and allergens, the process description, certificates issued in the producer’s name. An exporter cannot verify itself, so we do not claim to.
The label is shared
A US retail label carries a Nutrition Facts panel, the ingredient list in descending order, the nine major allergens including milk, tree nuts such as pistachio, and sesame, the net quantity in US and metric units, and the name and place of the responsible firm. The producer supplies the ingredient and nutrition data; the importer or brand owner approves the artwork. For private label the producer prints only after that approval, and the minimum per line is in the offer.
Three mistakes that cost weeks
The first is a registration number on the documents that does not match the producer of the line, which bounces the prior notice; it happens when a trader hides the producer, and it is why we name the producer on every line. The second is a label approved after the container leaves, so the goods wait in a bonded warehouse while stickers are printed; approve the artwork before printing. The third is an FSVP file started at arrival instead of at the offer; ask for the producer’s documents with the quotation and the file is built while the container is at sea.
What the offer states so nobody guesses
Each line in the written offer names its producer, its registration status, its tariff heading, its case and pallet data and its minimum. Delivery is FCA Gaziantep, FOB Mersin, CIF or DAP; payment by bank transfer, half with the order and half before the container leaves, against the loading photographs. The offer arrives within two working days of your list, in US dollars. Samples go out first, free from running production, courier at your cost.
Do you hold an FDA registration yourselves?
Registration belongs to the facility that makes the food. We state the producer’s status per line and pass the details on; we do not present it as ours.
Who files prior notice for a container from Mersin?
Usually the importer’s customs broker with the entry, from our invoice, packing list and the producer’s registration data.
Can you supply the documents an FSVP file needs?
We obtain them from the producer: data sheet, process description, certificates in the producer’s name. The verification itself is the importer’s.
