21 CFR Part 1, Subpart I - Prior Notice of Imported Food

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Agency, or we) is publishing three waivers from the requirements of the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (the Sanitary Transportation rule). The Agency is taking this action in accord with the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is amending the prior notice of imported food regulations to reflect a change in the electronic data interchange system and its expanded capabilities, to correct inaccurate number designations in section headings, and to reflect a change in an office's name. This action is ministerial or editorial in nature.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is making revisions to Chapter I of its regulations. These revisions are necessary to reflect changes to the Agency's organizational structure, including the dissolution of the Regional Food and Drug Director position. The revisions replace references to the Regional Food and Drug Director, who is designated to preside over administrative appeals and at informal hearings on appeal, with references to Office of Regulatory Affairs Program Directors. The rule does not impose any new regulatory requirements on affected parties. This action is editorial in nature and is intended to improve the accuracy of the Agency's regulations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a revised draft guidance for industry entitled “Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition): Guidance for Industry.” The revised draft guidance supersedes the version of the food facility registration draft guidance that we announced on November 8, 2016. When finalized, this guidance is intended to provide updated information relating to the food facility registration requirements in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is amending its regulations on accreditation of third-party certification bodies to conduct food safety audits and to issue certifications to provide for a reimbursement (user fee) program to assess fees for the work FDA performs to establish and administer the third-party certification program under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry and FDA staff entitled “Third-Party Certification Body Accreditation for Food Safety Audits: Model Accreditation Standards.” The guidance contains FDA recommendations on third-party certification body qualifications for accreditation to conduct food safety audits and to issue food and/or facility certifications under an FDA program required by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The guidance is intended to describe the standards for accreditation of third-party certification bodies as required under the final rule entitled “Accreditation of Third-Party Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications.” In addition, this guidance discusses specific clauses of ISO/IEC 17021: 2015 and industry practice that are currently being used by third-party certification bodies and that FDA recommends accreditation bodies consider as a model when making accreditation decisions.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is issuing a final rule/regulation to establish requirements for the electronic filing of entries of FDA-regulated products in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) or any other electronic data interchange (EDI) system authorized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), in order for the filing to be processed by CBP and to help FDA in determining admissibility of that product. ACE is a commercial trade processing system operated by CBP that is designed to implement the International Trade Data System (ITDS), automate import and export processing, enhance border security, and foster U.S. economic security through lawful international trade and policy. FDA is a Partner Government Agency (PGA) for purposes of submission of import data in ACE. As of July 23, 2016, ACE became the sole EDI system authorized by CBP for entry of FDA-regulated articles into the United States. We also updated certain sections of FDA regulations related to imports. This rule will facilitate effective and efficient admissibility review by the Agency and protect public health by allowing FDA to focus its limited resources on those FDA-regulated products being imported or offered for import that may be associated with a greater public health risk.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled “Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Seventh Edition): Guidance for Industry.” This draft guidance contains 15 sections of a multisection guidance intended to provide updated information relating to the food facility registration requirements in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, we, or Agency) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance for industry entitled “Describing a Hazard That Needs Control in Documents Accompanying the Food, as Required by Four Rules Implementing the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Guidance for Industry.” This draft guidance explains our current thinking on disclosure statements made by an entity, in documents accompanying food, that certain hazards have not been controlled by that entity as required by certain provisions in four final rules. This document describes our current thinking on how to describe the hazard under each of the four rules and which documents we consider to be “documents of the trade” for the purpose of disclosure statements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is amending the food labeling regulations by redesignating a provision, updating any references to that provision to reflect the redesignation, and revising the section heading. The rule does not alter the content or application of the redesignated provision in any substantive manner. This action is editorial in nature and is intended to provide clarity and consistency to our regulations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is extending the dates for compliance with certain provisions in four final rules. We are extending the compliance dates to address concerns about the practicality of compliance with certain provisions, consider changes to the regulatory text, and better align compliance dates across the rules. In addition, we are clarifying certain compliance dates in the Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is amending its regulations for registration of food facilities that require domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States to register with FDA. This rule amends and updates FDA's registration regulations and is part of our implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which added new provisions for the registration of food facilities. These amendments will further enhance FDA's capabilities with respect to responding to food safety issues, and in addition, provide FDA with information that we can use to focus and better utilize our limited inspection resources.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is proposing to establish requirements for the electronic filing of entries of FDA-regulated products in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) or any other electronic data interchange (EDI) system authorized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), in order for the filing to be processed by CBP and to help FDA in determining admissibility of that product. ACE is a commercial trade processing system operated by CBP that is designed to implement the International Trade Data System (ITDS), automate import and export processing, enhance border security, foster U.S. economic security through lawful international trade and policy, and to replace the Automated Commercial System (ACS). FDA is a Partner Government Agency (PGA) in the initiative to establish ITDS, the “single window” for the submission of import and export data to the United States Government. The proposed rule would also update certain sections of FDA regulations related to imports. This rule, as proposed, does not affect the ability of filers to continue to submit their import entries and entry summaries by paper for FDA-regulated products that are being imported or offered for import. Once finalized, this action will facilitate effective and efficient admissibility review by the Agency and protect public health by allowing FDA to focus its limited resources on those FDA-regulated products being imported or offered for import that may be associated with a greater public health risk.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry entitled “Prior Notice of Imported Food Questions and Answers (Edition 3): Guidance for Industry.” The guidance provides updated information pertaining to prior notice of imported food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act), as amended by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) on January 4, 2011. The guidance is intended to help the food industry and others comply with prior notice requirements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing three one-day public meetings in different regions throughout the United States to provide importers and other interested persons an opportunity to have an in-depth discussion on the implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) import safety programs ( i.e., foreign supplier verification programs (FSVPs) for importers of food for humans and animals, accreditation of third-party certification bodies, and FDA's Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP)). During these meetings, participants and key FDA subject matter experts will discuss the next phase of FSMA implementation related to import safety programs, which includes establishing the operational framework for these programs and plans for guidance documents, training, education, and technical assistance. The purpose of the regional outreach public meetings is to continue the dialogue with the importer community on FSMA and elicit ideas that will help to inform FDA and our stakeholders on how to continue to work together to successfully comply with FSMA mandates and regulations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending a final rule published in the Federal Register of November 27, 2015. That final rule established requirements for importers to verify that food they import into the United States is produced consistent with the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls and standards for produce safety provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act), is not adulterated, and is not misbranded with respect to food allergen labeling. The final rule published with some editorial and inadvertent errors. This document corrects those errors.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is issuing a final rule to establish requirements for shippers, loaders, carriers by motor vehicle and rail vehicle, and receivers engaged in the transportation of food, including food for animals, to use sanitary transportation practices to ensure the safety of the food they transport. This action is part of our larger effort to focus on prevention of food safety problems throughout the food chain and is part of our implementation of the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005 (2005 SFTA) and the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing a public meeting entitled “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Prevention-Oriented Import System Regulations and Implementation.” The public meeting will provide importers and other interested persons an opportunity to discuss import safety regulations and programs, including final rules for foreign supplier verification programs (FSVPs) for importers of food for humans and animals (the FSVP final rule) and accreditation of third-party certification bodies (the third-party certification final rule). Participants will also be briefed on the status of FDA's Voluntary Qualified Importer Program (VQIP), which is still in development. Additionally, the public meeting will provide importers and other interested persons an opportunity to discuss FDA's comprehensive planning effort for the next phase of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act implementation relating to import safety programs, which includes establishing the operational framework for these programs and plans for guidance documents, training, education, and technical assistance.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is correcting a final rule that published in the Federal Register of September 17, 2015. That final rule amended our regulation for current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, packing, or holding human food to modernize it, and to add requirements for domestic and foreign facilities that are required to register under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) to establish and implement hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food. That final rule also revised certain definitions in our current regulation for registration of food facilities to clarify the scope of the exemption from registration requirements provided by the FD&C Act for “farms.” The final rule published with some editorial and inadvertent errors. This document corrects those errors.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is amending a final rule that published in the Federal Register of September 17, 2015. That final rule amended our regulation for current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, packing, or holding human food to modernize it, and to add requirements for domestic and foreign facilities that are required to register under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) to establish and implement hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food. That final rule also revised certain definitions in our current regulation for registration of food facilities to clarify the scope of the exemption from registration requirements provided by the FD&C Act for “farms.” The final rule published with some editorial and inadvertent errors. This document corrects those errors.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is clarifying the compliance date that we provided for certain food establishments subject to a final rule that published in the Federal Register of September 17, 2015. Among other things, that final rule amended our regulation for current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, packing, or holding human food to modernize it, and to add requirements for domestic and foreign facilities that are required to register under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) to establish and implement hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food. We are taking this action in response to requests for clarification of the compliance date for facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold grade “A” milk or milk products and that are regulated under the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) system.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing a public meeting entitled “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act: Final Rules to Establish Requirements for Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human and Animal Food.” The public meeting will provide interested persons an opportunity to discuss the final rules for current good manufacturing practice, hazard analysis, and risk-based preventive controls for human and animal food (the preventive controls final rules) and FDA's comprehensive planning effort for the next phase of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) implementation, which involves putting in place the new public health prevention measures and the risk-based industry oversight framework that is at the core of FSMA. The purpose of the public meeting is to brief stakeholders and interested persons on the key components of the preventive controls final rules, respond to questions, and discuss the next phase of FSMA implementation with respect to human and animal food preventive controls requirements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is implementing its authority to destroy a drug valued at $2,500 or less (or such higher amount as the Secretary of the Treasury may set by regulation) that has been refused admission into the United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act), by issuing a rule that provides to the owner or consignee notice and an opportunity to appear and introduce testimony to the Agency prior to destruction. This regulation is authorized by amendments made to the FD&C Act by the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). Implementation of this authority will allow FDA to better protect the public health by providing an administrative process for the destruction of certain refused drugs, thus increasing the integrity of the drug supply chain.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is issuing this proposed rule to amend the proposed rule, “Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications” (Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors proposed rule) and to propose to establish a reimbursement (user fee) program to assess fees and require reimbursement for the work performed to establish and administer the system for the Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is correcting a final rule entitled “Administrative Detention of Drugs Intended for Human or Animal Use” that appeared in the Federal Register of May 29, 2014 (79 FR 30716). The rule sets forth the procedures for detention of drugs believed to be adulterated or misbranded and amends the scope of FDA's part 16 regulatory hearing procedures to include the administrative detention of drugs. The rule published with incorrect statements regarding the impact of the final rule on small entities. This document corrects those errors.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is proposing to amend its regulation for registration of food facilities that requires domestic and foreign facilities that manufacture/process, pack, or hold food for human or animal consumption in the United States to register with FDA. This proposed rule would amend and update FDA's registration regulations and is part of our implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which added new provisions for the registration of food facilities. Moreover, a number of provisions in FSMA apply only to facilities required to register, including hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls and mandatory recall authority. The proposed amendments will further enhance FDA's capabilities with respect to responding to food safety issues, and in addition, provide FDA with information that we can use to focus and better utilize our limited inspection resources.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending its regulations to update address information for the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) as a result of the recent relocation of CBER offices and laboratories to the FDA White Oak campus in Silver Spring, MD, as well as make other related technical revisions. These changes are being made to ensure the accuracy of the Agency's regulations.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public meeting to discuss proposed revisions to four rules originally proposed in 2013 to implement the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). In response to the comments received on these foundational FSMA proposed rules, FDA issued supplemental notices of proposed rulemaking that propose significant changes to four of the proposed rules including: Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food (Preventive Controls for Human Food); Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption (Produce Safety); Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals (Preventive Controls for Animal Food); and Foreign Supplier Verification Programs for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals (Foreign Supplier Verification Programs). The purpose of the public meeting is to solicit oral stakeholder and public comments on the new content of the supplemental proposed rules and to inform the public about the rulemaking process (including how to submit comments, data, and other information to the rulemaking dockets), and to respond to questions about the supplemental proposed rules.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or the Agency) is implementing administrative detention authority with respect to drugs intended for human or animal use as authorized by amendments made to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) by the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). FDA's administrative detention authority with respect to drugs allows FDA to better protect the integrity of the drug supply chain. Specifically, FDA is able to administratively detain drugs encountered during an inspection that an authorized FDA representative conducting an inspection has reason to believe are adulterated or misbranded. This authority is intended to protect the public by preventing distribution or subsequent use of drugs encountered during inspections that are believed to be adulterated or misbranded, until FDA has had time to consider what action it should take concerning the drugs, and to initiate legal action, if appropriate.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is extending the comment period for the notice of proposed rulemaking that appeared in the Federal Register of February 5, 2014, entitled “Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food” and its information collection provisions. We are taking this action in response to requests for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments. We also are taking this action to keep the comment period for the information collection provisions associated with the rule consistent with the comment period for the proposed rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is proposing a regulation to implement its authority to destroy a drug valued at $2,500 or less (or such higher amount as the Secretary of the Treasury may set by regulation) that has been refused admission into the United States under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), by providing to the owner or consignee notice and an opportunity to appear and introduce testimony to the Agency prior to the destruction. The proposed regulation is authorized by amendments made to the FD&C Act by the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (FDASIA). Once finalized, this proposed regulation will allow FDA to better protect the public health by providing an administrative process for the destruction of certain refused drugs, thus increasing the integrity of the drug supply chain.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing the availability of a draft guidance entitled “Guidance for Industry: Prior Notice of Imported Food Questions and Answers (Edition 3).” The draft guidance addresses questions received since the publication of the second edition of the guidance in May 2004 and includes information related to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, to require the name of any country to which an article has been refused entry be reported in a prior notice. The draft guidance is intended to help the food industry and others comply with prior notice requirements.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing three public meetings to discuss the proposed rule that would establish requirements for shippers, carriers by motor vehicle and rail vehicle, and receivers engaged in the transportation of food, including food for animals, to use sanitary transportation practices to help ensure the safety of the food they transport. The proposed rule is part of our larger effort to focus on prevention of food safety problems throughout the food chain and is part of our implementation of the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005 (2005 SFTA) and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The purpose of the public meetings is to inform the public of the provisions of the proposed rule and the rulemaking process (including how to submit comments, data, and other information to the rulemaking docket) as well as solicit oral stakeholder and public comments on the proposed rule and to respond to questions about the rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is proposing to establish requirements for shippers, carriers by motor vehicle and rail vehicle, and receivers engaged in the transportation of food, including food for animals, to use sanitary transportation practices to ensure the safety of the food they transport. This action is part of our larger effort to focus on prevention of food safety problems throughout the food chain and is part of our implementation of the Sanitary Food Transportation Act of 2005 (2005 SFTA) and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing two public meetings to discuss two proposed rules aimed at strengthening assurances that imported food meets the same safety standards as food produced domestically. The Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) proposal establishes requirements for importers to verify that their foreign suppliers are implementing the modern, prevention-oriented food safety practices called for by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and achieving the same level of food safety as domestic growers and processors. The second proposed rule on the Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies would strengthen the quality, objectivity, and transparency of foreign food safety audits on which many U.S. food companies and importers currently rely to help manage the safety of their global food supply chains. The purpose of these public meetings is to solicit oral stakeholder and public comments on the proposed rules and to inform the public about the rulemaking process (including how to submit comments, data, and other information to the rulemaking dockets), and to respond to questions about the proposed rules.