Starting Oct. 1 the [U.S.] Food and Drug Administration will begin issuing and collecting fees for new export certifications for food for human consumption other than dietary supplements, medical foods, and foods for special dietary use. The FDA states that this program will apply to foods such as produce, grains, processed foods, food additives, color additives, food contact substances, generally regarded as safe ingredients, infant formula, and all other foods not specifically excluded.
The new program implements a change made by the Food Safety Modernization Act adding foods to the list of products for which exporters may request that the FDA certify in writing that an exported product meets certain requirements. The FDA notes that this program is intended to complement export certifications for foods currently issued by other federal agencies and that those arrangements will remain the same. In addition, the FDA will continue to issue the current “Certificate of Free Sale” for dietary supplements, medical foods, and foods for special dietary uses.
The FDA will charge $175 for the first export certificate. For subsequent certificates for the same product issued in response to the same request the fee will be $155 for the second and $100 for all others.
This was posted in the 5 September 2018 edition of the Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg Trade Report.