5 Must-Know Facts About The FDA's Foreign Supplier Verification Program

By Katy Jones, Food LogiQ

We’ve discussed FSMA a few times, but perhaps equally important for companies that rely on foreign imports is the Foreign Supplier Verification Program. For larger companies, the FDA is only giving importers 18 months following the final ruling to meet FSVP provisions — which means there’s no time like the present to figure out how these changes affect you and your company.

To help you prepare, we’re breaking the regulation changes down into five must-know facts about FSVP.

1. Importers Are “Guilty” Until Proven “Innocent”
Before FSVP was incorporated into FSMA, the FDA only denied imported food admission to the United States if there was evidence or reason to believe that it violated the laws. In simpler terms, imported food was all assumed “innocent” unless proven otherwise.

Now, under FSVP, importers will need to verify that both the food and the food suppliers follow regulations with an adequate FSVP. So, essentially, the “innocence” (or, really, compliance) of all imported food now must be proven in advance.