The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) are approaching their seventh year of implementation. The FSVP require importers to verify that their foreign suppliers of food for human and animal consumption meet applicable FDA safety standards. More specifically, FSVP require importers to verify that their suppliers are producing food using processes and procedures that offer the same level of public health protection as the preventive controls requirements in current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), the Preventive Controls for Human Food and Preventive Controls for Animal Food rules, and the Produce Safety Rule; and that the food is not adulterated and is properly labeled with respect to allergens. As the program progresses, FDA remains committed to fulfilling its public health mission. Through continuous monitoring, FDA targets high-risk products and supply chains to ensure the efficient use of resources and the most impactful FSVP inspections.
Since the implementation of the FSVP, FDA has improved the accuracy of entry data transmitted through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system and developed processes to improve identification of FSVP importers for inspection. For example, under 21 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 1.509, the FSVP regulation requires that, at the time of entry, all FSVP importers provide their name, email address, and a unique facility identifier (UFI) recognized as acceptable by FDA (limited to the DUNS, or Dun and Bradstreet's Data Universal Numbering System).