The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking public input on its current approach to managing certification for the export of human food products regulated by the agency. The request for information can be viewed on the Federal Register.

Firms exporting products from the U.S. are often asked by foreign customers or governments to supply certification for products regulated by FDA. The agency’s export certification provides an official attestation concerning a product’s regulatory or marketing status, based on information available at the time FDA issues the certificate. To assist U.S. exporters, FDA provides necessary export certification in the form of certificates or export lists.

The present request for information is intended to gather input from all impacted stakeholders to help FDA’s Human Foods Program (HFP) ensure it is considering the full range of perspectives when planning and resourcing changes and/or improvements to the export list component of the Export Certification Program.

FDA invites comments on the challenges and experiences of meeting other countries’ listing requirements and FDA's certification processes for export lists. Feedback will be used to plan and resource FDA’s export certification program, including suggested approaches for implementing fees to offset the operational costs associated with maintaining a growing number of export lists and potential program enhancements.