FDA Food Facility Registration Renewals Begin October 1; Act Now to Avoid Supply Chain Disruption

Posted on | by Theresa Turcotte

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin accepting food facility registration renewals from October 1 through December 31, 2022.  All clients who clear food products with the FDA must submit a timely renewal for all food facilities in your supply chain.  Failure to renew food facility registrations before the registration window closes will result in the products being denied entry in the U.S.

We encourage you to:

  1. Renew early to avoid any disruption in your shipments
  2. Communicate immediately with foreign and domestic food facilities in your supply chain – including the manufacturer, grower, consolidator, shipper, and ultimate consignee (“deliver to” party) – informing them of the requirement to renew their registration and urging them to renew their registration on time
  3. Check out this Webinar presented by the FDA for more information on renewing your food facility registration

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

  • The U.S. FDA Food Facility Registration must be renewed from October 1 to December 31. Instructions and the portal can be found by clicking here.
  • Every facility registrant must have a DUNS number associated with the physical location of the food facility being renewed.  The FDA will no longer accept the use of “pending” in lieu of a valid DUNS number.  Without a valid DUNS number, the imported food shipment will not be allowed to enter the U.S.  The DUNS number can be obtained here.
  • The name and contact information on the FDA food facility registration must exactly match the DUNS number contact information listed for the specific facility being renewed.  If not, the registration will be rejected.  For example, if the FDA registration identifies “ABC Manufacturing” at “123 Main Street,” while the DUNS number info is listed as “ABC Manufacturing LLC” at 123 Main St.,” the registration will be denied.
  • When registering, foreign food facilities must also designate a U.S. agent, entity, or person that is located or maintains an office in the U.S. and acts as the facility’s domestic representative through which all communication with the FDA takes place. NOTE:  U.S. agents, entities, or persons must confirm that they have agreed to serve as the facilities domestic representative.  The FDA will not confirm a registration or provide a registration number until the U.S. agent has provided this confirmation.