Issue 422, November 18, 2003
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released regulations in response to the Bioterrorism Act (BTA) outlining specific requirements on the importation of food products and the registration of foreign and domestic food facilities. The following information is a summary of the requirements. Compliance with these requirements is critical to ensure timely importation of food products into the U.S.

Key Regulations:

1)	Facility registration required by December 12, 2003.
2)	Prior notice of food imports effective with the import date of December 12, 2003.
3)	Record Keeping Requirements.

The changes outlined in this document are extensive and all Importers - Owners - Consignees - Shippers - Manufacturers - Growers - Freight Holding Facilities must prepare for implementation effective December 12, 2003. An Importer checklist has been provided as part of this document to assist you in determining if you are prepared for the implementation of the FDA BTA.

As the importer of Food and Food Products subject to FDA Bioterrorism Act (BTA) you are responsible to ensure you and your vendors (shippers, suppliers, manufacturers, growers, carriers, freight holding facilities, consignees and customs broker) are prepared to comply with the new law. In order to assist you in ensuring you meet all requirements a checklist is provided within this document.

Facility Registration
Prior Notice Requirements
Record Keeping Requirements
Checklist for Food and Food Product Importers

Our contributing writer, Dan See, is the Technical Advisor for DHL Danzas Air & Ocean in Southfield, Michigan If you have any questions or require further information, please contact Mr. See at daniel.see@dhl.com, 248-263-8812 or Paul Vroman at paul.vroman@dhl.com, 810-987-0557.

Please note that due to the complex nature of the subject matter, DHL Danzas Air & Ocean cannot be responsible for actions taken by the reader in reliance on the information contained herein without prior consultation with DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.