FSVP is an Important Rule for Most Importers
FSVP violations were among the top five most cited by FDA in 2020
In recent years, through regulations created under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has adopted a preventive approach to food safety, in contrast to the Whack-A-Mole strategy of dealing with foodborne illness that preceded FSMA. But with so much food being imported from other countries, these regulations could very easily be undermined. Enter the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP).
FSVP’s purpose is to ensure that importers have adequate assurance that foods were harvested, grown, manufactured, processed and/or packaged using protections equivalent to those imposed by the FDA. The regulations define a foreign supplier as the establishment that manufactures, processes or grows the food, or raises the animal, for export to the U.S., without further manufacturing or processing by others (besides labeling or other similar de minimis activities).
Read Jennifer's full article in Quality Assurance & Food Safety magazine.
