US requires foreign food exporters to register with FDA

(This story is written from the point of view that you are the foreigner.)

(Domestic means the foreign country)

Domestic food exporters shipping to or transshipping through the US must register with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before the US Bioterrorism Act takes effect on Dec. 12.

Violators will risk having their merchandise held at the port of arrival, sent to a secure facility or returned to the exporting country.

The FDA can also bring civil and criminal action against parties that are not registered and prohibit further trade activity of any person convicted of a felony violation of the act.

James Swanson, program officer of the US Customs and Border Protection under the Department of Homeland Security, said the purpose of the act is to ensure the security of food for human or animal consumption imported to the US.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2003/10/28/2003073647

must register with Homeland Security or the shipment will be rejected or confiscated.

OR

Any foreign company importing food entering the US must first be registered.

This report is confusing because it's written in Taiwan for a Taiwanese company.

...to prevent an attack on America by a shipment of Poupon Mustard gas. :eyes:

I can see this as a way to control other countries.

Let's say Bush gets in a pissing contest with France. France exports foodstuffs to the United States and makes a lot of money doing it; if the Bush boy issues a blanket suspension of French companies' export licenses, France is screwed.

it is a threat to be held over the heads of countries that Bush wants to "punish". Like the "mad cow disease" of Canadian beef.

its interesting , us canadians being sooo nice (ugh) no one every mentioned that the bastard in Alberta with ONE cow was actually an american living in canada, the only punishing bush is doing is to the american consumer...look at steel, softwood, grain ...anything that americans do produce is being protected so that it is viable, viable not in the sense that it is a sustained business and contributes to job growth,, sustained inflated profits for the lobby groups pushing for import taxes, or levies on imports, the line about canada is alway's 'we subsidize' not quite...we use our ability to produce items (renewable or non) and sell to enhance the overall standard of living for everyone...its almost communism and we do pay alot of taxes BUT i can go to the hospital/doctor anytime and treated ...i also can actively have a say in what our land is used for,,,canada owns most of the forested land here (called crown land) in other words we own the trees so why shouldnt they pay for the hospitals,,,conversly in the usa lobbist own the woods and they profit from it

Even those that manufacture pet food.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsterr.html

But if you look at the the FDA's own information on "food terrorism" all the cases they list are of domestic origin.

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/rabtact.html

Every food made in the U.S. must be tracked. Let's say you are manufacturing a processed food with multiple ingredients. You have to have documentation showing the origin of every ingredient. Everytime the product changes hands in some form, that must be documented. This is important from a food safety standpoint. If people get sick from a product sold at a grocery store, the origin of the contamination must be found . For example, if you buy a pizza at the store and several people get sick from the same type of pizza, the source of contamination could be from the company that assembled and packed the pizza or it could be from the cheese or sauce company. If it is tracked back to the sauce company, the source of contamination could be the tomatoes or one of the spices as well. I see no problem with this style of documentation. It helps protect the consumer and prevents other people from getting sick.

I suffer from a food allergy and have had a difficult time determining which foods are safe based on labels alone. Many times foods with ingredients labelled "natural flavors" or "spice" actually contain items that I cannot have. The excuse usually given is that companies change ingredients regularly and this cannot always be represented in the packaging. Obviously I'm biased, but I feel that this would be a more important step for the FDA to take.