• As our readers may know, the Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) generally requires importers to conduct a range of activities to ensure that food from foreign suppliers is produced in compliance with applicable food safety provisions, including, but not limited to, HARPC requirements or produce safety standards. The first FSVP compliance date began May 30, 2017, however there are a range of compliance dates according to a number of considerations.
  • Under the program, importers are required to develop, implement, and maintain a FSVP which includes verification activities and records of those activities for each imported food from each foreign supplier. During an FSVP inspection, the FDA investigator will review the importer’s records to determine their compliance with the FSVP regulation.
  • To help importers determine the FSVP records they should develop and maintain, the FDA has made available a list of records required by the FSVP regulation. The list of records is organized based on the sections of the FSVP regulation so that importers can readily determine the required records for the sections that apply to them.