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Customs Q&A of the Month: When does the FDA Renewal process for Food Facilities begin?

With Licensed Customs Broker, Jessica Parks

On October 1, the FDA will open its portal where food facilities must renew their food facility registrations. The window for renewal will run from October 1 until December 31. We encourage you to renew early to avoid any disruption in your shipments. All food facilities in your supply chains must submit a timely renewal. Failure to do so will cause the product to be denied entry into the U.S.

This time, every registrant must have a DUNS number associated with the physical location of the food facility (a DUNS number for the corporate headquarters is not sufficient!). The FDA will no longer accept the use of “pending” in lieu of a valid DUNS number. You can apply for a DUNS number here.

We urge you to communicate immediately with food facilities in your supply chain, including the manufacturer or grower, the consolidator, the shipper, and the Ultimate Consignee (“deliver to” party), to inform them that:

1. The U.S. FDA Food Facility Registration must be renewed from October 1 to December 31. Instructions and the portal are here.
2. A DUNS number associated with the physical location of the food facility must be provided. FDA will no longer offer flexibility. 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.
3. The name and contact information on the FDA food facility registration must exactly match the DUNS number contact information. 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. The two must be an exact match in every way.