Navigating Common Terms Related to US FDA Prior Notices for Importing Food and Beverages: Part One
When it comes to sending food and beverages to the United States from other countries, the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, ensures that imported products are safe and of acceptable quality. One aspect of the U.S. FDA process is requiring prior notice of food and beverages being sent into the U.S.
Importers and exporters need to know the common terms used with these prior notices in order to accurately follow the U.S. FDA requirements and ensure that their goods successfully arrive in the U.S. In this brief article, we’ll look at some of the terms used with U.S. FDA prior notices and explain what they mean and how they affect sending food and drinks into the country.
FDA – The U.S. FDA, or U.S. Food and Drug Administration, regulates consumable products in the United States. The primary responsibility of the agency is to advocate for and maintain public health and safety. Their authority extends beyond determining which French cheeses may be imported into the United States and whether German Kinder eggs pose a risk to children.
The U.S. FDA’s regulatory capacity extends to the following areas:
- Food and drugs
- Medical devices
- Radiation-emitting products
- Vaccines, blood, and biologics
- Animal and veterinary products
- Cosmetics
- Tobacco products
Prior Notice– The U.S. FDA requires importers to advise them ahead of time if they plan to send foods or beverages into the United States. This is called prior notice of imported food. Prior notice is sometimes referred to as simply “PN.” Submitting prior notice includes giving the FDA certain specific information, like the name of the food, who made it, where it came from, when it will arrive, and other important details.
The prior notice lets the FDA keep an eye on and regulate imported food and beverage items to make sure they are safe and meet all the standards.
PNSI – The U.S FDA set up the Prior Notice System Interface (PNSI), which is an electronic tool for submitting prior notice for food and drinks. The PNSI allows importers to give detailed information about the food or beverage products they want to bring into the country. This includes information about the manufacturer, the place where the food originated, when it will arrive, and other important elements.
While the PNSI allows importers to electronically submit prior notices, it does require a lot of work on the part of the importer. The importer must submit each prior notice manually through the system.
However, importers and exporters now can simplify and automate the processes surrounding the sending of food and beverages into the United States by using the app PriorNotify. PriorNotify automates the U.S. FDA prior notices for you. PriorNotify integrates with any e-commerce platform and is offered in multiple languages. For more information and a free trial, click here.
Prior Notice Confirmation Number – Importers receive a prior notice confirmation number after successfully submitting the FDA prior notice.
This number indicates that the requirement for prior notice has been met, and it should be included in the customs paperwork that goes with the package of food and beverage that is being sent from the other country. During the process of clearing customs, the confirmation number makes it easier to track and verify that the prior notice was successfully submitted.
Prior Notice Data Elements – Prior notice data elements are the specific pieces of information that importers must include in the prior notice that they send to the FDA. These elements include the name and address of the manufacturer, the country where the food was made, the food’s intended use, when it is expected to arrive, and any relevant product codes or identifiers. It is important to make sure that these data elements are correct and complete so that the imported food products can be processed and cleared quickly. We will explore these data elements in detail in future articles.
If you want to send food and drinks into the US, you need to know all of the common terms that are used in US FDA prior notices. Importers can better manage the regulatory landscape if they know terms like “FDA,” “PNSI,” “prior notice,” “prior notice confirmation number,” and “prior notice data elements.”
By following the FDA’s rules and submitting a timely and accurate prior notice, importers help make sure that imported food and drinks are safe and of good quality, so that consumers can enjoy them with trust.
