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December 5, 2003
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On December 3, 2003, FDA and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that allows FDA to commission thousands of CBP officers in ports and other locations to conduct, on FDA's behalf, investigations and examinations of imported foods. This unprecedented FDA-CBP collaboration significantly strengthens the implementation of the Bioterrorism Act to assure the security of imported foods.
Building on FDA's and CBP's long history of close cooperation, the MOU upgrades the two agencies' teamwork in training, day-to-day operations, and information sharing. As part of the MOU, FDA can commission all the CBP officers the two agencies consider necessary to conduct examinations and investigations in accordance with the FDA's recently issued interim final rule requiring prior notice of food imported or offered for import to the United States. FDA and CBP will provide specialized training for the commissioned CBP employees who will carry out this work, and both agencies will expand their existing cooperative arrangements to directly share information affecting the safety and security of imported foods. The MOU goes into effect immediately. The complete MOU can be read at http://www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/moucustoms.html.
FDA has published two booklets, "What You Need to Know About Registration of Food Facilities" and "What You Need to Know About Prior Notice of Imported Food Shipments," which cover key points of the two new interim final regulations for manufacturers, processors, packers, holding facilities, transporters, importers, filers, and brokers. They are in PDF format at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/fsbtbook.html.
Print copies may be requested by calling 1-800-216-7331 or 301-575-0156, if calling from outside the United States, or by faxing a request to 301-210-0247.
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Food Safety and Security Staff E-mail: |
Office Number: (301) 436-2277· FAX (301) 436-2605 CFSAN Web site: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/ |
