The Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) has expressed concern about the difference in United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) interim final rules for food that is moved across the border — and rules that are part of US customs and border protection (CBP).
“Carriers are the ones who will bear the brunt of border delays if there is any breakdown in the information flow among food importers, customs brokers, the CBP, and the FDA,” said David Bradley, CTA chief executive officer.
The FDA rules requires prior notice of imported food shipments and registration of food facilities. In addition, pre-notification at least two hours before arrival at the border will be required for cross-border food shipments. FDA has advised that the final regulation could see time frames further reduced as part of the FDA-CBP plan to coordinate border-management activities more efficiently.
Under the CBP proposal, shipments qualified under the Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program would be subject to a pre-notification interval of only 30 minutes and one hour for all other imports. Carriers with transport vehicles that hold food only in the usual course of transportation do not have to register with the FDA.