FDA
Establishes List of Approved U.S. Milk Exporters to China
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that it is
establishing a list
of U.S. milk product manufacturers and processors interested in exporting milk
products to China. FDA is taking this step to help U.S. manufacturers
comply with new requirements of the Chinese government for the importation of
milk products into China. China has advised that milk products (a
category which, in this case, does not include raw milk) from firms not on the
list could be prevented from entering commerce in China.
To be considered for the list, which is voluntary, firms cannot be
subject to any pending judicial enforcement action or a pending FDA warning
letter, and would need to have had one of the following:
- FDA
inspection within 3 years
- Inclusion
on the Interstate Milk Shippers List (IMS list)
- Inclusion
on the U.S. Department of Agriculture list, Dairy Plants Surveyed and Approved
for USDA Grading Service (“USDA list”)
FDA will update the list quarterly and
whenever a firm is removed from the list due to a pending judicial enforcement
action, or a pending warning letter. FDA intends to notify the firm of FDA’s
findings and, as appropriate, FDA’s intent to remove the firm from the FDA
list. FDA will also post the list to its website and provide the
list directly to the Chinese government, which may post some or all of the
information contained in the list on its own website.
In December of each even-numbered year, FDA intends to send a letter to
manufacturers that are on the list, requesting that they update the information
initially provided and indicate whether they wish to continue being listed.
Firms may apply to be on the list beginning January 7, 2014. The
first posting of the list and notification to China will occur on or about
April 30, 2014.
Labels: California Ag Today, FDA Creates List of U.S. Milk Exporters to China, FDA Establishes List of Approved U.S. Milk Exporters to China