On August 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its new export certification program for certain FDA-regulated products such as grains, processed foods, food additives, color additives, food contact substances, and infant formula. The FDA may charge up to $175 for each certification.

The FDA anticipates that this new export certification will facilitate trade by assisting U.S. food exporters in fulfilling importing country requirements for FDA certification of FDA-regulated food products. Exporters should note that the FDA’s export certification program for foods is intended to be complementary to export certification for foods currently issued by other U.S. government agencies. As the FDA launches this new export certification program for foods, the arrangements currently in place for certain food commodities with other U.S. government agencies will remain the same.

The FDA will begin issuing and collecting fees for the new export certifications on October 1, 2018. For more information, see the Federal Register notice.