The Foreign Supplier Verification Program requires importers to certify to the FDA that third party auditors conduct food safety audits of foreign food entities, including registered foreign food facilities. The Foreign Supplier Verification Program requires that imported food meets the same standards a food grown and processed in the U.S.

If you are enjoying reading this article, please check out Southwest Farm Press Daily and receive the latest news right to your inbox.

One of the ways that importers could do this is to rely on certification provided by third-parties auditors who “conduct food safety audits of foreign food entities, including registered foreign food facilities, and…issue food and facility certifications.” The second proposed rule, “Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct

Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications…. will help FDA ensure the competence and independence” of these auditors and the organizations that accredit them.

Read how the program works to protect U.S. consumers here.