Are You Ready for the Summer Fancy Food Show With Your FSVP Plan?

For many importers of food to the United States, June is an active month in their trade show calendars. That’s when the specialty food world convenes in New York City at the Summer Fancy Food Show, this year to be held from June 25-27. Thousands of exhibitors, hundreds of thousands of products – it’s a savory medley of specialty foods imported from more than 50 countries.

For the last few years, international exhibitors have added a new dimension to their planning for U.S. food trade shows. The Food and Drug Administration now requires all importers to show compliance with food safety standards in accordance with the Food Safety Modernization Act. Foreign food suppliers must appoint a U.S-based Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) importer to verify that their food facility has a food safety plan in place that includes an analysis of hazards and implementation of risk-based preventive controls. According to the FDA, a central tenet of the law is that the same preventive food safety standards apply to food consumed in the U.S. regardless of where the food is produced.

Just prior to the Summer Fancy Food Show, another phase of enforcement of the FSVP regulation will occur, this time involving previously exempt Very Small Suppliers. As of March 19, 2019, importers of human food whose foreign supplier is a Qualified Facility but categorized as a Very Small Supplier will now need to be compliant with FSVP. Very Small Suppliers are considered businesses (including any subsidiaries or affiliates) that average less $1 million in human food sales per year.* The compliance dates for FSVP have been staggered based on the size of the foreign supplier.

If you are a new international exhibitor at the Fancy Food Show, or an importer with a Very Small Supplier that will need to meet the compliance requirement in March, you can take steps now to prepare for the Summer Fancy Food Show. According to Bobbi Greenwell of The Radius Group, Inc. (TRGI), the company designated by the Specialty Food Association to provide FSVP assistance to international exhibitors, “The FSVP process can take several weeks to complete, and we urge international exhibitors to begin this process in March to ensure adequate time before the June show. We’ve worked with exhibitors of all types of food – pasta, chocolate, olive oil, olives, vegetables, saffron, spices, rice, mineral water, cheese, nuts and seeds, frozen desserts, bakery products, vinegar and soft drinks. For the past few years, we’ve provided the expertise to serve as FSVP Importer for these international exhibitors, and we’ve also verified that other FSVP Importers are indeed meeting the FDA regulations.”

Ms. Greenwell makes these suggestions to international exhibitors in need of FSVP services:

Appoint a knowledgeable FSVP Importer in the U.S. who will develop, maintain and follow an FSVP for each food imported unless an exemption applies. Determine your FSVP Importer as soon as possible, ideally three months prior to the show date.(If you can get an early start, not only will you have peace of mind in meeting the FSVP requirements prior to the show, your company may also score some sizeable discounts. TRGI, for example, offers a 40% discount if you engage their FSVP services by April 10; a 20% discount applies after April 10 but is only available until April 25.)
FSVP importers must provide their DUNS number (Data Universal Numbering System that assigns a unique numeric identifier to a single business entity) to the food importer as an FDA acceptable identifier. In turn, food importers must advise their logistics partner/freight forwarder of their FSVP Importer’s DUNS number and contact information. This serves as confirmation to U.S. Customs and FDA that the FSVP Importer has verified the food safety program of the food importer and that the food is being produced in a safe manner equivalent to U.S. food standards.
Conduct verification activities prior to the compliance date when possible.
If you have previously used FSVP services, contact the company to check on the need for renewal.

Farchioni Olii Spa based in Perugia, Italy, who used TRGI for FSVP services, and exhibited at both the Winter and Summer Fancy Food Shows, added, “We’re an Italian-based olive oil company. It was challenging at first to adhere to the FDA’s requirements, but our FSVP Importer, TRGI, was with us every step of the way to help us to understand.” Although these FDA mandates may seem daunting to international food companies first trying to enter the U.S. market, choosing a well-informed FSVP Importer and starting the process months ahead of the show, will help your company take advantage of the world’s largest specialty food industry event.

* According to the FDA, a Very Small Supplier is a business (including any subsidiaries or affiliates) that averages less than $1,000,000 (adjusted for inflation) in sales of human food plus the market value of human food that is manufactured, processed, packed or held without sale (for example, held for a feel), per year during the previous three-year period. Foreign human food facilities that are required to register with FDA under the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, are required to comply with the requirements in the PC Human Food Rule.

International exhibitors requiring information on FSVP or FDA registration requirements can contact Bobbi Greenwell, PCQI, FSVP Compliance Director at TRGI: bgreenwell@theradiusgroupinc.com by e-mail or call 201-400-6616.