On February 14, 2017, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has, in accordance with the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), invalidated food facility registrations that were not renewed during the 2016 registration cycle. According to the Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) notice, “Registrations that have been invalidated cannot be renewed and a new registration will have to be created.” Individual registration status may be viewed by logging into a FURLS Food Facility Registration Module account. Under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 and the FSMA, facilities which engage in the manufacturing, processing, packing or holding of food which is to be consumed in the United States, must register with the FDA. In addition, these facilities are required to reaffirm the information submitted by renewing their registration during the fourth quarter of every even numbered year. Beginning on January 1, 2017, if a foreign food facility is required to register with FDA, but fails to do so, food from that facility that is being imported or offered for import into the US is subject to be held under Section 801(l) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act. In addition, failure to fulfill this requirement may result in the suspension or cancellation of a facilities registration number. The FDA’s registration and renewal page may be accessed by clicking on the link below. http://www.fda.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation/FoodFacilityRegistration/default.htm. In addition to registration, foreign based facilities must select a US agent to act on their behalf. The “agent” assumes responsibility for communication between the FDA and the foreign facility in the event of a food related emergency.  Source: Deringer