The Amendments to Registration of Food Facilities final rule updates the registration requirements by requiring additional information for facilities in the US and abroad.
This rule, part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), will support efforts to act quickly in response to food-related emergencies and will help use inspectional resources more efficiently, said the FDA.
Facilities that manufacture/process, pack or hold food for consumption in the US are required to register with the FDA.
However, the final rule (read it here) has amended the definition of a retail food establishment so more sites are considered as such and are not required to register.
Facilities must renew registrations with FDA every two years, between October 1 and December 31 of each even-numbered year.
It provides that updates to registration information or cancellation must be submitted within 60 calendar days of any change, instead of the 30 days initially proposed.
New provisions include the need for an email address for registration, required renewal of registration every two years and all food facility registrations must contain an assurance that the FDA will be permitted to inspect the facility in the manner permitted by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
All food facility registrations will be required to be submitted to FDA electronically by January 4, 2020.
Registrations are now required to contain the activity at the facility for each food product category, prior to the October-December 2016 registration renewal period.
Beginning October 1, 2020, food facilities will need to provide a unique facility identifier (UFI), which could be a D-U-N-S (The Data Universal Numbering System) number as part of the registration process.