| Processed foods and packaged snacks |
Food facility registration, prior notice, preventive controls, labeling, and allergen declaration. |
Compliance with the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act and applicable U.S. food-labeling rules under 21 CFR Part 101. |
Facility registration information, food-safety plan, ingredient specification, nutrition facts, allergen statement, certificate of analysis, and lot traceability records. |
Ingredient approval, foreign-material control, sanitation, metal detection, finished-product release, and container integrity. |
Compare the product label and formula with the intended U.S. market requirements before production and shipment. |
| Seafood and aquaculture products |
Seafood hazards, species identification, temperature control, residues, and import documentation. |
A documented seafood HACCP system is generally required under 21 CFR Part 123; additional controls may apply to specific species and origins. |
Seafood HACCP plan, processing records, harvest or farm information, species declaration, temperature logs, laboratory reports, and traceability documents. |
Harvest-to-processing time, cold-chain continuity, histamine risk where applicable, pathogen control, and frozen-storage monitoring. |
Check whether the processor’s HACCP plan covers the actual product, process, hazards, and critical limits. |
| Meat, poultry, and processed egg products |
Product eligibility, approved establishments, inspection status, labeling, and veterinary or sanitary controls. |
Products under U.S. meat, poultry, or processed-egg inspection systems may require export eligibility and inspection controls administered by the relevant U.S. authorities. |
Official export certificate, establishment approval details, veterinary documents, production records, ingredient list, temperature records, and packaging specifications. |
Animal-origin traceability, slaughter or processing controls, cold storage, seal integrity, and import inspection readiness. |
Confirm product and establishment eligibility with the applicable U.S. import authority before signing a purchase contract. |
| Fruit, vegetables, herbs, and plant-derived products |
Plant quarantine, pest risk, pesticide residues, country-of-origin marking, and product condition. |
Additional U.S. Department of Agriculture import requirements may apply, including permits, phytosanitary certificates, treatment records, or commodity-specific restrictions. |
Phytosanitary certificate where required, pesticide-residue test report, treatment certificate, farm or grower records, packing list, and origin documents. |
Farm traceability, approved treatments, moisture control, pest prevention, packaging cleanliness, and container inspection. |
Verify the commodity-specific import conditions before shipment because requirements differ by product and origin. |
| Juices and juice-containing beverages |
Pathogen reduction, hazard analysis, ingredient compliance, labeling, and process validation. |
Juice processors generally need a HACCP system consistent with 21 CFR Part 120, including validated pathogen-control measures where applicable. |
Juice HACCP plan, process-validation records, brix and acidity results, microbiological tests, ingredient specifications, and packaging-control records. |
Pasteurization or equivalent treatment, filling hygiene, seal integrity, storage temperature, and shelf-life verification. |
Review the validated process parameters and confirm that they apply to the exact formulation and package size. |
| Canned, retorted, and shelf-stable foods |
Commercial sterility, thermal-process control, container integrity, and scheduled-process documentation. |
Low-acid canned foods and acidified foods may be subject to the requirements of 21 CFR Parts 113 and 114, including process filing and recordkeeping obligations. |
Scheduled process, heat-distribution and heat-penetration data, retort records, pH and water-activity results, seam or closure inspection records, and batch traceability. |
Retort performance, critical temperature and time, cooling-water quality, container sealing, and quarantine release. |
Have a qualified process authority review the scheduled process and verify that production records match it. |
| Dairy products and milk-based ingredients |
Pasteurization, animal-health controls, residue limits, cold-chain management, and labeling. |
Import conditions may involve U.S. dairy, animal-product, and food-safety requirements depending on the product form and intended use. |
Pasteurization records, certificate of analysis, veterinary or sanitary certificate where required, cold-chain records, ingredient statement, and allergen declaration. |
Raw-material acceptance, pasteurization, refrigeration or freezing, loading temperature, and storage duration. |
Confirm the exact import pathway and whether the product is regulated as a dairy food, ingredient, or animal-origin product. |
| Food additives, ingredients, and functional powders |
Permitted use, purity specifications, intended food application, contaminant limits, and labeling status. |
Ingredients and additives must have an appropriate legal basis for their intended use in the United States, such as an applicable regulation, food-contact or additive authorization, or recognized safety status. |
Technical data sheet, specification, allergen statement, heavy-metal and microbiological results, safety documentation, manufacturing-flow chart, and stability data. |
Raw-material identity, cross-contact prevention, moisture control, batch homogeneity, tamper evidence, and lot coding. |
Verify the ingredient’s legal status, purity standard, maximum use level, and intended food category before importation. |
| Allergen-containing foods |
Major-allergen identification, cross-contact prevention, label accuracy, and controlled rework. |
U.S. labeling generally requires declaration of the nine major food allergens: milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame. |
Approved formula, allergen matrix, supplier declarations, cleaning-validation records, label proofs, change-control records, and finished-product test results where appropriate. |
Shared equipment, sanitation changeover, airborne powders, rework control, warehouse segregation, and label issuance. |
Review both intentional ingredients and potential cross-contact risks; ensure the label reflects the final formulation. |
| Organic-labeled food products |
Organic production, handling, certification, labeling claims, and supply-chain integrity. |
Products marketed as organic in the United States generally need to meet applicable U.S. organic production and certification requirements. |
Valid organic certificate, scope of certification, transaction certificate where used, approved-input records, mass-balance records, and organic handling procedures. |
Segregated storage, cleaning between conventional and organic production, identity preservation, and document reconciliation. |
Check certificate validity, certified scope, product category, and whether the exporter is authorized for the claimed activity. |
| General manufacturing-site qualification |
Facility registration, sanitation, preventive controls, employee hygiene, pest control, and recall readiness. |
Foreign food facilities exporting to the United States generally need to meet applicable FDA requirements; China-based establishments may also need registration with the Chinese competent authority for covered food categories. |
Facility profile, audit report, food-safety certification, sanitation standard operating procedures, pest-control records, employee-training records, recall procedure, and corrective-action history. |
Supplier approval, incoming inspection, batch release, complaint handling, recall simulation, and business-continuity planning. |
Use a risk-based audit and verify that certificates cover the actual site, process, product category, and production period. |
| International logistics and customs readiness |
Import classification, customs entry, prior notice, commercial documentation, cargo security, and temperature management. |
The importer or responsible party must satisfy applicable customs and food-entry requirements, including accurate product descriptions, tariff classification, and required notifications. |
Commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, certificate of origin where required, product specification, prior-notice information, insurance document, and temperature logger data. |
Container loading, pallet hygiene, seal control, reefer settings, transit-time monitoring, port delays, and contingency routing. |
Use consistent product names, quantities, tariff classifications, lot numbers, and country-of-origin information across all documents. |
| Supplier qualification and ongoing monitoring |
Consistency, regulatory changes, nonconformity management, and traceability through the full supply chain. |
A U.S. importer’s Foreign Supplier Verification Program generally requires risk-based verification of foreign suppliers and imported food controls. |
Supplier questionnaire, hazard analysis, audit results, verification testing, corrective-action reports, annual review, complaint trends, and recall-test records. |
Second-tier supplier visibility, formulation changes, packaging changes, transport-provider performance, and CAPA closure. |
Set measurable acceptance criteria and review supplier performance at least annually or after significant changes. |
