Dairy Companies Exporting To China Must Take Immediate Action

Dairy foods companies that export products to China must submit new registrations or confirm existing information with the Food and Drug Administration by next Monday to comply with recent changes in requirements from China’s Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA).

 

In January 2014, FDA published “Guidance for Industry: Establishing and Maintaining a List of U.S. Milk Product Manufacturers/Processors with Interest in Exporting to China,” which asked companies to provide a “list of products presently shipped to China and those intended to be shipped.” The recent clarification from China, however, said manufacturers and processors should only include those products currently being manufactured and able to be shipped to China, so FDA is asking companies to amend their lists or confirm that the lists include only those products.

 

CNCA also clarified that only products listed under particular product names will be accepted. Manufacturers and processors should ensure that the products on their lists correspond exactly with official CNCA product names, which are listed here in English and Chinese.

 

FDA has asked dairy companies to send their revised information to Esther Lazar, Esther.lazar@fda.hhs.gov, at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition no later than Monday, November 2. According to FDA, failure to respond by this date could jeopardize the company’s registration with CNCA.