06.22.20
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced improvements to the “Certificate of Foreign Government” and “Certificate of Exportability” beginning on June 29, in which these certificates will contain a unique QR code to allow easier verification of the authenticity of these certificates.
Anyone who receives a certificate from a U.S. exporter can scan the QR code on the packaging and see a copy of the certificate as issued by the FDA. The use of QR codes will expedite verification of FDA-issued export certificates compared to the current system, which requires a stakeholder to create an account, contact the FDA to activate the account, and log in to verify the authenticity of certificates.
The FDA is also updating the format of these certificates to streamline the display of certificate data. The agency also provided an online example of how the new certificates will appear by June 29.
The FDA requests that importing countries continue to honor and accept any certificates issued with the previous format through their expiration dates.
Review of a certificate may be required by other countries as part of the process to import a product into those countries. FDA issues certain export certificates for some CFSAN-regulated food products upon request from industry. FDA does not require exporters to provide export certificates.
Anyone who receives a certificate from a U.S. exporter can scan the QR code on the packaging and see a copy of the certificate as issued by the FDA. The use of QR codes will expedite verification of FDA-issued export certificates compared to the current system, which requires a stakeholder to create an account, contact the FDA to activate the account, and log in to verify the authenticity of certificates.
The FDA is also updating the format of these certificates to streamline the display of certificate data. The agency also provided an online example of how the new certificates will appear by June 29.
The FDA requests that importing countries continue to honor and accept any certificates issued with the previous format through their expiration dates.
Review of a certificate may be required by other countries as part of the process to import a product into those countries. FDA issues certain export certificates for some CFSAN-regulated food products upon request from industry. FDA does not require exporters to provide export certificates.