The FSVP regulation was established in Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 1, subpart L, as part of our implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA; Pub. L. 111-353). FDA issued the final rule on FSVP for importers of food for humans and animals on November 27, 2015 (80 FR 74225). The FSVP regulation, codified in 21 CFR 1.500 through 1.514, specifies the foods and importers to which the FSVP regulation applies and establishes various requirements. Among other requirements, section 1.509(a) of the FSVP regulation requires that, for each entry line of food subject to FSVP, offered for importation into the United States, Customs brokers must ensure that your name, electronic mail address, and UFI recognized as acceptable by FDA are provided electronically when filing entry with CBP. On March 31, 2017, FDA issued guidance recognizing the DUNS number as the acceptable UFI for the FSVP regulation. .
A DUNS number is a nine-digit unique number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), a commercial company.
The DUNS number, which is location specific, must correspond to your U.S. location. If you have multiple U.S. locations and, thus, multiple DUNS numbers, Importers may choose to provide the DUNS number that applies to the location at which you maintain your FSVP records. FDA investigators may conduct FSVP records reviews at the location associated with the DUNS number you provide to CBP at entry. For example, if you maintain your FSVP records at your corporate headquarters, you may choose to provide the DUNS number of your headquarters when you identify yourself at entry as the FSVP importer. However, because the FSVP regulation permits importers to store records offsite if they can be retrieved and provided to us within 24 hours of request (see 21 CFR 1.510(b)(2)), you may instead provide the DUNS number for another of your locations. Once chosen, the same DUNS number should be used for all of the importer’s FSVP entries, to the extent the DUNS number is applicable to an entry line.
If you have questions about the FSVP requirement to provide a DUNS number, you may contact T-link Logistics via email at chb@tlinklogistics.com