📦FDA Requires Tracking for Food Import Notifications
Prior Notice: Adding Requirement To Submit Mail Tracking Number for Articles of Food Arriving by International Mail and Timeframe for Post-Refusal and Post-Hold Submissions
Summary
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA, the Agency, or we) is issuing a final rule to amend its prior notice regulation to add a requirement that prior notice and food facility registration information be submitted within a certain timeframe after certain notices of refusal or hold have been issued ("post-refusal" and "post-hold" submission) or responses to requests for FDA review have been issued and beginning October 1, 2026, add a requirement that the prior notice for articles of food arriving by international mail include the name of the mail service and a mail tracking number. The rule will also finalize certain technical changes, including those that reflect expanded capabilities of the Automated Broker Interface/Automated Commercial Environment/International Trade Data System (ABI/ACE/ITDS) and the Prior Notice Systems Interface (PNSI). These amendments will improve program efficiency and better enable FDA to protect the U.S. food supply and public health.
Agencies
- Health and Human Services Department
- Food and Drug Administration
Business Impact
$$ - Med
The regulation mandates new compliance requirements for businesses importing food via international mail, including submitting mail tracking numbers beginning October 1, 2026. Post-refusal and post-hold submission timeframes are also introduced, which can influence operational costs related to delays at ports.