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The following information is intended for information purposes only. As part of the Home Land Security Act, the US Food and Drug Administration has been given the responsibility to prevent the introduction of hazardous food or food by-products into the supply chain of the USA. Effective December 12, 2003, the United States Government will implement the provisions of the Bio-terrorism Act of 2002 (BTA). The impact of this Act on the importation of household goods should be limited. The BTA 2002 targets food and food by-product producers and packagers, however at the discretion of individual Customs officers, food contained with used household goods shipments could be inspected. KEY POINTS : 1. This Act is directed at the control of food and food product producers and importers for commercial distribution and sale rather than food in small quantities accompanying used household effects. 2. At this time, there is no need for UniGroup Worldwide UTS to register with the USFDA Additional information on the Act and registration can be found by visiting the the FDA webside at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~furls/ovffreg.html. 3. We highly recommend that our crews complete a full inventory of all foods, spices, alchoholic beverages and pet food in the shipment using the attached form. Should a zealous Customs Official wish to identify the food contents of a shipment, this inventory will be of significant assistance. 4. Any items subject to this Act should be of minimal quantity and placed in cartons near the container door to facilitate ease of inspection. If shipped in liftvans or air freight containers, please clearly mark the liftvan contianing the food or carton with the word Food and list the carton on the descriptive inventory as Food. Please ensure a list of all items is included with the inventory. 5. Your UniGroup Worldwide UTS Management representative can answer further questions concerning the implementation of this Act. 6. Due to the complexity of this law and the implementation of the procedures, the inclusion of food products, canned goods, beer, wine, soda, juice, pastas, and other human and animal food are discouraged. 7. Should USDA and US Customs choose to inspect used household goods shipments, additional costs may be incured for the processing of shipments containing such items. Delays may also occur as inspections for products or suspected products occupy the time of FDA and Customs Inspectors. For more information, contact John Hiles at tel: 636-349-7329 or email: john_hiles@unigroupworldwide.com |
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