FDAImports.com is located a mere 15 minutes from the Port of Baltimore, 30 minutes from FDA headquarters and 5 minutes from Route 95, the East Coast’s major interstate.  With this proximity it seemed only fitting that we take a moment to highlight some of the advantages of the Port of Baltimore (or “Ball’mer” as we call it here).

• In 2011 Baltimore ranked 11th in the nation for dollar value of cargo and 12th for total cargo tonnage out of 44 U.S. port districts.
• In 2011 … READ MORE
  
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Technology is central to the success (or even existence) of FDA’s food tracking and tracing pilot currently underway as part of FSMA’s new authority grant to the Agency.  If you have not read our first blog about the pilot conducted by FDA and IFT please read that here now.  What the statute accurately communicates but vastly underestimates is the difficulty and scale of the role of technology in the successful development of the program.   Sec. 204 2(B) of FSMA states that FDA … READ MORE

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently unveiled a new pilot program studying tracking and tracing technologies for high-risk foods. The pilot is contemplated in Sec. 204 of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), a legislative initiative aiming at reducing foodborne outbreaks and increasing the FDA’s ability to quickly identify and report outbreaks to the American public. In a post on the FDA’s Transparency Blog, Sherri McGarry, Senior Adviser, Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation Network Office of Foods at FDA, communicated her view of the importance of this pilot; “When a foodborne outbreak occurs, it is up to … READ MORE

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In a recently updated Q/A section on the FDA’s FSMA web page, FDA attempts to clarify the impact of FSMA upon “High-Risk” food facilities.  Essentially, FDA plans to utilize a database to identify the world’s High Risk Facilities and inspect them all every 3 years. Also FDA plans to inspect the world’s Non High-Risk facilities every 5 years.  According to FDA, there are currently 22,325 domestic facilities classified as HR. That designation was arrived at by application of the following criteria:

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Imagine you’re a parent thinking about which private school to send your child to. You’re looking at School X and it seems like a great fit; it’s close, inexpensive, great teachers, etc… But as you peruse the school’s website you’re suddenly shocked to find a horrifying statistic. In 2008 the school had 20 students out sick, 40 students out in 2009 and then a whopping 80 students out sick last year! Looks like an epidemic! “There’s no way I’m sending my kid to that sick ward!” Looks like you just made your decision, right? But what’s the missing factor … READ MORE

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Benjamin England, Founder and CEO of FDAImports.com recently presented at the 2012 Journal of Commerce Cool Cargoes Event entitled “Planning an FDA-Proof International Container Cold Chain.”  The Cool Cargoes track is part of the JOC’s annual TPM conference (Trans-Pacific Maritime). Mr. England’s presentation answered the following core questions:

   • How will FSMA impact cold chains?

   • What is the legal impact of FSMA?

   • What new fees should I be concerned about under FSMA?

   • What is VQIP and FSVP and how will they … READ MORE

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The International Boston Seafood Show wrapped up another great year, hosting members of the seafood industry for the East Coast’s largest gathering of manufacturers, importers, processors and buyers. Rick Quinn and Shelly Li, from our Maryland and Qingdao, China office, respectively, attended the event to meet with current clients from India, China and other countries, as well as connect with friends, partners and contacts that were exhibiting or attending. “We’re seeing a need for help, especially for Import Alerts,” said Mr. Quinn. “Private companies, foreign governments and industry associations are feeling increasingly behind when it comes to FDA regulation … READ MORE

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Recent statements from the CDC regarding food safety trends and statistics have been wildly reductionist and inconclusive. But they do provide us with hints about the future direction of federal government thinking with respect to managing food safety risks: Food tracking and supply chain tracing.

Enter the Digital Database Savior

“We need better – and more – information about what foods are causing outbreaks and where those foods are coming from,” said Hannah Gould, CDC epidemiologist, in a recent presentation. “Knowing more … READ MORE

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Have you heard the term “pink slime” recently?  Chances are you’ve seen it mentioned on TV or Facebook or maybe in discussions with friends. But here’s a question: How much were you talking about pink slime a year ago?  Most likely you had never heard the term “pink slime” a year ago and chances are that you won’t be talking about it a year from now.  This current food safety trend (which isn’t even a food safety story as no one has been harmed by eating it) has exploded in recent weeks. This is due to the … READ MORE

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Not since 3rd grade art class have the words “pink slime” been heard so often in everyday conversation.  In mere weeks, thanks in no small part to TV food star Jamie Oliver, it seems like moms, lobbyists, educators, writers and bloggers are all up in arms over “pink slime” and it’s pervasive use in processed ground beef found in –gasp- nearly every grocery store in America.  With that being said, here are 11 facts about pink slime, meat and America in no particular order.

• The … READ MORE
  
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FDAImports.com is moving!  Over the next 30 days we’ll be packing up boxes, files, computers and books and moving into our brand new space located next to BWI airport, just a few miles east of our current location.  The FDAImports.com has expanded so much in the last year that we are literally bursting at the seams in our current location.  In the last 12 months we have doubled our staff so the new space will make room for our current team plus many more team members in the future.  The new location is minutes away from Routes 97 and … READ MORE

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