UPDATE 07-07-2017: The next compliance date is in March 2018. Importers should spend this time developing the programs as it takes time to work with Foreign Suppliers to build a robust FSVP program.
A recent report in Peru indicated that the regulatory system which is supposed to be ensuring compliance with pesticide regulations seems to be inadequate. Given the approaching onset of enforcement for Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) regulations, U.S. Importers need to begin preparing the components of their FSVP plans now, to ensure compliance when enforcement begins.
In late November 2014, the Peruvian government performed an audit of its grapes and grape growers to determine general compliance with pesticide use rules. They found that, even if the growers follow the application instructions on the labels of permitted pesticides, there is no guarantee that the result will be the mature grape will have residues below tolerances. The report concluded both that there are weaknesses in the system which allow unauthorized labels to slip through and that there are inadequate penalties for violations.
FDA routinely tests fresh agriculture and processed agriculture products looking for noncompliant levels of pesticides. If EPA has not established a maximum residue tolerance level for a pesticide, then product cannot have any trace of it; if EPA has set a tolerance, it cannot be exceeded. In both cases, FDA will detain (and refuse) the imported shipment and the supplier will be placed onto an FDA import alert (99-05 for raw agricultural products and 99-08 for processed products).
If the system a foreign country is relying on to ensure compliance of their exported products is inadequate, or if there are no significant penalties for violating the local rules, then there is no immediate incentive for companies to abide by the rules. Peru’s system, with its acknowledged weaknesses, will not serve as good evidence that Peruvian manufacturers are in compliance with FDA’s strict pesticide regulations.
FDA has recently increased testing for pesticides in raw and processed foods. Countries other than Peru may have the same problems regarding compliance with pesticide programs to ensure, at a minimum, Codex requirements. As FSVP comes into place as a new requirement, importers will have a hard time pointing to the regulatory system in Peru as evidence of compliance. U.S. importers need to start developing the components of their FSVP system now.
For more information regarding FSVP please see the videos below.
