4 Interesting Facts That Can Help You With FDA Facility Registration Renewal

By Hilary Thesmar, PhD, RD, CFS, Chief Food and Product Safety Officer and Senior Vice President, Food Safety Programs, and Stephanie Harris, Chief Regulatory Officer and Legal Counsel, Food Marketing Institute 

"The wait is over as it's Q4 of 2018 which means that we could anytime hear about food facilities to renew their FDA registration during October 1 through December 31-of even numbered years. Sadly, if you haven't done this, the current registration renewal for 2018 will be valid through December 31, 2018.

It also comes under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) that FDA entails biennial registration of all domestic and foreign food facilities related to manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding food for human or mainly for animal consumption in the United States.

For your ease, we are revealing the four facts that will exponentially help you with your FDA Food Facility Registration Renewal concerns: 

1. Facility registration practice originated in 2002 under the Bioterrorism Act 

Historically, the year 2002 was very crucial as it established FDA Facility Registration under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. Soon after the FSMA revised the Food Drug & Cosmetic Act made it clear that domestic and foreign facilities have to deliver additional new information to FDA along with renewing their facility registrations every other year. 

2. Register with FDA is a different case than renewing your registration 

Let's talk about the worst scenario which may aptly take over when your food facility registration exceeds the time limit by 11:59 PM on December 31st- the registration will expire and be turned down for a possible reason that FDA has the authority to suspend or cancel the registration of a food facility.

Plus the FSMA statute and regulations defines that the failure to register a food facility is a prohibited act.

3. Retail stores do not need to register

Some farms and retail operations like grocery stores, do not have to register, whereas retailer-owned distribution centers have to register as "holding" facilities, and retailer-owned commissaries as well as central kitchens- all that are not included in a retail location needs to register.

4. Registration is simple 

Before the deadline ends, that is December 31, open an FDA registration site and renew your registration with FDA in a few clicks. Although registration renewals can be submitted by hardcopy; 2018 is the last renewal period decided by FDA to accept submissions.