The Perishable Specialist Inc. - BLOG

FDA: Two FDA Pilot Projects to Explore Ways to Trace Sources of Foodborne Illness.

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:44:14 +0000

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Two FDA Pilot Projects to Explore Ways to Trace Sources of Foodborne Illness

The Food and Drug Administration announced Sept. 7 plans to launch two new pilot projects to enhance the agency’s and industry’s ability to trace products responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks. The Food Safety Modernization Act requires FDA to establish at least two pilot projects, one involving produce and one involving processed foods, and also directs FDA to establish recordkeeping requirements for high-risk foods to help in tracing products.

According to an FDA press release, the pilots will evaluate methods and technologies for rapid and effective tracing of foods, including types of data that are useful for tracing, ways to connect the various points in the supply chain and how quickly the data are made available to FDA. Key stakeholder groups, including industry, government and consumers, will have input into the pilots, and efforts will be made to include those representing the food supply chain.

After the pilots are completed and additional data is gathered, FDA will issued proposed regulations on recordkeeping requirements for high-risk foods to facilitate tracing. “High-risk foods” will be defined considering such factors as the known risks of a food based on foodborne illness data, the likelihood that a particular food has a high potential risk for contamination and the likely severity of an illness attributed to a particular food. FDA will hold three public meetings during the comment period on the proposed rule.

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FDA: FDA Corrects FY 2012 Reinspection/Recall Fees

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:43:44 +0000

Aug. 26, 2011

FDA Corrects FY 2012 Reinspection/Recall Fees

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a correction to its Aug. 1 notice announcing new fees that will be charged beginning Oct. 1 to importers of food into the United States as well as domestic and foreign food facilities that are part of the U.S. food supply chain. Specifically, FDA is clarifying that it will assess a fee of $325 per hour (not $335) for reinspections of imported food, reinspections of food facilities and noncompliance with FDA recall orders when foreign travel is required. FDA is continuing to accept comments on the new fees through Oct. 31.

TSA: Air Cargo Screening Rule Revised to Eliminate Two Requirements

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:43:17 +0000

Aug. 18, 2011

Air Cargo Screening Rule Revised to Eliminate Two Requirements

The Transportation Security Administration has issued a final rule making two changes to a September 2009 interim final rule codifying a statutory requirement to establish a system to screen 100% of cargo transported on passenger aircraft. The 2009 rule applies only to cargo loaded in the U.S. and does not apply to (a) U.S. aircraft operators or foreign air carriers when they load cargo outside the U.S. and transport it into the U.S. or (b) U.S. or foreign all-cargo operations.

The 2009 rule established the Certified Cargo Screening Program, in which TSA certifies shippers, indirect air carriers and other entities as certified cargo screening facilities to screen cargo prior to transport on passenger aircraft. Each CCSF applicant has had to successfully undergo an assessment of their facility by a TSA-approved validation firm or by TSA. In response to public comment, TSA is now removing all validation firm and validator provisions because it has the capacity to review and certify all CCSF applicants itself. As a result, TSA will henceforth conduct all assessments of facilities applying to become CCSFs.

The 2009 rule also requires aircraft operators and foreign air carriers to become certified as CCSFs to screen air cargo off-airport. TSA is deleting this requirement because these entities are already screening cargo on-airport under a TSA-approved security program and do not need a separate certification to screen cargo off-airport.

In addition, TSA is proposing a fee ranging from $31 to $51 for the processing of security threat assessments for aircraft operators, foreign air carriers and indirect air carrier personnel who have unescorted access to screened cargo to be transported on passenger aircraft to screen cargo, supervise the screening of cargo or perform certain other security functions. Comments on this fee and the methodology used to develop it are due no later than Sept. 17.

FDA: PREDICT Food Import Review System Could Go Nationwide This Year

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:42:55 +0000

April 15, 2011

PREDICT Food Import Review System Could Go Nationwide This Year

The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing April 13 to review the Food and Drug Administration’s import screening processes and the pace of the FDA’s nationwide rollout of a risk-based automated entry review system known as Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting (PREDICT). This system will replace the electronic screening function of OASIS, the Operational and Administrative System for Import Support.

A background memo from the subcommittee stated that PREDICT is designed to use FDA-developed criteria to strategically inspect shipments of products posing the greatest risk while allowing low-risk shipments to enter U.S. commerce in an expedited fashion. These criteria include the product’s historical data; importer, manufacturer and country of origin; the results of laboratory analyses and foreign facility inspections; and general intelligence on recent events such as natural disasters and foreign recalls. PREDICT estimates the risk intrinsic to each shipment and notifies the entry reviewer if the score returned by the system is above an FDA-specified threshold and the goods should therefore be targeted for examination. Under this system FDA investigators will still physically examine only a small percentage of all imports shipments but will have better intelligence available to decide which to examine.

To date PREDICT has been deployed in four of 20 FDA districts – Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, which handle about 40% of FDA-regulated imports. A pilot test conducted in 2007 showed that PREDICT improved the FDA’s ability to identify imports that were more likely to violate its regulations; that those violations, on average, posed a greater risk to human health; and that PREDICT allowed a greater percentage of low-risk shipments to enter U.S. commerce without requiring manual review. FDA initially planned to deploy PREDICT on a district-by-district basis for all FDA-regulated products beginning in April 2009, but technical problems have repeatedly postponed that date. Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns also highlighted the fact that PREDICT is not and is apparently not planned to be deployed at international mail or express courier facilities.

The sole witness at the hearing, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, told lawmakers that the technical glitches have been resolved and that the nationwide rollout of PREDICT is “back on track.” FDA will implement the system in the Florida and Puerto Rico districts later this month, expanding coverage to almost 50% of all imports, and if it is successful there it will then be rolled out across the country. In response to questions from subcommittee members Hamburg said full implementation by the end of 2011 is “our absolute goal.”

However, Hamburg said, PREDICT is only one part of a global strategy FDA is developing to more effectively oversee the safety of foods, drugs and medical devices. This strategy includes working to build a global data information system and network and proactively sharing data with partners, building additional capabilities in intelligence gathering with an increased focus on risk analytics and a transformed IT capability, effectively allocating FDA resources based on risk, and working in concert with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to strengthen the ability to perform targeted inspections at the border. FDA is also partnering with foreign counterparts to create a global coalition of regulators focused on ensuring and improving global product safety. For example, FDA now has permanent overseas posts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China; New Delhi and Mumbai, India; San Jose, Costa Rica; Mexico City, Mexico; and Santiago, Chile, and will soon open locations in Amman, Jordan, and Pretoria, South Africa. It also has more than 30 additional agreements with foreign counterpart agencies to share inspection reports and other non-public information that can facilitate better decisions about the safety of foreign products.

USDA: Fruit and Vegetable Imports Information Collections Under Review.

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:09:50 +0000

The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is requesting comments no later than Nov. 15, 2011 on the proposed extension of information collections associated with regulations for the importation of fruits and vegetables. These collections include phytosanitary certificates, fruit fly monitoring records and cooperative agreements required to import a variety of fruits and vegetables from Belgium, Central America, China, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Jerusalem, Mexico, the Netherlands, South America, and Trinidad and Tobago.

USDA :: Imports of Litchi Fruit from South Africa Could be Allowed Soon.

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:07:56 +0000

Imports of Litchi Fruit from South Africa Could be Allowed Soon

The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is preparing to allow imports into the continental U.S. of fresh litchi fruit from South Africa. Based on a pest risk analysis APHIS has concluded that the application of one or more of the following phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via such imports.

• the litchi is subject to inspection upon arrival in the U.S. and complies with all applicable regulations

• the litchi is imported from a pest-free area in South Africa that meets the requirements for freedom from that pest and are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate stating that the litchi originated in a pest-free area in South Africa

• the litchi is treated in accordance with the regulations

• the litchi is inspected in South Africa by an inspector or an official of that country’s national plant protection organization and has been found free of one or more specific quarantine pests identified by the risk analysis as likely to follow the import pathway

• the litchi is imported as a commercial consignment

Comments on the pest risk analysis are due no later than April 4. If the overall conclusions of the analysis and the determination of risk remain unchanged following consideration of any comments received, APHIS will begin issuing permits for the importation of fresh litchi fruit from South Africa into the continental U.S., subject to the requirements specified in the risk management document.

USDA: Pest-Free Areas in South Africa; Grapefruit Size Requirements

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:07:23 +0000

Imports of Citrus from South Africa. The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has extended from Sept. 25 to Oct. 13 the period for comments on a request from the government of South Africa to recognize 16 additional magisterial districts in three provinces as pest-free areas for citrus black spot. APHIS has determined to approve this request, which would allow imports of citrus fruit from these districts.

Relaxation of Grapefruit Size Requirements. Effective Sept. 16, the Agricultural Marketing Service is adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule that relaxed the minimum size requirement for white seedless grapefruit grown in Florida and for white seedless grapefruit imported into the U.S. for the fresh market.

Security Filing “10+2″ :: Everything You Need to Know!

Ana — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:05:56 +0000

Security Filing “10+2″

-	10+2 Program: Importer Presentation - 02/13/2009 Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements For Accessibility Information: OT508CONTACT@dhs.gov
	ppt - 2,772 KB.

	Security Filing Transaction Sets - 03/11/2009

-	FAQs: Importer Security Filing “10+2″ Program - 01/25/2009 For Accessibility Information: OT508CONTACT@dhs.gov
	doc - 314 KB.

-	CBP ISF/”10+2″ 2009 Outreach Schedule - 04/07/2009

-	Regulatory Assessment and Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis for the Interim Final Rule - 11/25/2008
	pdf - 1,273 KB.

-	Importer Security Filing and Additional Carrier Requirements; Final Rule

-	DHS Announces New Requirements for Maritime Cargo Carriers and Importers - 11/24/2008

-	Fact Sheet: New Cargo Security Requirements for Maritime Carriers and Importers - 11/24/2008

-	FAQs: New Cargo Security Requirements for Maritime Carriers and Importers - 11/24/2008 For Accessibility Information: OT508CONTACT@dhs.gov
	pdf - 74 KB.

NOTICE from Florida International Terminal, LLC.

Ana — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 22:51:11 +0000

From: John Shapiro
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2011 9:55 AM
Subject: USDA Inspections

Good morning;

As a result of yesterday’s tragic fatality at the Dole Port Everglades container yard, the CBP Agriculture, has verbally advised all terminals in Port Everglades, that their inspectors will leave the container inspection site if ANY vehicular traffic is allowed to move in close proximity of that area.

We have generally kept all traffic away from the inspection area in the past however we would expect the radius of the area to increase. Our Facility Security Officer will assist in keeping the area traffic free.

Based on this safety mandate from CBP, we will not allow any truckers or container handling machinery in the inspection area and as such, there MAY be delays in delivering imports loads that may be within the restricted area.

Please pass this information along to your truckers and customers.

Thank you,

John H. Shapiro

Director of Operations

Florida International Terminal, LLC

Quality Service in Port Everglades since 2005

E-mail: jshapiro@fitpev.com

Phone: 954 761 3880 Ext. 210

Web: http://www.fitpev.com

Maersk build and operate pier in Peru’s port listed in Freshplaza News April 5th from PAIA.

Ana — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:44:34 +0000

From: Priscilla

Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 11:34 AM
To: Priscilla
Subject: Freshplaza News April 5th

Maersk build and operate pier in Peru’s port

The world’s largest container shipping line, Moeller-Maersk A/S, won a contract to build and operate a 1.1 billion US dollars pier at Peru’s largest port, the government announced in Lima.

Copenhagen-based Maersk’s APM Terminals unit beat out Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. by offering a bigger discount for services at the Muelle Norte pier at the Callao port, state investment promotion agency Proinversion said at a ceremony in Lima.

The concession, which comes before April 10 presidential elections, will significantly reduce costs at Callao, which handles 45% of the country’s cargo.

“Investors feel that the next government will have to respect their rights,” Finance
Minister Ismael Benavides told reporters in Lima.

“Peru’s trailing the region in port modernization as everybody’s awarding concessions.”
Maersk and the 600 million USD Muelle Sur pier operated by DP World Ltd. (DPW) will compete to handle grain imports and exports of metals, natural gas, fishmeal and coffee, according to Proinversion.

Peru is the world’s second-largest copper producer and the first in silver.

Source: en.mercopress.com