Lanka, US trade will grow despite stringent regulations

By Lalin Fernandopulle

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Trade between the United States and Sri Lanka, and greater Asia will continue to grow despite intense regulatory jurisdictions on food safety standards, said Vice President, Food and Drug Administration (RDA) Registrar Corporation, USA, David Lennarz.

He was addressing a seminar on ‘Food and Drug Administration Regulatory Procedures and Protection of Trade Marks and Brands in the US Market’ organised by the Export Development Board (EDB).

“Despite numerous regulations the US offers an enormous market potential. Exporters need to comply only with specific regulations, not all”, Lennarz said.

Being aware of the frequent regulatory landscape changes and investing time and money to be in compliance to avoid costly mistakes are important factors for manufacturers and exporters.

He said Sri Lanka should build an image for its products. Strong brands are sought after in the US market irrespective of it being organic or a speciality food.

“American consumers look for new and unusual products every day, and this creates a greater market potential for enterprises with innovative products.

Exporters who comply with US food safety regulations have better market prospects”, he said. Compliance with most food safety regulations is required to export to the US market.

Over the years US agencies inspecting the quality of export and import food products has increased. With food regulatory jurisdictions being tightened the number of detentions has increased.

A complex web of US government inspecting agencies has been created and cross-overs exist though roles are defined, and it is the importer who has to ultimately deal with most of them.

Packaging, labelling, nutrition contents, allegents and prior notice of consignments shipped to the US are compulsory to export food products to the US.

A manufacturer or shipper may be placed on automatic detention for producing food under insanitary conditions, forbidden or restricted for sale in the country in which it was produced or from which it was exported, or adulterated or improperly labelled.

Quality, GMPs, HACCP, trash, listeria, salmonella, Ecoli, use of non permitted additives or preservatives’ violation of the Bioterrorism Act, Food, Drug and Consumer Act and labelling are common FDA pitfalls.

The task of the regulatory agencies is enormous since most Americans have lost confidence whether the food they consume is safe and wholesome.

The US FDA, US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are some of the key regulatory agencies.

The US FDA started with a single chemist in the Department of Agriculture in 1862 with jurisdiction encompassing most food products other than meat and poultry.