Coagro Corp: Perishable Goods: Which Permits You Should Have

These permissions need to be done accordingly to your products' nature.

We’re always looking for new business opportunities. As globalization continues to spread worldwide, international commercial trade has increased over the years. With it, the amount of people and companies looking for a chance to import merchandise into the U.S. from abroad has increased as well. Whether you’re a citizen of this country or not, if you want to ship food to American territory, you must be familiar with some general requirements the government will ask so you can you bring your goods into the U.S successfully.

The more you know how these processes function, the easiest it will be. The permits and regulations we list here are the same ones needed to transport any perishable good inside the U.S. Still, many common mistakes made by importers provoke shipment detention in American ports of entry and delays in products' deliveries. People could actually avoid many of these issues by investigating which are the detailed requirements set by the government depending on which type of good is being transported.

So Where Do the Procedures Begin?

Whatever it is that you wish to import and then transport, it all has to get approved by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, better known as the CBP, once it has made it to the ports. Apart from this, if you want to import perishable foods, one of the first things you need to do is register your shipment and notify it to the Food and Drug Administration, abbreviated as the FDA, before arrival. Facilities that handle and produce these goods must be registered in the FDA as well.

Please take notice that some perishable foods are also regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Some of these are meat, poultry, fruits, and vegetables or products made with eggs. To get the permits needed to transport these type of goods, you must register them 30 days before the first shipment arrives. Typically, these procedures must only be done once, unless the laws or rules applying to them change. For more information regarding the USDA specifics, you can visit their web page right here.

However, you will always need to notify the FDA prior arrival. You can do it no more than five days and no less than 2 hours before the shipment gets to land. If the shipment is arriving by ship, you must notify no less than 8 hours before. The questionnaire you’ll have to fill and the information needed for Prior Notice for Food Articles can be accessed here.

Once your shipment has made it to an American port, it will not have legally entered U.S. territory unless the CBP grants it access. Only owners or purchasers of merchandise can request this permit at the port within 15 days from the arrival's date. There, you will have to file your duties and documentation, pay correspondent fees, and arrange transportation.

The best thing you can do is contact your nearest port to have a better understanding of the documentation and regulations that rule specific products, including different forms, fees, and permits. Locate a port on the CBP web page to get more information.

General Recommendations

Importing merchandise into the U.S. can be a quite complex process. If you don’t submit products' information and all necessary permits correctly, it can result in a very inconvenient delay to release your shipment and obtain an approval of the FDA or the CBP. To avoid some of these problems, you should always have at hand all information regarding the products. This includes:

Information about the specifics of the products being shipped.
Manufacturer information.
Products codes.
Accurate quantities.
Correct shipper and country of origin information.
Correct destination information.
Merchandise's values, along with exchange rate.
Container’s dimensions.
Property rights’ contracts.

If you fail to provide any of this information correctly, then your shipment will most surely be detained at U.S. ports upon arrival. The government needs all this data to confirm that the commodities or products you’re importing are safe and comply with all the sanitary and commercial regulations established.

The good news is that a huge part of this information can be accessed via the Internet, including Frequently Asked Questions, contact numbers, and guides. In Coagro Corp, we’re here to help! Our vast experience in the business guarantee safe imports and shipments. Start working with our products and grow your business thanks to our services' quality and professionalism!