Food imported into the United States needs a prior notice filed with FDA before it arrives: what it is, who made it, who's shipping it, where and when it will arrive, and who the importer is. Anyone with the information can file; for commercial shipments the customs broker often files it with the entry. FDA has to confirm it at least 2 hours before arrival by road, 4 hours by rail or air, and 8 hours by water, and it can go in no earlier than 30 days ahead through the customs system or 15 days through FDA's own web interface. Food sent by international mail needs it before it's mailed, with the confirmation number on the customs declaration. Samples count: the rule covers quality-control samples and gifts, though not homemade gifts between individuals or food carried for personal use. Food that arrives without a valid, timely notice is refused and held at the port. In the example below, an Oregon coffee roaster sorts out its green coffee and samples.
The short version
- Imported food needs a prior notice to FDA before it arrives.
- Anyone with the information can file; a customs broker often does.
- Confirmed at least 2 hours before arrival by road, 4 by rail or air, 8 by water.
- No earlier than 30 days ahead through the customs system, 15 through FDA's web interface.
- International mail: before it's sent, with the confirmation number on the customs form.
- Samples and gifts count; food you carry for personal use doesn't.
- TaroStack receives each shipment with its supplier and lot. More below.
The deadlines
| Arrives by | Confirmed by FDA at least | Filed no earlier than |
|---|---|---|
| Road | 2 hours before arrival | 30 days ahead through the customs system; 15 through FDA's web interface |
| Rail | 4 hours before arrival | The same |
| Air | 4 hours before arrival | The same |
| Water | 8 hours before arrival | The same |
| International mail | Before it's sent |
The clock starts when FDA confirms the notice, not when it's sent. Who checks the foreign supplier is in fsvp requirements, and registering a facility in fda food facility registration.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| What's covered | Food imported for use, storage or distribution, including gifts and quality-control samples; not food carried for personal use, homemade gifts sent between individuals, or meat, poultry and egg products under USDA's exclusive jurisdiction (21 CFR 1.277) |
| Who files | Any person with knowledge of the required information (1.278) |
| When | Confirmed at least 2 hours before arrival by road, 4 by rail or air, 8 by water; no more than 30 days ahead through ABI/ACE, 15 through FDA PNSI; before mailing for international mail (1.279) |
| What it says | The submitter, the entry type, the food's product code, name, quantity and required lot codes, the manufacturer and its registration number, the grower if known, country of production, shipper, arrival, importer, owner, consignee and carrier (1.281) |
| If it's missing or wrong | No, inaccurate or untimely notice: the food is subject to refusal and held at the port (1.283) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: green coffee and samples
Driftwood Coffee Roasters, the made-up coffee roaster in Bend, Oregon, I use in these examples, started buying green coffee straight from growers this year. Its first samples by courier were held at the airport because nobody had filed a prior notice. The owner sorted out every way coffee arrives:
| Shipment | Arrives by | Who files | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 bags of green coffee from a co-op in Huila, Colombia | Water, to Oakland | The customs broker, through the customs system, with the entry | Confirmed 8 hours before arrival; no earlier than 30 days |
| Three 300-gram samples from an exporter in Ethiopia | Air, express courier | The exporter or the courier; the tracking number stands in for arrival details | Confirmed 4 hours before arrival |
| A kilo from a farmer in Guatemala | International mail | The farmer, through FDA's web interface | Before mailing; the confirmation number on the customs form |
| 2 kilos in the owner's suitcase from a farm visit, to taste at home | Air, with the owner | Not needed | Personal use |
The held samples were quality-control samples, which the rule covers like any other shipment. Now the roastery asks every exporter for the prior notice confirmation number before a sample leaves. Coffee brought back in a suitcase to sell would need a notice too, with a copy of the confirmation shown on arrival. What the coffee sells for is in how to price coffee.
Get the checker
Download the prior notice checker. One sheet: each shipment, how it arrives, how the notice is filed and whether it's carried for personal use; the latest and earliest times to file fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The checker knows the deadlines. It doesn't know that an exporter sent a sample without telling anyone, or which co-op's green coffee ended up in which roast.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack receives each shipment of green coffee with its supplier and lot, and each roast records which lots it used.
Receiving by supplier and lot. Each shipment is received from its supplier with the co-op's lot, so direct imports sit apart from beans bought from a U.S. importer.
Roasts as batches. Each roast records the green coffee lots it used and how many bags it filled.
Recalls. If a lot has a problem, one report shows which roasts used it and every customer who got them.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which co-op's coffee went into a roast | A roast log | Batches by lot |
| Direct imports apart from domestic buys | Invoices | Deliveries by supplier |
| Who got a problem lot | Order history | One recall report |
Receiving, batches, lots and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.