HAMPTON, VA. — As part of the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) food manufacturing facility registration process, Registrar Corp, a regulatory compliance consulting firm, is reminding animal food processors, including pet food manufacturers, that they will need to reregister their facilities between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31, 2020.

This applies to all domestic or foreign facilities manufacturing, processing, packing or storing food products for human or animal consumption in the United States. Reregistration also applies for facilities that were registered this year as late as Sept. 30, Registrar Corp stated.

This year, the FDA is implementing that all domestic and non-US facilities must submit Unique Facility Identifiers (UFIs) as part of this renewal process.

“If your facility does not already have a UFI, it is prudent to request one immediately,” said Mary Hancock, senior regulatory specialist and food facility registration team manager for Registrar Corp. “It is possible that this new requirement will cause a backlog of UFI requests. A delay in receiving your UFI puts you at risk of not being able to renew your facility in time.”

For facilities outside of the United States, a US agent must communicate with the FDA on behalf of the facility to ensure the reregistration is finalized with the agency.

Animal food manufacturing and other food processing facilities that fail to renew their registration could end up with a cancelled registration, which happened to 20% of food facilities in 2019 that failed to reregister properly in late 2018, Registrar Corp pointed out.

Non-US facilities exporting into the United States that fail to reregister could face a detention or refusal of goods, and US facilities that continue operating without a renewed registration could face civil or criminal penalties, the company added.

Registrar Corp is offering its services to help US facilities formally renew FDA registrations before Dec. 31, 2020. The company’s regulatory specialists can help facilities obtain UFIs and can also act as US Agents to coordinate renewals between the FDA and non-US facilities.

Registrar Corp also offers regulatory support to companies year-round as part of its registration renewal services, including free prior notice filings, compliance monitoring, detention assistance and other support.

Learn more about the FDA’s facility reregistration process on Registrar Corp’s website.

For more regulatory news affecting the pet food market, visit our Regulatory page.