During the 2020 biennial renewal period, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) began requiring food facilities to include a unique facility identifier (UFI) on their registration. The required UFI must be a DUNS number obtained through a third-party company, Dun & Bradstreet. Due to the difficulty the industry experienced obtaining a DUNS number within the required timeframe, FDA extended this due date by an additional 90 days, allowing facilities to submit their registrations with a pending UFI status. In March of 2021, FDA further extended the due date until the end of this year, December 31st, 2022.
The next food facility registration renewal period begins October 1st and continues through December 31st. In preparation for this upcoming renewal season, FDA recently began validating the UFI status of existing registrations. The information listed on the facility registration must match exactly what is listed with Dun & Bradstreet. Any facility with a “PENDING” UFI or inconsistent company name or address information within the Dun & Bradstreet database risks cancellation of its facility registration if the information is not corrected by the end of the renewal season.
FDA is sending email notifications to facilities whose registrations may be impacted by UFI validation issues. Any facility that received this email from FDA should take action to confirm that the information on their facility registration is consistent with what is listed in the Dun & Bradstreet database. This includes the full company name, address, and DUNS number. This information can be confirmed using the Safety Import Safety Lookup Portal D-U-N-S® (DUNS) Number Quick User Guide (Simplified Chinese version on pages 22-42). Note that even minor inconsistencies, such as mismatched punctuation, can trigger a notification from FDA.
Our team at FDAImports is experienced with filing FDA facility registrations and troubleshooting problems that may arise during the process. Feel free to contact our team or via phone at 410.220.2800 if you require assistance with FDA facility registration.
