On May 22, 2020 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced their recommendations to deal with shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic for cloth face coverings, sanitation supplies, disinfectants and personal protective equipment (PPE). These recommendations apply to the food and agriculture industry specifically, as they need these supplies for worker safety and to minimize interruptions in the food supply chain.
The FDA and USDA recommend that supplies should be distributed to Healthcare, Public Health, and Emergency service sectors first and then to the Food and Agricultural sector and other critical sectors secondary. They advise the food and agricultural industry to explore private, state, and federal options to source essential supplies.
When asked about the current situation, our CEO and Founder Ben England stated, “My expectation is that the shortage of masks, sanitizers, and disinfectants will persist for many more months. The states have not even begun to stockpile. The substantial shrinkage of FDA’s Appendix A has aggravated the situation for masks. EPA’s failure to provide a truly expedited track for disinfectant registration is quite frankly astonishing.”
For importers and manufacturers, obtaining clearances as soon as possible will significantly improve confidence in materials you are making, sourcing, selling, buying and using. Our firm is standing by and ready to assist if you need help with regulatory compliance, due-diligence vetting and verification, pre-market authorizations, approvals and clearances (EUAs and 510(k)s), registration, listing, label review and compliance, manufacturing and distribution set-up and regulatory compliance (QSRs and ISO 13485) and Customs and FDA regulatory or legal counsel or representation. Please contact us today or more information on how to get started.
This blog is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, and is not intended to form an attorney-client relationship. Please contact your regular FDAImports representative for additional information.
