Import Alerts: Blood Pumps, Laser Cutters, Medical Instruments, Rice, Soap

Food and Drug Administration import alerts affecting the following have been newly issued or modified in the past week.

– blood pumps from Italy

– canned tuna from Thailand

– carbonated soft drinks from Jordan

– edible birds nest from Indonesia

– fish from Bangladesh

– green sweet pepper from the Dominican Republic

– laser cutters from China

– mango from Mexico

– medical instruments from Pakistan

– medicated animal feeds containing monensin from Canada
– preserved bayberry from China

– rice from Pakistan

– soap from China

Import alerts inform FDA field staff that the agency has enough evidence or other information to allow a product that appears to be in violation of FDA laws and regulations to be detained without physical examination at the time of entry. Import alerts may cover products from designated countries or areas (including from all foreign countries), manufacturers, or shippers.

Firms and/or products on the “red list” of an import alert are subject to DWPE, while firms and/or products on the “green list” are not because they have met the criteria for exclusion. Some import alerts include a “yellow list” of firms, products, and/or countries subject to intensified surveillance because the nature of the violations may warrant further field examinations of individual entries and/or additional analyses. In addition, depending on the specific import alert, shipments of products subject to DWPE may still be imported into the U.S. if the importer has demonstrated that the shipment is in compliance.

If a product is detained without physical examination the importer has the right to provide evidence to the FDA in an attempt to overcome the appearance of the violation. If no such evidence is submitted, or if the evidence provided is insufficient, the product will be subject to refusal of entry into the U.S.