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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Managing Your Logistics With Food Products

By Chris Channing

Taking part in the food industry can be very profitable, but at the same time can illicit headaches. So many laws are put into place by the Food and Drug Administration that you can easily run into legal problems if you don't outsource to a third party logistics company. As you'll see, there are many laws and regulations to consider.

There is a certain amount of certification required to do any type of business in the United States. Those who work with food and dietary supplements will have to do a bit more paperwork in registering with the FDA. It can be a drawn out process, but a required one nonetheless. Often times a third party logistics company is able to handle such things, if you aren't well versed in law and regulations.

The FDA has been known to delay shipments of a business that has a different address than the one on file. There are many legit reasons why a business would have a change of address, but the FDA likes to double check just to be sure- which can lead to delays in shipment. As such, you should check up business addresses with the one on file with the FDA to avoid delays.

All clearance documents you and your logistics company work with should have the FDA product code stamped on it. This will give both you and the FDA information on the goods being imported. This seven character string will tell you several things, such as the class code, product name, group code, or product industry code.

One must also follow the Bio-terrorism Act, more specifically Title III. This act specifies that anyone importing foods into the US must adhere to certain rules. For instance, advance notification must be given to the FDA before a shipment arrives. Logistics companies should also keep substantial records on the food and where it is going to appease the title.

There is so much work that is needed to be done when being legal to operate in the food industry. Even keeping up on current laws can be tough if you don't have the proper staff or a third party logistics company to help you out. This holds true for restaurant owners, farmers, and even anyone who comes into direct contact with their business. If you aren't sure on how to handle your expansion, the best way to go about the situation is to hire a 3PL company.

Final Thoughts

The United States is continually pushing out legislation to keep its residents safe from bad food products. This is great for consumers, and necessary, but can make businesses bend over backwards so that they can appease such requests. If you would like to work in the food industry, do be sure of the fact that there will be plenty of laws and regulations to abide by. - 23212

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