FSPCA FSVP Training: Foreign Supplier Verification, Live Online

FSVP is the FDA rule, 21 CFR Part 1, Subpart L, that implements section 805 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, added by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). It requires U.S. importers of human and animal food to verify that their foreign suppliers produce food with at least the same level of public health protection as FDA's preventive controls or produce safety rules, where those apply, and that the food is not adulterated or misbranded for allergen labeling. Importers generally need an FSVP for each food they import from each foreign supplier.

The FSVP importer is the U.S. owner or consignee of the food at the time of U.S. entry: the person in the United States who owns the food, has purchased it, or has agreed in writing to purchase it. If there is no U.S. owner or consignee, the importer is the U.S. agent or representative of the foreign owner or consignee, confirmed in a signed statement of consent. The FSVP importer may or may not be the customs importer of record, and it must be located in the United States.

No. Unlike the preventive controls rules, the FSVP rule doesn't require training that follows an FDA-recognized standardized curriculum. It does require that a qualified individual develop your FSVP and perform each FSVP activity, and that person needs the education, training, or experience to do it. A course like this one is a practical way to build that knowledge and document it in your training records.

No. FDA does not certify FSVP importers or qualified individuals, and it hasn't established any course, program, or certification that a qualified individual must complete. When you complete this course you receive the FSPCA certificate of successful completion, which you can keep as documentation of your FSVP training.

Yes. Kiwa ASI teaches the FSPCA Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) Participant Course, the curriculum the Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance developed with FDA funding to help importers meet the FSVP rule. FSPCA instructor-led courses are taught by FSPCA-trained Lead Instructors, and participants who complete the course receive the FSPCA certificate of successful completion.

A qualified individual is a person with the education, training, or experience (or a combination) needed to perform an FSVP activity, who can read and understand the language of any records they must review. The qualified individual may be your employee, an outside consultant, or a government employee. For activities that assess a supplier's preventive controls, such as an onsite audit, FDA says the qualified individual should have training or experience in risk-based preventive controls. Kiwa ASI's live online PCQI training teaches the FSPCA preventive controls curriculum.

For each food and foreign supplier, the importer must analyze the hazards, evaluate the food's risk and the supplier's performance, approve the supplier, and decide on verification activities such as onsite audits, sampling and testing, or reviews of the supplier's food safety records. The importer must also take corrective action when a supplier falls short, reevaluate at least every three years, identify itself to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for each line entry of food, and keep FSVP records for at least two years. Very small importers, importers buying from certain small suppliers, dietary supplement importers, and some receiving facilities follow modified requirements.

U.S. importers of human and animal food and the people who manage FSVP for them: import, purchasing, and supply chain managers, food safety and quality managers who approve foreign suppliers, and regulatory staff. It's also useful for customs brokers, exporters, foreign suppliers that ship food to the United States, and consultants who support importers.

Not by itself. FDA says importers can rely on audits from food safety certification programs if the audit considers the applicable FDA regulations and reviews the supplier's written food safety plan, if any, and its implementation. Keeping only a certificate that shows the supplier passed isn't enough. You must review and assess the audit results, document that review, and be able to show FDA how the hazards are controlled. That applies to an SQF certificate from any certification body, Kiwa ASI included.

PCQI training covers FDA's Preventive Controls for Human Food rule (21 CFR Part 117): building and managing a food safety plan for a facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food. FSVP training covers what an importer must do to verify foreign suppliers. If you import ingredients into a facility that is subject to the preventive controls rule, the two rules overlap on supplier verification, so many teams need both. Kiwa ASI also offers live online PCQI training.

This is a live, virtual, instructor-led course, not a recorded or self-paced program. Sessions are interactive, so you'll need a computer with a stable internet connection, a camera, and a microphone. Sessions are not recorded, and participants may not record them. After you register, we email you a link to the online training platform with the details you need to join.

Registration is $795 per seat for the live virtual course. Teams of six or more can ask about group or private training: email US.Info@kiwa-asi.com or call 1 (800) 477-0778.

Dates for the next live session haven't been announced yet. Use the enroll box at the top of this page, email US.Info@kiwa-asi.com or call 1 (800) 477-0778 to ask about the next session and hold a seat.

Yes. When you complete the course, including any required assessments or assignments, you receive the FSPCA certificate of successful completion.

If you can't attend, let us know as soon as possible at US.Info@kiwa-asi.com or 1 (800) 477-0778. You can enroll in the next class or get a refund under our refund policy, which allows cancellations up to 5 days before the course start date.

Yes. For teams of six or more, Kiwa ASI can schedule private FSVP training on site or virtually, case by case, focused on the foods you import and the suppliers you work with.