The Food and Drug Administration is establishing a list of U.S. milk product manufacturers and processors interested in exporting milk products to China. FDA is taking this step to help U.S. manufacturers comply with new requirements from the Chinese government for the importation of milk products into China. Officials have advised the United States that milk products from companies not on the list could be prevented from entering commerce in China.

Applying for inclusion on the list is voluntary. However, to be considered for the list, companies cannot be subject to any pending judicial enforcement action or a pending FDA warning letter, and would need to either have had a FDA inspection within three years, or be on the Interstate Milk Shippers List (IMS list) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Dairy Plants Surveyed and Approved for USDA Grading Service (USDA list) for the products intended to ship.

FDA began accepting applications yesterday. The first posting of the list and notification to China will occur on or about April 30, 2014.

In December of each even-numbered year, FDA will send a letter to manufacturers on the list, asking them to update information and indicate whether they want to continue being listed.

For more information, contact John Allan, IDFA vice president of regulatory affairs and international standards, at jallan@idfa.org.

• Read “Guidance for Industry: Establishing and Maintaining a List of U.S. Milk Product Manufacturers/Processors with Interest in Exporting to China”