On a Federal Register notice to be published on May 30, 2013, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing a Final Rule on the Information Required in Prior Notice of Imported Foods, adopting without change the Interim Ruling published on May 5, 2011.

In the notice, FDA explains that Prior notice was first introduced in 2002 when the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (the Bioterrorism Act) was signed into law, which added section 801(m) to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act). This section "created the requirement that FDA receive certain information about imported foods before arrival in the United States. It also provided that an article of food imported or offered for import is subject to refusal of admission into the United States if adequate prior notice has not been provided to FDA."

The FDA Final Rule adopts the requirement that the names of any countries which refused entry to the merchandise being imported must be reported at the time the Prior Notice is being reported, regardless if the food is for human or animal consumption.

The final rule will become effective on the day of its publication.

The full text of the Federal Register notice is available online here. The Interim Final Rule from May 5, 2011 is available here.