In addition to developing our own domestic HACCP program, as an importer, we
have been active in assisting our foreign suppliers and travelling to their
locations to verify their HACCP systems and be sure that they are implementing
the systems correctly. Again, this has been a signicant investment of both
time and dollars, but for the most part, a worthwhile investment.
Having been through this process and having made the financial investment, I
find it particularly offensive to have knowledge of a select few members of
this industry (principally foreign processors and their domestic
importers/brokers) who knowingly violate the system by submitting a generic
HACCP document (typically written by a third party) to "qualify" their
products for import into the United States, but do not implement the system in
their manufacturing operations. In South America particularly, there are
generic HACCP documents for sale that these foreign processors purchase and
submit to their importers/brokers here in the United States. These foreign
processors do not implement the HACCP plans and in many cases could not
possibly comply with HACCP as they do not have the process, instrumentation or
qualified personnel in place. They understand too well, that the FDA is too
stretched to ever check these foreign processors plants and that in
colaboration with their importers/brokers here in the United States they can
slip through the regulation by submitting these types of "false" documents and
having these "less than honest" US importers/brokers simply say that they are
following the HACCP plan. We have had first hand experience with this on
several of our visits to South America. These processors boldly ask us to
assist them with their imports to the United States by "verifying a HACCP
plan" that we can clearly see does not exist. Often, financial incentives are
offerred.
We have dismissed all such offers and have dropped several suppliers because
of this fraudulent submission of documents to the FDA.
The dilema: We know of these companies and their US importers/brokers. We
know that several of these companies are sending products into the United
States that are not only not processed under HACCP but have microbial loads
which exceed the FDA limits. Some of these companies are importing
potentially dangerous products. We would like to report these companies to
the FDA but fear that doing so may bring undue scrutiny onto our own company.
We may be the subject of automatic import detensions and examination that will
raise our import costs and delay release of our products. Currently the FDA
examines about one out of every six of our import shipments. This is
acceptable and maintains our import costs at a reasonable level. We have
never had any problems with our imports or the FDA, primarily because we
scrutinize our export partners and their operations.
Should we report these companies to the FDA? Can we do it annonimously? Does
the FDA even want to know this information or does this fall into the category
of things the they can't change and therefore prefer not to know about?
I realize that the current HACCP regulations is not perfect and that the FDA
has a limited human resources, but it simply rubs me the wrong way to see a
select few violators capitalize on the FDA's limited resources and in effect
thumb their noses at the rest of us in this industry that have taken this
HACCP regulation seriously and worked diligently to implement it into our
organizations.
Any comments are appreciated.