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P r o d u c e S h o w D a i l y S a t u r d a y, O c t o b e r 1 9 , 2 0 1 3 2 2 MINIMIZING CROSS BORDER DELAYS By Dan Ford, Senior Compliance Manager, Phillip Garcia U.S. Customs Broker Your field operations are producing the highest quality produce. Your sales department is bringing in the best price. Your transportation network is ready to quickly deliver your goods to the U.S. market. You've got complete control over these processes. Now there is only that pesky little thing called the border, which will deter- mine whether or not your goods will get to the customer on time in farm-fresh condition. All of your growing, sales and logistics efforts can come crashing down if your shipment is delayed for hours, days, weeks, or worse yet – refused admission into the U.S. Here are five areas where you can take control over delays when shipping your fresh produce to the United States: Documentation The quality of your export documents will determine to a large extent how U.S. Customs (CBP), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CBP Agriculture will treat your import shipments. Commercial Invoices should describe your product in detail, are required to be in the English language (or have an English translation), and can be in dollars or pesos, but must state which currency, with Country of Origin declared. The Manifest of Goods document is the regulatory responsibility of your car- rier, but be sure everything that is loaded onto the export conveyance matches exactly with your commercial invoice. A properly executed NAFTA Certificate of Origin document is required at the time of importation. This document can be completed on an annu- al basis, or for each shipment. If your fresh produce requires a phy- tosanitary permit or certificate document, it is imperative that all statements as to description, quantities and weights match exactly with your Commercial Invoice. Country of Origin While your individual produce items are exempt from Country of Origin marking, your packaging is not. Your shipment can be delayed to mark external packages, or be sent back to Mexico to be marked. Wood Packaging All wood packaging materials (pallets, crates, dunnage, etc.) arriving into the United States are required to have an ISPM-15 marking. Your shipment will be sent back to Mexico if the CBP Agriculture Cargo Inspector cannot read- ily view these markings. Product Labeling Bulk commodities not put up for retail sales still require certain labeling. The product name (in English), product weight, Country of Origin, and responsi- ble party such as exporter, importer, or distributor, are required. Product Cleanliness CBP Agriculture will examine shipments for pests such as snails, insects, worms and other dangerous bugs. It is best to ensure your shipment will pass this examination prior to export. In addition, more produce than ever is being tested by the FDA for pesticides and filth issues such as mold and insect parts. One last consideration: use a Border Consolidated Service Provider who can seamlessly move your goods from the Mexican side to the U.S. side, clear your shipment through U.S. Customs, cross dock or cold store your shipment, and deliver to market. To learn more about Phillip Garcia U.S. Customs Broker, visit booth 5349 at Fresh Summit. Visit www.phillipgarcia.com, email phillipgarciachb@yahoo.com or call 956-843-7050. ARE IMPORTERS READY FOR THE NEW FOOD SAFETY MODERNIZATION ACT? On July 26, 2013, the FDA issued pro- posed regulations that would greatly strengthen the oversight of imported foods. The FDA believes that the best way to achieve these goals is to require importers to oversee their foreign sup- pliers. To that end, importers will have to establish a Foreign Supplier Verification Program. All importers must establish and follow an FSVP, unless otherwise exempted. An importer of food under the proposed FSVP regulations is the U.S. owner or consignee of the food at the time of entry, or, if there is no U.S. owner or consignee at the time of entry, the U.S. agent or representative of the foreign owner or consignee. Under the proposed FSVP regulations, an importer would be required to develop, maintain and follow an FSVP for each food it imports, which in general would need to include the following: Compliance Status Review Importers would be required to review the compliance status of the food and the potential foreign supplier before importing the food, and periodically thereafter. Such review would need to include any FDA warning letters, import alerts and requirements for certi- fication issued by the FDA under sec- tion 801(q) of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). Hazard Analysis Importers would be required to analyze the hazards associated with each food they import. The hazard analysis would identify the hazards that are rea- sonably likely to occur for each type of food imported, and evaluate the sever- ity of the illness or injury if such a haz- ard were to occur. Verification Activities Importers would be required to con- duct activities that provide adequate assurances that the hazards identified as reasonably likely to occur are ade- quately controlled. Verification activi- ties could include on-site auditing of foreign suppliers, periodic or lot-by-lot sampling and testing of food, periodic review of foreign supplier food safety records, or other appropriate risk- based procedures. Corrective Actions Importers would be required to review complaints they receive concerning the foods they import, investigate the cause or causes of adulteration or mis- branding in some circumstances, take appropriate corrective actions, and revise their FSVPs when they appear to be inadequate. Periodic Reassessment of the FSVP Importers would be required to reassess their FSVPs within three years of estab- lishing the FSVP or within three years of the last assessment. Importer Identification Importers would be required to obtain a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number for their company. Record Keeping Importers would be required to keep cer- tain records, including those that docu- ment compliance status reviews, hazard analyses, foreign supplier verification activities, investigations and corrective actions, and FSVP reassessments. While these regulations are not yet finalized, importers of food products must be prepared. To learn more about Phillip Garcia U.S. Customs Broker, please visit them at booth 5349 at PMA Fresh Summit 2013. Phillip Garcia and his staff will be there to answer your questions regarding importing fresh produce from Mexico. After the show, you can learn more by visiting www.phillipgarcia.com or call- ing 956-843-7050. SAN MARCOS FARM GROWS SMALL WONDERS It was about 18 years ago that some tiny basil seedlings changed David Sasuga's life in a giant way. A customer at Sasuga's nursery was picking up some tomato plants when he noticed the baby basil. "He was really intrigued by them and he said, 'Oh by the way, I'm also a chef down at L'Auberge in Del Mar and that's the littlest basil I ever saw,'" Sasuga recalls. "'We would love to use that in our restaurant.'" Sasuga was suprised that he would be so interested in these tiny greens. Today, Sasuga's Fresh Origins oper- ation in San Marcos is the largest pro- ducer of microgreens in the United States. All those colorful and intensely tasty miniature greens that chefs at high- end restaurants love to incorporate into their dishes, from micro wasabi to celery, tangerine lace and mustard dijon, come from greenhouses on the 24 acre proper- ty. Whether chefs are in New Orleans, New York, Chicago or on the Food Network, chances are that if they're using microgreens, they've come from Fresh Origins. Each day, the company ships an average of 1,000 pounds of its mini produce via FedEx or UPS. The plants can be harvested one morning and on a plate in Boston the next night. Fresh Origins, which employs about 100 people, is essentially a family-run operation that involves a number of rela- tives, including David, its Founder; his daughter Kelly, who is the Marketing and Sales Manager and Chef; Kelly's mother, the Operations Manager; and David's brother Victor, the Production Manager. "Chefs are constantly looking for something unique and interesting, and this was really perfect for them," Sasuga says. "By incorporat- ing the greens, often to top off a dish, a variety of color, texture and flavor is added to seafood, meats, appetizers, cocktails, soups and desserts. They can be a dra- matic visual addition with a huge amount of flavor." Over the years, Fresh Origins has greatly expanded what it offers. Through the suggestions of chefs who might be looking for a very specific ingredient, and the company's own experimentation, new items are added to Fresh Origins' list. More than 400 plants and edible flowers are produced and sold. When chefs visit Fresh Origins, they hustle through the greenhouses, excited by what they can see, smell and taste, which leads to other suggestions and discussions about how to use micro- greens. Other smaller microgreen growers operate around the U.S., but they don't have the climate that allows Fresh Origins to keep up pro- duction year-round in its 500,000 square feet of growing space. Kelly Sasuga, who graduated from the San Diego Culinary Institute, works as the R&D Chef for Fresh Origins, cre- ating ways to use the products with food. For Kelly and her dad, who also loves to research plants and discover new possi- bilities, it's one of the most exciting aspects of their jobs. Visit Fresh Origins at booth 1542 during Fresh Summit. Learn more by visiting www.freshorigins.com.