A complete month-by-month FSVP compliance timeline, FDA documentation checklist, and CBI duty rate guide — everything a new importer needs to bring Caribbean specialty foods into the US legally.
Full product description, HTS code, country of origin, FOB or CIF value, supplier name and address.
Filed via PNSI at least 4 hours before sea arrival. Must include FDA registration numbers for your facility and the foreign supplier's facility.
Issued by the exporting country's agriculture ministry. Required for fresh/dried plant products — roots, flours, spices.
APHIS Veterinary Services certification for conch, fish, and other seafood from Caribbean origin.
Written certification that goods meet CBTPA substantial transformation requirements. Required to claim 0% CBI duty rates.
Continuous temperature recordings from origin through final delivery. Required for fruit purees, ackee, fresh roots, and reefer shipments.
Under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, most processed Haitian and Caribbean food products qualify for 0% customs duties when properly documented. HTS codes ending in "98" typically carry CBI preferential rates.
Your customs broker should be applying CBI rates automatically — but they need the country of origin declaration from your supplier to do so. Confirm this is in your paperwork before signing off on customs entry.
FSVP (Foreign Supplier Verification Program) is the FDA rule under FSMA that requires US food importers to perform risk-based supplier verification activities for every foreign supplier they source from. If you are the US owner or consignee at the time of a Caribbean food shipment's US entry — regardless of volume — you are the importer of record and must have a written FSVP plan. The plan must identify a qualified individual, document hazard analysis, and define verification activities for each supplier.
Plan on 6–9 months for a first-time Caribbean food importer to reach full FSVP compliance end-to-end. The first two months are spent assessing your FSMA role and qualifying suppliers; months 3–5 cover hazard analysis, FDA facility registration, and Prior Notice setup; months 5–7 cover the full documentation package and broker relationships; months 7–9 cover the first import, supplier verification, and FSVP plan refinement. Rushing this timeline creates documentation gaps that FDA can flag in a records request.
Every Caribbean food shipment needs: (1) a commercial invoice with full product description, HTS code, and country of origin; (2) a bill of lading or airway bill; (3) a packing list; (4) a phytosanitary certificate for plant products; (5) FDA Prior Notice confirmation filed via PNSI; (6) a CBI country-of-origin declaration if claiming duty-free treatment; (7) a seafood inspection certificate for APHIS-regulated seafood; and (8) continuous temperature logs for any cold-chain shipment.
A CBI country-of-origin declaration is a written certification that the goods meet the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) substantial-transformation requirement — meaning the final product's HTS code differs materially from its component inputs. It is required for every shipment you want to enter at 0% duty under the CBI preferential rate, rather than the standard 2.2%–6.8% HTS Chapter 21/22 rate. Your supplier must include this declaration in the shipment paperwork; your customs broker applies the CBI rate to the entry.
Yes. FDA Prior Notice is required for every shipment of food — including processed Caribbean foods — entering the US. It must be filed via the Prior Notice System Interface (PNSI) at least 4 hours before sea arrival or 2 hours before air arrival. The notice must include FDA registration numbers for your facility and the foreign supplier's facility, the product description, the manufacturer, and the consignee. Most customs brokers handle PNSI filing on the importer's behalf once authorized.
Step-by-step FSVP requirements, who qualifies as an importer, and how supplier verification works in practice.
Every document you need for a clean FDA entry — FSVP plan, prior notice, CBI certs, phytosanitary certs.
Month-by-month FSVP setup timeline for first-time Caribbean food importers — realistic and actionable.
FoodStreamOS handles the compliance documentation for every product we source — FSVP plans, prior notice, CBI certificates, and cold chain logs are included. Tell us what you're trying to import and we'll tell you exactly what's needed.