As a follow-up to our initial October member briefing, ASTA hosted a follow up session to provide the latest updates on FDA’s new import certification requirements for spices originating from Java and Lampung in Indonesia. This briefing offered ASTA members a deeper dive into implementation now that the FDA has designated BPOM (Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control) as the official Certifying Entity for spices.

FDA reviewed the status of the Cesium-137 investigation, clarified the scope of Import Alert 99-52, and walked through how the certification process will work in practice for shipments arriving on or after October 31, 2025. Attendees learned how exporters can obtain shipment-specific certificates from CEs, what documentation will be required, and how exceptions may apply for shipments that were exported on or before October 13. This was a critical opportunity for ASTA members to hear directly from FDA on the new certification process and pose questions to the agency. 

This presentation was for members only and held virtually. It was not recorded, however, the slides, FDA one-pager on Import Certification, and FAQs are available in the Resource Library.
 

This briefing offered ASTA members a deeper dive into implementation now that the FDA has designated BPOM (Indonesia’s National Agency of Drug and Food Control) as the official Certifying Entity for spices.