ASTA hosted a member only update presented by FDA Compliance Officer, Mark Esteves, on Import certification (IC) 801(q) Cesium 137 for certain products from certain regions of Indonesia. This is the PDF of FDA's presentation.

This presentation was a follow-up to our initial briefing in October for members. This update is the latest update on the FDA’s new import certification requirements for spices originating from Java and Lampung in Indonesia. This briefing provided ASTA members with a deeper dive into implementation, now that the FDA has designated BPOM (Indonesia’s National Agency for 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 members 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.