Thailand Implements New Food Import Standards

The Thai Food and Drug Authority (FDA) issued new compliance standards and certification requirements for imported food production systems on November 29, 2024, with immediate effect from the date of publication.

According to Thai regulations, all food importers are required to submit food production system compliance documents or certificates equal to or higher than the established standards to ensure that the imported food meets the production standards prescribed by law and proves that the food is produced under the system that meets the prescribed standards. The previous announcement on Standard Documents and Certification Requirements for Imported Food Production Systems issued on April 19, 2021 has been repealed. The new version of the Standards and Certification Requirements clearly states that the production system of imported food should be equal to or higher than the standards of the relevant domestic food production system in Thailand. The relevant supporting documents or certificates shall be issued by the competent government authorities of the producing country, other bodies recognized by the competent government authorities of the producing country, members of the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and their accredited certification bodies. The supporting document or certificate shall be the original, and if the original is not available, a copy certified by the issuing authority, the embassy of the producing country in Thailand or a government authority may be provided. These documents or certificates must contain the name of the food production system standard, the name and address of the food production enterprise or facility, the scope of certification, the date of certification, the expiration date, the status of certification, the issuing authority, the accreditation unit, the owner of the standard and other key information. In addition, the relevant supporting document or certificate shall specify its expiration date, unless it can be demonstrated that it meets the requirements of the relevant standard.