FDA prior notice is the advance electronic notification the U.S. FDA requires before food shipments arrive at the border, mandated by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. Trucks carrying food must have prior notice on file, generally at least two hours before arrival by road.
FDA prior notice is the advance declaration the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires for food and beverage shipments entering the United States, a requirement created by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. The notice is filed electronically, usually by the customs broker through the same systems as the customs entry, and it must be on file within set windows before arrival: no less than two hours ahead for arrival by road, with longer windows for rail, air, and sea. Freight arriving without valid prior notice can be refused entry or held at the port.
If you haul northbound produce, packaged food, or beverages, prior notice is part of your load's document stack alongside the entry and the e-manifest. It is filed by the importer's broker rather than the carrier, but the operational failure mode lands on the truck: a reefer waiting at the bridge because prior notice was never filed, or was filed with data that does not match the manifest.
During produce season, when volumes surge through crossings like Pharr and Nogales, prior notice discipline separates smooth operations from chronic border sits. Brokers moving food lanes should confirm on every new customer: who files prior notice, how the confirmation number gets to the crossing carrier, and whether FDA data matches what the transfer will present. Food loads also face FDA exam risk on top of the normal customs lottery, so pad transit expectations accordingly and keep reefer fuel and temperature documentation clean.
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