Importing Coconut Sugar into the USA: FDA, FSVP & the Java Question

Direct answer

What does it take to import coconut sugar from Indonesia into the USA?

Coconut sugar enters the USA in five steps: FDA facility registration, the importer’s Foreign Supplier Verification Program, importer identification at entry, Prior Notice before arrival, and entry under HS 1702.90. Import Alert 99-52, FDA’s Java Cs-137 alert, does not name coconut sugar. FDA states it has increased screening for Cs-137 on all products coming from Indonesia (FDA, Response to Imported Foods Potentially Contaminated with Cesium-137, as read 31 October 2026).

This page sets out each step from the regulation’s own text, read on 31 October 2026, and answers the Java question from the alert itself. It is part of our guide to importing coconut sugar from Indonesia, market by market.

1. The five US steps

Each step names who acts and the rule that applies.

1. The facility is registered with FDA.

   A foreign facility that manufactures or processes food for consumption in the United States must register it with FDA (US eCFR, 21 CFR 1.225, as read 31 October 2026). Ours is an FDA-registered facility; the registration number is not published.

2. The importer runs an FSVP.

   For each food it imports, the US importer must develop, maintain and follow a Foreign Supplier Verification Program (US eCFR, 21 CFR 1.502(a), as read 31 October 2026).

3. The importer is named at entry.

   For each line entry of food, the importer’s name, email address and an FDA-recognised unique facility identifier are filed electronically with US Customs and Border Protection (US eCFR, 21 CFR 1.509(a), as read 31 October 2026).

4. Prior Notice reaches FDA before arrival.

   For a container arriving by water, Prior Notice must be submitted and confirmed by FDA no less than 8 hours before it reaches the port of arrival (US eCFR, 21 CFR 1.279(a)(4), as read 31 October 2026). The filing steps are on FDA Prior Notice filing steps for a coconut sugar shipment.

5. The goods are entered under HS 1702.90.

   Coconut sugar ships under HS 1702.90; the US line and its duty depend on classification, which your customs broker confirms (section 4).

2. The Java question: Import Alert 99-52

Our factory is in Central Java, so a US buyer’s due diligence will reach FDA Import Alert 99-52. This section answers from the alert’s own text, nothing more.

The buyer question, answered

Is coconut sugar from Java under FDA Import Alert 99-52?

Not by name, as of the alert’s revision dated 8 July 2026, read on 31 October 2026 (FDA Import Alert 99-52, revision dated 8 July 2026, as read 31 October 2026).

	What the alert says
Title	Detention Without Physical Examination of Certain Human Food Products From Certain Regions In Indonesia Subject To The Requirement of Import Certification Per Section 801(q)
Products covered	“Certain shrimp and spice products (including spice blends and seasoning mixes) from the Island of Java and Province of Lampung on the Island of Sumatra”
Coconut sugar	Not named. The words “sugar”, “coconut” and “palm” do not occur on the alert page
Revision	“The revision of this Import Alert (IA) dated 07/08/2026 [8 July 2026, US date format] updates the reason for alert section, guidance section and product description.”

FDA’s own screening-and-sampling wording, quoted as published:

Industry should contact the appropriate CE identified below to obtain the required screening and sampling of shipments of food and certification as appropriate and covered under import certification prior to products being exported to the U.S.

Additional firms may be added to the Import Alert in response to the FDA’s increased screening for elevated levels of Cs-137 for all products coming from Indonesia.

FDA can revise the alert at any time; this section is re-read every month and dated each time.

3. FSVP: what your importer must do

Under FSVP the duty sits with the US importer, not the factory. The importer is “the U.S. owner or consignee of an article of food that is being offered for import into the United States” (US eCFR, 21 CFR 1.500, as read 31 October 2026), and the foreign supplier is the establishment that manufactures the food.

The rule asks the importer to:

• conduct a hazard analysis for each food (21 CFR 1.504);
• evaluate the foreign supplier for approval (21 CFR 1.505);
• carry out foreign supplier verification activities (21 CFR 1.506);
• keep FSVP records for at least 2 years (US eCFR, as read 31 October 2026) after they were created or obtained, under 21 CFR 1.510(c)(1).

Which of our documents can support each part is mapped on FSVP for coconut sugar buyers: your obligations as US importer.

4. Duty and HS classification

Coconut sugar ships under HS 1702.90. In the US tariff schedule, heading 1702.90 reads “Other, including invert sugar and other sugar and sugar syrup blends containing in the dry state 50 percent by weight of fructose”, and it divides into further 8- and 10-digit lines (USITC, Harmonized Tariff Schedule, heading 1702.90, as read 31 October 2026).

Which line applies, and its duty, depends on classification. Confirm both with your customs broker before you quote a landed price. Import clearance and duties are always the buyer’s responsibility. No clearance guarantee is given.

Questions US importers ask

Sources

1. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · FDA Response to Imported Foods Potentially Contaminated with Cesium-137 · government · fetched 2026-10-31
2. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.225 — Who must register under this subpart? · government · fetched 2026-10-31
3. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.500 — What definitions apply to this subpart? · government · fetched 2026-10-31
4. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.502 — What foreign supplier verification program (FSVP) must I have? · government · fetched 2026-10-31
5. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.504, 1.505, 1.506 — section titles · government · fetched 2026-10-31
6. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.509 — How must the importer be identified at entry? · government · fetched 2026-10-31
7. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.510 — How must I maintain records of my FSVP? · government · fetched 2026-10-31
8. US Government Publishing Office (eCFR) / US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · 21 CFR 1.279 — When must prior notice be submitted to FDA? · government · fetched 2026-10-31
9. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) · Import Alert 99-52 — Detention Without Physical Examination of Certain Human Food Products From Certain Regions In Indonesia Subject To The Requirement of Import Certification Per Section 801(q) · government · fetched 2026-10-31
10. U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) · Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States — 1702.90 · government · fetched 2026-10-31