# FDA Prior Notice for Food Shipped from Vietnam: What Senders and Recipients Need to Know

> What FDA Prior Notice is, when food sent from Vietnam to the US needs it, who can submit it, and how gifts differ from food you import to resell.

Canonical: https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/articles/fda-prior-notice-food-shipped-from-vietnam/
Last updated: 2026-10-16

Vietnamese chili sauce, coffee, dried fruit and snacks are some of the most common things people want sent to the United States. Most of them can go. But every food shipment entering the US falls under a rule many senders have never heard of: **FDA Prior Notice**.

This guide explains what Prior Notice is, when it applies to food shipped from Vietnam, who can submit it, and where the line sits between a family gift and a commercial import. It is written for two groups: people sending or receiving food as a gift, and small buyers bringing in coffee, spices or snacks to sell.

## What FDA Prior Notice is

Prior Notice is an advance notification to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that food is about to arrive. It comes from the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 and lets FDA and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) decide which shipments to inspect before they land.

Under [21 CFR Part 1, Subpart I](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-I), Prior Notice covers food for humans and animals imported into the US for use, storage or distribution, **including food sent as a gift and food samples**. "Food" is broad: sauces, snacks, coffee, tea, spices, candy, dried fruit and dietary supplements all count.

For Prior Notice purposes, express couriers such as DHL, FedEx and UPS are not "international mail". The mail rules apply only to national postal services, so a courier shipment follows the standard air timing below.

## When food is excluded

The regulation lists a few exclusions. Two matter for most people:

- **Food you carry with you.** Food for your own personal use that travels in your baggage when you arrive in the US.
- **Homemade gifts.** Food made by an individual in their own home and sent by that person as a personal gift, for non-business reasons, to an individual in the US.

Food bought from a shop or market is **not** on that list, even if it's a gift.

FDA does publish a [policy on sending gifts to friends and family](https://www.fda.gov/industry/prior-notice-imported-foods/prior-notice-policy-sending-gifts-your-friends-and-family). It says FDA and CBP typically consider taking no action when food is imported for non-commercial purposes by a non-commercial shipper, for example when someone buys a gift and sends it themselves, including by express courier. If the shop ships the gift, FDA and CBP generally would take action without Prior Notice. This is enforcement discretion, not an exemption, and it never covers food imported to sell.

The practical takeaway: if food was bought from a business, or you are not sure which side of the line you are on, plan as if the shipment needs Prior Notice.

## Who submits Prior Notice, and how

The regulation allows **any person with knowledge of the required information** to submit Prior Notice. In practice this is usually the recipient or importer in the US, or someone acting for them. Submissions are made in English through either:

- FDA's [Prior Notice System Interface (PNSI)](https://www.access.fda.gov/), a free web form, or
- CBP's ACE system, which customs brokers use.

The submission asks for details of the food, the manufacturer, the shipper, the recipient and the shipment itself, and each accepted submission gets a confirmation number that should travel with the shipment.

Timing for food arriving by air:

- **No later than 4 hours** before the shipment arrives in the US
- **No earlier than 15 days** before arrival through PNSI, or 30 days through ACE

Whether a particular courier will submit Prior Notice as part of its service varies, so ask the carrier rather than assume it.

## What happens without it

Food that arrives without Prior Notice, or with inaccurate or late Prior Notice, can be **refused admission and held at the port of entry**. It is not delivered to the recipient, and FDA and CBP are not liable for storage, transport or other costs that follow. For a few jars of sauce that usually means the parcel is lost; for a commercial shipment it can mean real money.

## Gifts versus food you plan to sell

The bigger the shipment, the more the rules tighten.

**Family gifts.** A couple of kilos of coffee, a box of snacks or a few bottles of sauce for relatives. Prior Notice still applies to bought food, but the paperwork is simple: what the item is, who made it, and who is sending and receiving it. Keep the original commercial packaging and labels, because they carry the manufacturer details the submission asks for.

**Food you import to resell.** Coffee, cashews, spices or sauces for a café, a market stall or an online shop. Here there is no gift policy to lean on, and two extra requirements come in:

- **Food facility registration.** Under [21 CFR Part 1, Subpart H](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-H), foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for consumption in the US must register with FDA and renew every other year, between October 1 and December 31 of each even-numbered year. For processed food such as roasted coffee or ground spices, Prior Notice asks for the manufacturer's registration number. Only the facility itself can register, so check this with your supplier before you order.
- **Other agencies.** Some products also fall under USDA rules. Meat-based sauces and products with meat or egg ingredients are the usual problems.

## Duty is a separate question

Prior Notice is about whether FDA admits the food, not about tax. The US suspended its de minimis duty exemption from August 29, 2025, so most commercial shipments now owe duty whatever their value. Bona fide gifts are treated differently: under [19 CFR 10.152](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-19/section-10.152), gifts sent from abroad to one person, with a total retail value of up to US$100 per day, still enter duty-free, and CBP has said its de minimis rules do not affect that. A gift that is duty-free still needs Prior Notice if it is food.

## How we help with food shipments to the US

We don't submit Prior Notice on your behalf. What we do is check your items against FDA requirements before anything ships: whether the product is food, whether it falls under an exclusion, whether the packaging carries the manufacturer details, and whether anything in the box is likely to be refused. We then advise you and your recipient on Prior Notice and the paperwork, so the person submitting it has what they need.

This applies whether you're in Vietnam or ordering from abroad. If you're buying from a Vietnamese shop and having it delivered to us, see [how to buy from Vietnam and have it shipped to you](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/buy-from-vietnam-ship-worldwide/). For the wider list of what clears US customs, read [what you can and can't bring home from Vietnam to the US](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/articles/vietnam-to-usa-what-you-can-and-cant-bring-home/), and for coffee specifically, our [guide to shipping Vietnamese coffee](https://gatewayexpress.vn/en/articles/how-to-ship-vietnamese-coffee-home/).

## Official sources

- FDA: [Prior Notice of Imported Foods](https://www.fda.gov/industry/fda-import-process/prior-notice-imported-foods)
- FDA: [Prior Notice policy on sending gifts to friends and family](https://www.fda.gov/industry/prior-notice-imported-foods/prior-notice-policy-sending-gifts-your-friends-and-family)
- eCFR: [21 CFR Part 1, Subpart I – Prior Notice](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-I)
- eCFR: [21 CFR Part 1, Subpart H – Food facility registration](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-H)

*This article explains the rules as they stood in October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. For a specific product or a commercial import, confirm the requirements with FDA or a licensed US customs broker.*

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need FDA Prior Notice to send Vietnamese food as a gift?

The rule covers food sent as a gift. The only gift exclusion is for food you made yourself at home and send to a person in the US for non-business reasons. FDA also says it typically takes no action when an individual buys a gift and ships it themselves to another individual, but that is enforcement discretion, not an exemption, and it does not apply when a shop ships the food. If you're unsure, treat the shipment as needing Prior Notice.

### Who can submit FDA Prior Notice?

Any person who has the required information can submit it – often the recipient or importer in the US. It is filed online through FDA's Prior Notice System Interface or through CBP's ACE system, in English, and each submission gets a confirmation number.

### How early does Prior Notice have to be submitted?

For food arriving by air, Prior Notice must be submitted at least 4 hours before arrival. Through FDA's online system it can be submitted no earlier than 15 days before arrival; through ACE, no earlier than 30 days.

### What happens if food arrives without Prior Notice?

It can be refused admission and held at the port of entry. It is not delivered to the recipient, and FDA and CBP are not responsible for the storage or other costs.

### Does Gateway Express file Prior Notice for me?

No. We check your items against FDA requirements and advise you on Prior Notice and the paperwork before anything ships, so the person submitting it has the information they need.