§1.634. When will FDA revoke recognition? — Inbound Citations

(c) FDA may withdraw accreditation, in whole or in part, from a third-party certification body when such third-party certification body is accredited by an accreditation body for which recognition is revoked under § 1.634, if FDA determines there is good cause for withdrawal, including:

(1) Demonstrated bias or lack of objectivity when conducting activities under this subpart; or

(2) Performance that calls into question the validity or reliability of its food safety audits or certifications.

(2) In the case of a third-party certification body accredited by an accreditation body for which recognition has been revoked under § 1.634:

(i) If the third-party certification body becomes accredited by another recognized accreditation body or by FDA through direct accreditation no later than 1 year after withdrawal of accreditation, or the original date of the expiration of accreditation, whichever comes first; or

(ii) Under such conditions as FDA may impose in withdrawing accreditation.

(a) No later than 10 business days after the date of issuance of a revocation of recognition of an accreditation body under § 1.634, an individual authorized to act on the accreditation body's behalf may submit a request for a regulatory hearing on the revocation under part 16 of this chapter. The issuance of revocation issued under § 1.634 will contain all of the elements required by § 16.22 of this chapter and will thereby constitute the notice of an opportunity for hearing under part 16 of this chapter.

(3) If payment is not received within 90 days of the payment due date, FDA will revoke the accreditation body's recognition under § 1.634(a)(4)(iii), and provide notice of such revocation in accordance with § 1.634.

(3) If payment is not received within 90 days of the payment due date, FDA will revoke the accreditation body's recognition under § 1.634(a)(4)(iii), and provide notice of such revocation in accordance with § 1.634.

(a) An accredited third-party certification body must annually, upon FDA request made for cause, or as required under § 1.631(f)(1)(i), § 1.634(d)(1)(i), or § 1.635(c)(1)(i), conduct a self-assessment that includes evaluation of compliance with this subpart, including:

(1) The performance of its officers, employees, or other agents involved in auditing and certification activities, including the performance of audit agents in examining facilities, process(es), and food using the applicable food safety requirements of the FD&C Act and FDA regulations;

(2) The degree of consistency among its officers, employees, or other agents involved in auditing and certification activities, including evaluating whether its audit agents interpreted audit protocols in a consistent manner;

(3) The compliance of the accredited third-party certification body and its officers, employees, and other agents involved in auditing and certification activities, with the conflict of interest requirements of § 1.657;

(4) Actions taken in response to the results of any assessments conducted by FDA or, where applicable, the recognized accreditation body under § 1.621; and

(5) As requested by FDA, any other aspects of its performance relevant to a determination of whether the accredited third-party certification body is in compliance with this subpart.

(b) An accredited third-party certification body must submit the report of its annual self-assessment required by § 1.655 electronically to its recognized accreditation body (or, in the case of direct accreditation, electronically and in English, to FDA), within 45 days of the anniversary date of its accreditation under this subpart. For an accredited third-party certification body subject to an FDA request for cause, or § 1.631(f)(1)(i), § 1.634(d)(1)(i), or § 1.635(c)(1)(i), the report of its self-assessment must be submitted to FDA electronically, in English, within 60 days of the FDA request, denial of renewal, revocation, or relinquishment of recognition of the accreditation body that granted its accreditation. Such report must include an up-to-date list of any audit agents it uses to conduct audits under this subpart.