Because of the effects of the tsunami, there has been massive infrastructure damage to facilities and warehouses in the region which has raised U.S. concerns that FDA-regulated products may be contaminated.
The message asks the import community to “be proactive and diligent, checking the quality of products, looking for obvious physical and water damage, conscious of the possibility that goods may have been repacked.”
Those with concerns should check first with the local FDA district or with the FDA Division of Import Operations and Policy at 301-443-6533.
The tsunami not only took a terrible toll on land with human deaths, it caused damage that is only now begun to being assessed to the region's infrastructure – ports, bridges, roads and airfields. Too, there have been changes in the seabed, resulting in changes in shipping channels. In an effort to ascertain just what has been damaged and how severe the damage is the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is working with U.S. governmental agencies to provide imaging to help in the cause.
Though roads in the southern and eastern portions of Sri Lanka have been badly damaged, according to P&O Nedlloyd, its port has not suffered. Too, the shipping company reports no infrastructure damage for ports it calls on in the Maldives and India.
