To import psyllium husk, moringa powder or ashwagandha to the USA, you treat them as food ingredients regulated by the FDA: the supplier's facility must be registered, prior notice goes in for each shipment, and you, as importer, must run a Foreign Supplier Verification Program. What the product is called and sold as then decides which further rules apply. This article covers the ingredient level only. Confirm your position with the FDA or a US regulatory adviser.
Ingredient or supplement: the claim decides
In the US the same powder can be a conventional food ingredient, a dietary supplement ingredient or, if you make drug claims, something regulated much more strictly. What you say on the label and in marketing is what the FDA looks at. Statements that a product treats or prevents a disease are drug claims and are not allowed for a food or supplement. Rules for selling botanicals and supplements in the US explains the framework, and labelling claims for psyllium fibre covers one specific case.
Whether an ingredient needs additional notification when used in a supplement can depend on its history of use. Ask your adviser about the status of each botanical.
What the importer must do at the border
These obligations apply to botanical ingredients as to any imported food:
- Make sure the foreign facility is registered with the FDA.
- File prior notice for each shipment, usually through your customs broker.
- Carry out your FSVP, including hazard analysis of the supplier and records. See the FSVP rule for US importers.
- Keep records that tie each lot to the supplier, the test results and the label.
- Classify the product with the correct HS code, covered in how to find the right HS code.
Quality and safety checks for each ingredient
Each botanical has its own failure points, and your supplier's lot test should cover them. Psyllium needs checks on purity, swell volume, foreign matter and microbiology; see Indian psyllium sourcing. Moringa and ashwagandha need pesticide, heavy-metal and microbiological testing, and identity checks that the right plant part is supplied; see moringa and ashwagandha powder from India and checking ashwagandha is root only.
Heavy metals matter because botanical powders concentrate what the plant takes up from soil. Set limits in the specification and test each lot, as in heavy metal testing for herbs. California's Proposition 65 can also apply to some products sold there.
Duty and cost
Duty depends on tariff classification in the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and some botanicals fall under chapters that differ from spices. Ask your broker to confirm the code before you order. Landed cost includes freight, broker, testing and storage, and we do not publish figures.
Next step
Get the specification, certificate of analysis and a label draft reviewed before the first shipment, not after. If the product will go into capsules or branded retail packs, ask your manufacturer which documents it needs from the ingredient supplier, so the supplier can prepare them from the start.
We stay at raw-ingredient sourcing: finding and auditing plants, checking samples and documents, having lots tested, and supervising production and loading, for one written fee agreed in advance. We do not advise on claims or on finished supplements. To plan a US order, book a free sourcing review.