While the inspectors are in the shop: verify, cooperate, and get it in writing
During the visit do three things only. Verify who the visitors are and what authorises them, give them what they ask for truthfully, and ask for a written inspection record and an inventory of anything sealed.
FDA inspectors present identification and mission documents. Reading them and noting names, office and reference number is your right and your first protection against impostors. Once satisfied, have one designated manager accompany the team while other staff carry on working and refrain from volunteering answers. Inspectors typically look at whether the shop or company holds an FDA licence to operate that matches what it actually does; whether the food, supplements, cosmetics, medicines, devices or household chemicals on the shelves and in the stockroom carry the corresponding registration or notification; whether the labels comply; and where the goods came from. What you need to be able to produce is purchase invoices, delivery receipts and copies of the supplier's licence and product registrations. Where you cannot, say so. Do not invent a source on the spot, and do not let staff relabel or hide stock.
If the team decides to seal or inventory certain products, ask for a list showing product name, quantity, batch and location, check it and sign for a copy. Signing means you received the document, not that you accept every conclusion; you may note a disagreement beside your signature or submit it separately. Do not argue with the inspectors and do not try to resolve anything with money or gifts. That is bribery and it changes the nature of the case entirely. Afterwards, write an internal account of the visit and pass it with the papers to the company's responsible officer. If the visitors could not show proper credentials and simply asked for cash, see telling a real inspector from a shakedown.
Looking after sealed stock: leave it in place, lock it away, pull the rest
Sealed products stay in your custody until released, but you may not touch them. Opening, selling, moving or destroying them is a new violation, and a more serious one than selling an unregistered product.
On the same day, do the following. One: leave the goods where the inspectors placed them, exactly as listed. If they must be moved so the shop can function, get written consent first. Add your own barrier, such as a locked room or a 'sealed, do not touch' sign, and tell every member of staff. Two: photograph the stock against the list, record the state of the seals, and check them periodically so that an accidental disturbance by an employee does not become impossible to explain. Three: remove from sale every other unregistered or unnotified product in the shop, the stockroom and the online store, even if it was not sealed. The inspectors saw only part of your range, and you know the rest. Continuing to sell items they did not reach is, if found later, a knowing violation.
Four: notify the supplier and demand documents. Often the product is in fact registered but you hold no copy, or the supplier's certificate covers a different size, formula or holder from the item you sell. Ask for the registration or notification that corresponds exactly to the product, together with the supplier's own licence, as fast as possible. Five: take down matching listings on online shops and social platforms and keep screenshots of the removal, which you will need when describing your corrective action. If your own company imported the goods, the issue goes beyond retail and reaches the import licence; check yourself against the permits needed to import food into the Philippines.
Which kind of 'unregistered' is it? Four situations with different exits
The word 'unregistered' covers four distinct situations. Identify yours before deciding whether to supply documents, register, return the goods or let them go.
First, the product holds a valid registration or notification and you simply could not show it. The exit is to submit the documents promptly and explain the supply relationship. This is the easiest case to close. Second, the product was registered but the certificate has expired, or the version on sale differs in formula, size or labelling from what was registered. The holder must renew or amend, and until that is done the product still cannot be sold. Third, the product has never been registered or notified in the Philippines and arrived in luggage, through parcel forwarding or through an unlicensed channel. Stock like this is seldom released once paperwork catches up; be ready to return it to the supplier or see it disposed of under procedure, and to follow the full registration route if you want to sell it in future. Fourth, the shop or company itself lacks the FDA licence for the activity it carries on, for example importing, distributing or retailing without the matching licence. That is a problem with the entity, heavier than any single product, and must be handled in parallel.
Product category matters too, because the regimes differ: food and supplements are registered, cosmetics are notified, and medicines and medical devices follow stricter routes. One shop may hold several categories, so list them separately. See cosmetic notification, supplement registration and claim limits and renewing an FDA licence to operate. Take particular care where a product carries therapeutic claims. A claim to treat or cure can cause something regulated as food or a cosmetic to be treated as an unapproved drug, with plainly heavier consequences. Stop the promotion at once and have a lawyer assess it.
After the report or notice arrives: answer in writing, on time
An inspection is normally followed by paperwork. Whether it is called a report of violation, a show-cause notice or a notice of hearing, it must be answered in writing by the stated deadline.
Silence usually costs more than the violation. The agency will decide without your side of the story, and penalties, forfeiture and public advisories can follow. Before answering, read the document closely and identify the specific allegations, their basis, what you are required to do, the deadline and the office to which the reply must go. Then prepare a written explanation covering the company's details and licence status, the source and quantity of the products involved, your factual response to each allegation, the corrective steps already taken, such as withdrawal from sale, notice to the supplier, segregation of stock and staff training, and your request concerning the sealed goods. Attach everything: purchase records, supplier documents, screenshots of delisting and your internal corrective records.
Hold to two rules. State only what you have verified. Do not invent a source or backdate a document to improve your position, because a false statement is a separate and heavier liability. And admit what should be admitted while explaining what can be explained. If you bought without checking, say so and describe how you will prevent it, which serves you better than pleading that you did not know registration was required. A seller is responsible for the regulatory status of what it sells. Have a lawyer experienced in food and drug regulation draft or review the reply, especially where the value is high, medicines or devices are involved, or you have a prior record. Keep a stamped received copy. If other agencies are inspecting you in the same period, coordinate the responses; see handling serial inspections after a malicious report.
What happens to the stock: documents, return or supervised disposal
The fate of sealed goods is decided by the agency, not by you. The three usual outcomes are release once documents are verified, return to the supplier or country of origin, and disposal under supervision.
Where the product was registered all along, submitting the documents and requesting release after verification is the smooth route. Where the product could be registered but is not, be realistic. Registration needs a qualified holder, a complete technical file and review time. The goods cannot be sold meanwhile and may not outlast their shelf life, and for a modest quantity a registration undertaken only to rescue the stock rarely makes commercial sense. Where the product cannot lawfully be sold in the Philippines, discuss the return or disposal procedure with the agency and pursue the supplier. Your claim rests on the sales contract and on what the supplier represented at the time. If they told you the item was registered or cleared for sale, preserve the messages and paperwork.
Several things must not be done. Do not destroy sealed goods before a decision is issued, since that can be treated as destroying evidence. Do not lend the stock to a friend's shop to sell. Do not repackage it or apply another product's registration number and put it back on the shelf; misusing a registration number is a very serious matter. If disposal involves fees or fines, pay through official channels and keep the official receipts. Finally, total the loss and trace it back through your purchasing process: who decided to stock the item, whether anyone checked its registration, and whether the supplier's credentials were on file. If the goods came from overseas, check the import stage for further gaps. For a shipment stopped at the port, see our companion guide on cargo held by customs in the Philippines.
Not being caught out again: three purchasing checks, and how Yixing helps
Avoiding a repeat depends on checking before you buy. Make 'see the certificate, then order, then file it' a fixed rule.
Check the certificate. Before any new product goes on the shelf, obtain the registration or notification that matches it exactly, compare the product name, size, holder and validity, and confirm it yourself through the agency's public verification channel instead of relying on a photograph. Check the entity. Confirm the supplier holds the right licence, and confirm that your own licence covers what you do; importing, distributing, retailing and selling online each have their own requirements. Keep a file. For each product hold the registration papers, purchase records and your verification note, and log the expiry date with a reminder. Nominate one person to receive inspectors who knows where those files are. Products used in salons and nail studios fall under the same regime; see licences and FDA rules for salons. For categories that need permits from other agencies at import, see import permits and regulated goods.
Yixing Travel Consultancy (SEC Registration No. CS202009551, Bureau of Immigration Accredited Agency No. CA-202624381-1) provides compliance retainer services to foreign-owned retail, food and trading businesses in the Philippines: translating inspection papers and mapping their deadlines, assembling the material for a written explanation, auditing the registration status of products on sale, building supplier credential files with expiry reminders, and accompanying and interpreting at agency counters. We are a private consultancy with no affiliation to any government agency, and we neither represent nor can influence an enforcement outcome. For penalty hearings, disputes over disposal or claims against a supplier, we help you engage licensed counsel. If the inspection happened today, photograph the sealed-goods list and the inspection record, leave the stock alone and then contact us. For your specific case consult a licensed lawyer; this article is not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open the stock the FDA sealed and sell part of it?
The products are actually registered but I do not have the certificates. What now?
May I keep selling similar unregistered items the inspectors did not list?
Can I ignore the violation notice and wait for it to pass?
If I apply for registration now, will the stock be released?
My supplier told me these could be sold. Who is responsible?
An inspector hinted that a payment would make the report go away. What should I do?
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