Retail and Home Food Handling and Preparation Behaviors That May Lead to Cross-Contamination by Bacterial Pathogens of Foods That Are Not Likely To Undergo Cooking or Additional Cooking, 38130-38132 [E6-10418]
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rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
38130
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 5, 2006 / Notices
providing access to program benefits
and nutrition education. The FNS
programs include Child Nutrition, Food
Distribution, Food Stamp and
Supplemental Foods Programs.
The basis of our approach rests on the
philosophies that all health
communications and social marketing
activities must be science-based,
theoretically grounded, audiencedriven, and results-oriented. Secondly,
consumer-based health communications
require a focus on specific target
audiences, encouraging positive
behaviors in culturally relevant ways,
unique benefits and supports for
adopting the new behavior, insights into
the most appropriate time and place to
deliver messages, and striking the right
tone to enhance attention and action to
the message. Interventions need to be
designed so that they can be delivered
through different types of media and in
a variety of formats for diverse
audiences.
FNS initiated a nutrition education
and promotion campaign, entitled Eat
Smart. Play Hard.TM (the Campaign) in
FY 2000. The Campaign is designed to
convey science-based, behavior-focused
nutrition messages about healthy eating
and physical activity to children eligible
to participate in FNS nutrition
assistance programs and their
caregivers. The messages are based on
the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (DGAs) and MyPyramid.
Future projects will support Eat Smart.
Play Hard.TM and other nutrition
education initiatives for all FNS
nutrition assistance programs. This
includes development of nutrition
education materials, messages and
interventions for all FNS nutrition
assistance programs and participants.
Fundamental to FNS’ success in
delivering science-based nutrition
messages and reaching diverse segments
of the population is obtaining
qualitative feedback from key
components of the target audience or
individuals providing service to the
target audience on the communication
strategies and interventions that will be
developed. This formative research is
essential to advancing Eat Smart. Play
Hard.TM as well as other FNS nutrition
education efforts. Formative input and
testing activities described will help in
the development of effective tools and
communication strategies. Collection of
this information will increase FNS’
ability to formulate nutrition education
interventions that resonate with the
intended target population, in particular
low-income families.
Formative research methods and
information collection will include
focus groups, interviews (dyad, triad,
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:34 Jul 03, 2006
Jkt 205001
telephone, etc.), surveys and web-based
data collection. The data obtained will
provide input regarding the potential
use of materials and products during
both the developmental and testing
stages. In order to determine future
nutrition education needs, tools and
dissemination strategies, key informant
interviews will be conducted. This task
involves collecting a diverse array of
information from a variety of groups
including: People familiar with the
target audiences; individuals delivering
nutrition education interventions and
projects; program providers at State and
local levels; program participants and
other relevant informants associated
with FNS programs.
Findings from all data collection will
be included in summary reports
submitted to USDA–FNS. The reports
will describe the data collection
methods, findings, conclusions,
implications, and recommendations for
the development and effective
dissemination of nutrition education
materials and related tools for FNS
population groups. There will be no
specific quantitative analysis of data. No
attempt will be made to generalize the
findings to be nationally representative
or statistically valid.
Respondents: Recipients and those
persons eligible for FNS nutrition
assistance programs, State and local
staff administering FNS programs, FNS
stakeholders and consumers, and other
interested parties.
Estimated Number of Respondents:
Focus Group Screeners ........
Interview Screeners/Surveys
Focus Groups ........................
Intercept Interviews .............
Dyad/Triad Interviews .........
Telephone Interviews ...........
Surveys .................................
Web-based Collections .........
Confidentiality Agreements
Estimated Time per Response:
Focus Group Screeners ........
Interview Screeners/Surveys
Focus Groups ........................
Intercept Interviews .............
Dyad/Triad Interviews .........
Telephone Interviews ...........
Surveys .................................
Web-based Collections .........
Confidentiality Agreement ...
Estimated Total Annual Burden
on Respondents:
Focus Group Screeners ........
Interview Screeners/Surveys
Focus Groups ........................
Intercept Interviews .............
Dyad/Triad Interviews .........
Telephone Interviews ...........
Survey Instruments ..............
Web-based Collections .........
Confidentiality Agreement ...
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
19,000
3000
1400
1500
800
200
1500
800
800
9000
1 10
110
1 120
1 30
1 60
1 15
1 30
1 30
1 10
1 30,000
1 14,000
1 180,000
1 24,000
1 12,000
1 22,500
1 24,000
1 24,000
1 90,000
Total Estimated Burden .......
1 420,500
1 Minutes.
Public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to
average 19,000 respondents with a total
estimated burden of 420,500 minutes or
7,008 hours.
Dated: June 28, 2006.
Roberto Salazar,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. E6–10466 Filed 7–3–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–30–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS–2006–0008]
Retail and Home Food Handling and
Preparation Behaviors That May Lead
to Cross-Contamination by Bacterial
Pathogens of Foods That Are Not
Likely To Undergo Cooking or
Additional Cooking
Food Safety and Inspection
Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of request for
information.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Food Safety and
Inspection Service (FSIS) is requesting
information on studies related to crosscontamination by bacterial foodborne
pathogens of foods that are not likely to
undergo cooking or additional cooking
in food handling and preparation.
Specifically, FSIS is interested in
quantitative data obtained by
observation of retail (commercial and
institutional settings) and home food
handlers. FSIS requests information on
the types of food handling and
preparation behaviors that could lead to
the transfer of bacteria from products of
animal origin to foods that are not likely
to undergo cooking or additional
cooking (e.g., salad components and
ready-to-eat foods), as well as
information on the frequency at which
these behaviors occur. Information
submitted in response to this Request
for Information may be used in risk
assessment modeling to estimate the
public health impact of the presence of
various bacterial foodborne pathogens
in meat, poultry, and egg products.
DATES: Submissions must be received on
or before September 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit
information by any of the following
methods:
• Mail, including floppy disks or CD–
ROM’s, and hand-or courier-delivered
items: Send to Neal J. Golden, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Food Safety
and Inspection Service, Office of Public
E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM
05JYN1
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 5, 2006 / Notices
Health Science, Risk Assessment
Division, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Room 374, Aerospace Center,
Washington, DC 20250–3700.
• Electronic mail:
neal.golden@fsis.usda.gov.
• Facsimile: Neal Golden at (202)
690–6337.
All submissions must include the
Agency name and docket number FSIS–
2006–0008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neal
Golden, Office of Public Health Science,
Food Safety and Inspection Service;
Telephone: (202) 690–6419, Electronic
mail: neal.golden@fsis.usda.gov. Please
note that the telephone and facsimile
numbers are not toll free numbers.
Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
e.s.t., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
The Risk Assessment Division of
FSIS’ Office of Public Health Science
develops and performs risk assessments
of bacterial pathogens in meat, poultry,
eggs and egg products to inform the
Agency’s policy development activities.
These risk assessments are used to
evaluate intervention strategies to
reduce foodborne risks and to guide,
support, and enhance the Agency’s
overall decision-making process, riskmanagement policies, outreach efforts,
data collection initiatives, and research
priorities.
The purpose of this notice is to
encourage the submission of
quantitative data or information on
studies of retail and home food
preparation behavior that could lead to
cross-contamination of foods that are
not likely to undergo cooking or
additional cooking after the
contamination occurs. In particular,
quantitative information obtained
through observation of retail and home
food handlers is needed.
FSIS will review the information
submitted in response to this Request
for Information for use in the
development of risk assessment models.
This Request for Information does not
pertain to a particular regulatory
initiative or rule-making proposal but is
rather a method to identify information
to inform Agency risk assessments.
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
B. Background
Cross-contamination of foods by
bacterial foodborne pathogens occurs at
retail establishments and in the home
and is thought to be a significant
contributing factor for foodborne illness
in the U.S. Improper handling of raw
products of animal origin can result in
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:34 Jul 03, 2006
Jkt 205001
the contamination of salad components
and other foods that are typically
consumed without further cooking.
Data are needed to inform risk
assessments to assess the consumer risk
from foods that have been crosscontaminated. The exposure assessment
component of a risk assessment
estimates the likelihood of exposure to
a microbial pathogen and the number of
organisms likely to be consumed. To
develop an accurate assessment of
exposure, it is necessary to consider the
major exposure pathways. However,
there is a lack of quantitative data to
evaluate the impact of crosscontamination on consumer exposure to
foodborne pathogens.
To better understand the impact of
retail and home cross-contamination on
public health, information is needed on
the following two topics: (1) Food
handling behaviors and their frequency
and (2) transfer rate of bacterial
foodborne pathogens.
1. Food Handling Behaviors and
Frequency
To incorporate cross-contamination
exposure pathways into risk assessment
modeling, we need to know the types of
food preparation and handling
behaviors used at retail and in the
home. We also need to know the
frequency at which these behaviors are
exhibited.
Most information available on retail
and home food handling is based upon
self-reported surveys, obtained by the
use of questionnaires, interviews, and
focus groups. However, data obtained in
this manner may not be a true reflection
of actual practices because of reporting
bias. Though this type of survey data
can be useful, it is not preferable.
Direct observation of food preparation
behaviors is required to understand
more fully cross-contamination
exposure pathways. Observational data
can be obtained by different means;
video taping, observation by closed
circuit viewing, and direct observation
(being present in the food preparation
location) have been used. Observational
techniques can produce quantitative
data and are less biased than selfreporting. As a result, quantitative
observational data are favored for risk
assessment modeling purposes.
2. Transfer Rate of Bacterial Foodborne
Pathogens
To understand the transfer of bacterial
pathogens in kitchens, information on
the likelihood of transfer to different
components within this environment is
needed. Researchers have investigated
bacterial transfer rates; however, these
studies have used a limited number of
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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38131
contamination sources and a limited
range of bacteria. For example, studies
that use raw products purchased at
retail to examine the transfer of
pathogens present on that product
would be more representative than
studies that add bacteria and then study
the transfer rate. Information on the
distribution of transfer rates of E. coli
O157:H7, Salmonella, Campylobacter,
and Listeria from meat, poultry, and egg
products during food handling and
preparation behaviors would be useful
to model retail and domestic crosscontamination.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of
rulemaking and policy development is
important. Consequently, in an effort to
ensure that the public and in particular
minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities, are aware of this notice,
FSIS will announce it on-line through
the FSIS Web page located at https://
www.fsis.usda.gov/
regulations_&_policies/
2006_Notices_Index/index.asp.
The Regulations.gov Web site is the
central online rulemaking portal of the
United States government. It is being
offered as a public service to increase
participation in the Federal
government’s regulatory activities. FSIS
participates in Regulations.gov and will
accept comments on documents
published on the site. The site allows
visitors to search by keyword or
Department or Agency for rulemakings
that allow for public comment. Each
entry provides a quick link to a
comment form so that visitors can type
in their comments and submit them to
FSIS. The website is located at https://
www.regulations.gov.
FSIS also will make copies of this
Federal Register publication available
through the FSIS Constituent Update,
which is used to provide information
regarding FSIS policies, procedures,
regulations, Federal Register notices,
FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other
types of information that could affect or
would be of interest to our constituents
and stakeholders. The update is
communicated via Listserv, a free e-mail
subscription service consisting of
industry, trade, and farm groups,
consumer interest groups, allied health
professionals, scientific professionals,
and other individuals who have
requested to be included. The update
also is available on the FSIS Web page.
Through Listserv and the web page,
FSIS is able to provide information to a
much broader, more diverse audience.
In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail
subscription service which provides
automatic and customized access to
E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM
05JYN1
38132
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 128 / Wednesday, July 5, 2006 / Notices
selected food safety news and
information. This service is available at
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/
news_and_events/email_subscription/.
Options range from recalls to export
information to regulations, directives
and notices. Customers can add or
delete subscriptions themselves and
have the option to password protect
their account.
C. Disclaimer
This Request for Information should
not be construed as a commitment by
the Agency to enter into any agreement
with any entity submitting response(s).
Done in Washington, DC, June 28, 2006.
Barbara J. Masters,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6–10418 Filed 7–3–06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Norwood Project; Hell Canyon Ranger
District, Black Hills National Forest;
Custer, SD
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
AGENCY:
rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The Hell Canyon Ranger
District of the Black Hills National
Forest intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for a proposal to implement multiple
resource management actions within the
Norwood project area as directed by the
Black Hills National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan. The
Norwood project area is approximately
46,450 acres in size, with 42,250 acres
of National Forest lands and 4,200 acres
of private land. The South Dakota State
snowmobile trail system bisects the area
and the Beaver Creek cross-country ski
area is within the project area. The
project proposes to modify stand
conditions in the project area to
enhance vegetative diversity, reduce the
risk of mountain pine beetle infestation
and large scale wildfire, provide for
wildlife habitat needs and provide for a
sustainable supply of commercial
timber, while providing for management
and public access needs.
DATES: Comments concerning the scope
of the analysis will be most useful if
received within 30 days following
publication of this notice. The draft
environmental impact statement is
expected to be available in October 2006
and the final environmental impact
statement is expected to be completed
by February 2007.
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:34 Jul 03, 2006
Jkt 205001
Send written comments to
Michael D. Lloyd, District Ranger, Back
Hills National Forest, Hell Canyon
Ranger District, 330 Mount Rushmore
Road, Custer, South Dakota 57730.
Telephone number: (605) 673–4853. Fax
number: (605) 673–5461. Electronic
comments must be readable in Word,
Rich Text or pdf formats and must
contain ‘‘Norwood’’ in the subject line.
electronic comments may be e-mailed
to: comments-rocky-mountain-blackhills-hell-canyon@fs.fed.us.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kelly Honors, Project Leader, at the
address listed above or by phone at
(315) 668–3307 or (605) 673–4853.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
actions proposed are in direct response
to management direction provided by
the Black Hills National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan, as
amended (Forest Plan). The Project Area
is located along approximately 22 miles
of the Wyoming and South Dakota
border in Pennington County, South
Dakota and Weston and Crook Counties
in Wyoming. The southernmost point of
the project area is approximately 7 miles
directly east of Newcastle, Wyoming.
ADDRESSES:
Purpose and Need for Action
The purpose and need for action in
the Norwood project area is to enhance
vegetative diversity, reduce the risk of
mountain pine beetle infestation and
large-scale wildfire, provide for wildlife
habitat needs and provide a sustainable
supply of commercial timber consistent
with Forest Plan direction, while
providing for management and public
access needs. This project is focused on
implementing management actions that
move toward achieving desired
conditions and objectives embodied in
Goals 2 (provide for biologically diverse
ecosystems), 3 (provide for sustained
commodity uses) and 10 (establish and
maintain a mosaic of vegetation
conditions to reduce occurrences of
large-scale fire, insect, and disease
events) of the Forest Plan.
Proposed Action
The proposed action includes the
following management actions.
• Commercial thinning on
approximately 6,900 acres to increase
tree growth and vigor, reduce the
potential for mountain pine beetle
infestation and reduce the potential for
spreading crown fires.
• Creation and maintenance of within
stand diversity in pine and mixed
spruce sites through use of uneven-aged
management prescriptions on
approximately 600 acres.
• Restoration and maintenance of
hardwood and meadow habitats by
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
removing conifers from approximately
1,800 acres of these habitats.
• Regeneration of mature pine stands
on approximately 1,700 acres and
releasing approximately 2,000 acres of
regenerated pine stands through
overstory removal prescription.
• Removal of live pine trees which
have mountain pine beetle larva in
them, on approximately 270 acres, as a
suppression method for mountain pine
beetle infestation.
• Fuels treatments designed to reduce
fuel loadings, would occur on
approximately 5,500 acres with
broadcast burning being proposed on
approximately 2,300 of these acres.
• Reducing the density of the
managed road system from 4.0 miles per
square mile to 3.2 miles per square mile.
This is to be accomplished by
obliterating unneeded roads and by
converting needed undetermined roads
to system roads.
Responsible Official
Michael D. Lloyd, Hell Canyon
District Ranger, Black Hills National
Forest, 330 Mount Rushmore Road,
Custer, SD, 57730.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decision to be made is whether or
not to implement the proposed action or
an alternative to the proposed action at
this time.
Scoping Process
The Hell Canyon Ranger District has
mailed letters with comprehensive
scoping documents to adjacent
landowners, local and tribal government
representatives, permittees,
organizations and other interested or
potentially affected parties. The scoping
document with attached maps is also
posted on the Black Hills National
Forest worldwide Web site, https://
www.fs.fed.us/r2/blackhills/. Comments
submitted in response to this NOI, will
be most useful if received within 30
days from the date of this notice.
Comment Requested
This notice of intent is part of the
scoping process which will guide the
development of the EIS. Comments
received will assist the planning team to
identify key issues and opportunities
used to refine the proposal or possible
alternatives and mitigation measures.
Comments on the DEIS will be
requested during the 45 day comment
period following publication of the
Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register, expected in October, 2006.
E:\FR\FM\05JYN1.SGM
05JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 5, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38130-38132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10418]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0008]
Retail and Home Food Handling and Preparation Behaviors That May
Lead to Cross-Contamination by Bacterial Pathogens of Foods That Are
Not Likely To Undergo Cooking or Additional Cooking
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is requesting
information on studies related to cross-contamination by bacterial
foodborne pathogens of foods that are not likely to undergo cooking or
additional cooking in food handling and preparation. Specifically, FSIS
is interested in quantitative data obtained by observation of retail
(commercial and institutional settings) and home food handlers. FSIS
requests information on the types of food handling and preparation
behaviors that could lead to the transfer of bacteria from products of
animal origin to foods that are not likely to undergo cooking or
additional cooking (e.g., salad components and ready-to-eat foods), as
well as information on the frequency at which these behaviors occur.
Information submitted in response to this Request for Information may
be used in risk assessment modeling to estimate the public health
impact of the presence of various bacterial foodborne pathogens in
meat, poultry, and egg products.
DATES: Submissions must be received on or before September 3, 2006.
ADDRESSES: You may submit information by any of the following methods:
Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand-or
courier-delivered items: Send to Neal J. Golden, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Office of Public
[[Page 38131]]
Health Science, Risk Assessment Division, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Room 374, Aerospace Center, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Electronic mail: neal.golden@fsis.usda.gov.
Facsimile: Neal Golden at (202) 690-6337.
All submissions must include the Agency name and docket number
FSIS-2006-0008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Neal Golden, Office of Public Health
Science, Food Safety and Inspection Service; Telephone: (202) 690-6419,
Electronic mail: neal.golden@fsis.usda.gov. Please note that the
telephone and facsimile numbers are not toll free numbers. Office hours
are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.s.t., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
A. Purpose
The Risk Assessment Division of FSIS' Office of Public Health
Science develops and performs risk assessments of bacterial pathogens
in meat, poultry, eggs and egg products to inform the Agency's policy
development activities. These risk assessments are used to evaluate
intervention strategies to reduce foodborne risks and to guide,
support, and enhance the Agency's overall decision-making process,
risk-management policies, outreach efforts, data collection
initiatives, and research priorities.
The purpose of this notice is to encourage the submission of
quantitative data or information on studies of retail and home food
preparation behavior that could lead to cross-contamination of foods
that are not likely to undergo cooking or additional cooking after the
contamination occurs. In particular, quantitative information obtained
through observation of retail and home food handlers is needed.
FSIS will review the information submitted in response to this
Request for Information for use in the development of risk assessment
models. This Request for Information does not pertain to a particular
regulatory initiative or rule-making proposal but is rather a method to
identify information to inform Agency risk assessments.
B. Background
Cross-contamination of foods by bacterial foodborne pathogens
occurs at retail establishments and in the home and is thought to be a
significant contributing factor for foodborne illness in the U.S.
Improper handling of raw products of animal origin can result in the
contamination of salad components and other foods that are typically
consumed without further cooking.
Data are needed to inform risk assessments to assess the consumer
risk from foods that have been cross-contaminated. The exposure
assessment component of a risk assessment estimates the likelihood of
exposure to a microbial pathogen and the number of organisms likely to
be consumed. To develop an accurate assessment of exposure, it is
necessary to consider the major exposure pathways. However, there is a
lack of quantitative data to evaluate the impact of cross-contamination
on consumer exposure to foodborne pathogens.
To better understand the impact of retail and home cross-
contamination on public health, information is needed on the following
two topics: (1) Food handling behaviors and their frequency and (2)
transfer rate of bacterial foodborne pathogens.
1. Food Handling Behaviors and Frequency
To incorporate cross-contamination exposure pathways into risk
assessment modeling, we need to know the types of food preparation and
handling behaviors used at retail and in the home. We also need to know
the frequency at which these behaviors are exhibited.
Most information available on retail and home food handling is
based upon self-reported surveys, obtained by the use of
questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups. However, data obtained in
this manner may not be a true reflection of actual practices because of
reporting bias. Though this type of survey data can be useful, it is
not preferable.
Direct observation of food preparation behaviors is required to
understand more fully cross-contamination exposure pathways.
Observational data can be obtained by different means; video taping,
observation by closed circuit viewing, and direct observation (being
present in the food preparation location) have been used. Observational
techniques can produce quantitative data and are less biased than self-
reporting. As a result, quantitative observational data are favored for
risk assessment modeling purposes.
2. Transfer Rate of Bacterial Foodborne Pathogens
To understand the transfer of bacterial pathogens in kitchens,
information on the likelihood of transfer to different components
within this environment is needed. Researchers have investigated
bacterial transfer rates; however, these studies have used a limited
number of contamination sources and a limited range of bacteria. For
example, studies that use raw products purchased at retail to examine
the transfer of pathogens present on that product would be more
representative than studies that add bacteria and then study the
transfer rate. Information on the distribution of transfer rates of E.
coli O157:H7, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria from meat,
poultry, and egg products during food handling and preparation
behaviors would be useful to model retail and domestic cross-
contamination.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the
public and in particular minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities, are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line
through the FSIS Web page located at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/
regulations_&_policies/2006_Notices_Index/index.asp.
The Regulations.gov Web site is the central online rulemaking
portal of the United States government. It is being offered as a public
service to increase participation in the Federal government's
regulatory activities. FSIS participates in Regulations.gov and will
accept comments on documents published on the site. The site allows
visitors to search by keyword or Department or Agency for rulemakings
that allow for public comment. Each entry provides a quick link to a
comment form so that visitors can type in their comments and submit
them to FSIS. The website is located at https://www.regulations.gov.
FSIS also will make copies of this Federal Register publication
available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide
information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal
Register notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other types of
information that could affect or would be of interest to our
constituents and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv,
a free e-mail subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and
farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals,
scientific professionals, and other individuals who have requested to
be included. The update also is available on the FSIS Web page. Through
Listserv and the web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a
much broader, more diverse audience.
In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail subscription service which
provides automatic and customized access to
[[Page 38132]]
selected food safety news and information. This service is available at
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription/.
Options range from recalls to export information to regulations,
directives and notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions
themselves and have the option to password protect their account.
C. Disclaimer
This Request for Information should not be construed as a
commitment by the Agency to enter into any agreement with any entity
submitting response(s).
Done in Washington, DC, June 28, 2006.
Barbara J. Masters,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E6-10418 Filed 7-3-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P
