Department of Agriculture December 16, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of and requesting comment on the revised guideline to assist poultry establishments in controlling Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw poultry. The Agency has revised its guideline to provide updated information for establishments to use to control pathogens in raw poultry products with the goal of reducing human illnesses associated with consuming poultry contaminated with Salmonella and Campylobacter. The guideline represents the best practice recommendations of FSIS based on scientific and practical considerations. This document does not represent regulatory requirements. By following this guideline, poultry establishments should be able to produce raw poultry products that have less contamination with pathogens, including Salmonella and Campylobacter, than would otherwise be the case.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on the Agency's proposed information collection for the Summer Food Service Program. This collection is a revision of a currently approved information collection.

We are proposing to consolidate the regulations governing bovine tuberculosis, and those governing brucellosis. As part of this consolidation, we are proposing to transition the tuberculosis and brucellosis programs away from a State classification system based in disease prevalence. Instead, States and Tribes would implement animal health plans that identify sources of the diseases within the State or Tribal lands and specify mitigations to address the risk posed by those sources. The consolidated regulations would also set forth standards for surveillance, epidemiological investigations, and affected herd management that must be incorporated into each animal health plan, with certain limited exceptions; would provide revised conditions for the interstate movement of cattle, bison, and captive cervids; and would provide revised conditions for APHIS approval of tests, testing laboratories, and testers for bovine tuberculosis or brucellosis. Finally, we are proposing to revise the bovine tuberculosis- and brucellosis-related import requirements for cattle and bison to make these requirements clearer and assure that they more effectively mitigate the risk of introduction of these diseases into the United States.