Food Safety and Inspection Service 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS; also Agency) is clarifying its approach within the National Residue Program's (NRP's) Tier 2 exploratory program when it tests tissue samples collected from livestock and poultry carcasses and detects chemicals that do not have established tolerances or other regulatory levels. This approach applies to potentially hazardous chemicals that are not animal drugs or pesticide chemicals with established tolerances. The Agency also intends to apply this approach to egg products should these products become subject to chemical testing and to products from fish of the order Siluriformes when the final rule to make these species amenable to the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) is fully implemented. FSIS requests comments on the approach discussed in this document, and on how FSIS can further improve its management of environmental contaminants and other chemical hazards in meat and poultry products.

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.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) are sponsoring a public meeting on January 19, 2016. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Budapest, Hungary, February 21-25, 2016. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Food and Drug Administration recognize the importance of providing interested parties with the opportunity to obtain background information on the 37th Session of the CCMAS and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of an updated version of the Agency's compliance guidelines for controlling hazards posed by allergens and other ingredients of public health concern. The guidelines provide recommendations for identifying hazards when conducting a hazard analysis and for preventing and controlling hazards through a hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plan or Sanitation standard operating procedures (SOPs) or other prerequisite programs with respect to these substances.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to renew the approved information collection on two laboratory programs. FSIS is requesting a reduction in the estimated burden associated with these two programs from 24 hours to 13 hours based on historical use of certain forms to collect the information on the laboratories in the programs. The current approval for this information collection will expire on December 31, 2015.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to add Namibia to the list of countries whose meat inspection system is equivalent to the system that the United States has established under the Federal Meat Inspect Act (FMIA) and its implementing regulations. FSIS's review of Namibia's laws, regulations, and inspection implementation show this to be the case. At this time, because Namibia advised FSIS that it intends to export only boneless (not ground) raw beef products, such as primal cuts, chuck, blade, and beef trimmings to the United States, FSIS has only assessed Namibia's inspection system with respect to beef. Thus, should this rule become final, Namibia would need to submit additional information for FSIS to review before FSIS would allow Namibia to export product from other types of livestock to the U.S. All products that Namibia exports to the U.S. will be subject to re-inspection at United States ports of entry by FSIS inspectors.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is affirming, with changes and a request for comment, the interim final rule ``Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Meat and Poultry Products,'' which was published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2003. FSIS is making minor changes to the regulatory provisions in response to comments that the Agency received, on the basis of experience in implementing the provisions, and because the way FSIS obtains establishment profile information electronically has changed. FSIS is clarifying in the regulations that establishments may not release into commerce product that has been in contact with Listeria monocytogenes (Lm)-contaminated surfaces without reprocessing the product. In addition, FSIS is removing the requirement for establishments to report production volume and related information to FSIS because the Agency now routinely collects this information through its Public Health Information System (PHIS).

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), are holding a public meeting on August 6, 2015. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions that will be discussed at the 19th Session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex). The Session will be held in Mexico [the specific location in Mexico will be determined], October 5-9, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Agricultural Marketing Service recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 19th Session of CCFFV and to address items on the agenda.

This notice informs the public of the sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in accordance with section 491 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. This notice also provides a list of other standard-setting activities of Codex, including commodity standards, guidelines, codes of practice, and revised texts. This notice, which covers Codex activities during the time periods from June 1, 2014, to May 31, 2015, and June 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016, seeks comments on standards under consideration and recommendations for new standards.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to extend the approved information collection regarding requirements for official establishments to notify FSIS of adulterated or misbranded product, prepare and maintain written recall procedures, and document certain HACCP plan reassessments. The approval for this information collection will expire on August 31, 2015. FSIS is making no changes to the approved collection. The public may comment on either the entire information collection or on one of its three parts.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal meat inspection regulations to require the use of the descriptive designation ``mechanically tenderized,'' ``blade tenderized,'' or ``needle tenderized'' on the labels of raw or partially cooked needle- or blade-tenderized beef products, including beef products injected with a marinade or solution, unless the products are to be fully cooked or to receive another full lethality treatment at an official establishment. Under these final regulations, the product names of the affected products will have to include the descriptive designation ``mechanically tenderized,'' ``blade tenderized,'' or ``needle tenderized'' and an accurate description of the beef component. The print for all words in the descriptive designation and the product name will have to be in a single easy-to- read type style and color and must appear on a single-color contrasting background. The print may appear in upper and lower case letters, with the lower case letters not smaller than one-third (\1/3\) the size of the largest letter. In addition, the labels of raw and partially cooked needle- or blade-tenderized beef products destined for household consumers, hotels, restaurants, or similar institutions will have to bear validated cooking instructions. The instructions will have to specify the minimum internal temperatures and any hold or ``dwell'' times for the products to ensure that they are fully cooked. FSIS is amending the regulations because of scientific evidence that mechanically tenderized beef products need to be fully cooked in order to reduce the risk of pathogenic bacteria that may be transferred to the interior of the meat during mechanical tenderization. FSIS is also announcing the availability of updated guidance for the use of federally inspected establishments in developing validated cooking instructions for mechanically tenderized product.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to extend the approved information collection regarding voluntary recalls from commerce of meat and poultry products. FSIS is making no changes to the approved collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on August 31, 2015.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responding to comments on the Federal Register notice, ``Ongoing Equivalence Verifications of Foreign Food Regulatory Systems,'' it published on January 25, 2013.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responding to comments on the September 19, 2012, Federal Register notice, ``Risk- Based Sampling of Beef Manufacturing Trimmings for Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Plans for Beef Baseline'' and providing updates on how it is scheduling sampling for beef manufacturing trimmings. Additionally, the Agency is announcing that it is changing its existing algorithms for sampling of bench trim and raw ground beef components other than trim to make them more risk-based. Finally, the Agency is making available the following report: ``Effective Implementation of Beef Manufacturing Trimmings Sampling Redesign (MT60).''

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the dollar limitations on the amount of meat and meat food products, poultry, and poultry products that a retail store can sell to hotels, restaurants, and similar institutions without disqualifying itself for exemption from Federal inspection requirements. In accordance with FSIS's regulations, for calendar year 2015, the dollar limitation for meat and meat food products is being increased from $70,400 to $76,900 and for poultry products from $57,100 to $58,200. FSIS is changing the dollar limitations from calendar year 2014 to reflect price changes for these products, as evidenced by the Consumer Price Index.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to reinstate a previously approved information collection for Animal Disposition Reporting.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to request a new information collection for a survey of consumers about safe food handling instructions.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are sponsoring a public meeting on March 16, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 47th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Beijing, China, April 13-18, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the EPA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 47th Session of CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is hosting a public meeting to update stakeholders on IFSAC's work to improve foodborne illness source attribution. Specifically, IFSAC will report on work to develop harmonized foodborne illness source attribution estimates, as well as other analyses IFSAC has undertaken since its formation in 2011. This work can assist in the development of food safety strategies. FSIS, FDA and CDC are also soliciting input from stakeholders to assist in planning for future IFSAC endeavors.

FSIS is announcing the availability of the Agency's draft Establishment-Specific Data Release Strategic Plan (the draft Plan) for sharing data on federally inspected meat and poultry establishments with the public. FSIS developed the Plan in response to memoranda released by President Obama and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that called for increased data sharing; an Executive Order for agencies to develop plans for making information available to the public; National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) recommendations; and a National Research Council (NRC) review. FSIS is seeking public comments on the draft Plan.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a public meeting on February 23, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions that will be discussed at the 9th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in New Delhi, India, March 16-20, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 9th Session of the CCCF and to address items on the agenda.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on March 19, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions that will be discussed at the 22nd Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in San Jose, Costa Rica, from April 27-May 1, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Food and Drug Administration recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 22nd Session of CCRVDF, and to address items on the agenda.