Food Safety and Inspection Service November 2, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the establishment of an FSIS and Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Export Verification (EV) Program. The program is designed to verify establishments' control of closed-faced sandwiches destined for Canada. Among other things, Canada is requiring that closed-faced sandwiches be produced under a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan. Under the program, the sandwiches will be produced in establishments that are under FSIS' voluntary reimbursable inspection service and that are operating under conditions that are as consistent as practical with those under which other post-lethality exposed meat and poultry products are produced under 9 CFR part 430. Closed-faced sandwiches are under jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but FDA does not require that the sandwiches be produced under a HACCP plan. It also does not verify that the requirements of 9 CFR part 430 are met. Consequently, FSIS and AMS are establishing this voluntary program. Once the program is implemented, only establishments participating in this program will be able to export closed-faced sandwiches to Canada.