Food Safety and Inspection Service February 2016 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are sponsoring a public meeting on March 23, 2016. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States positions to be discussed at the 48th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Chongqing, China, April 25-29, 2016. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and EPA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 48th session of the CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing that the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) is sponsoring a public meeting on March 29-30, 2016. The objective of the public meeting is to review and determine the steps FSIS should take to ensure better Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) control at retail. FSIS is seeking input on whether FSIS should require certain actions by retail stores. FSIS will ask the Committee to consider the following: (1) Should FSIS rely on regulation, the Food Code, or some other means to effect these actions? (2) Are there sources of information that FSIS should consider when deciding on what steps to take that the Agency has not identified? NACMPI will also review and discuss whether FSIS should pursue mandatory features on the label of processed not ready to eat (NRTE) products that do not appear to be ``not ready to eat.'' For example: (1) Should all NRTE products be required to bear the statement ``raw meat/poultry, for safety cook thoroughly''? (2) Are there other steps FSIS should consider requiring of processors to prevent illnesses involving these products?

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS or ``the Agency'') is announcing that it will begin assessing whether establishments meet the pathogen reduction performance standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw chicken parts and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) comminuted chicken and turkey products. It will also begin posting, based on FSIS sampling results and depending on the standard for the particular product, whether an establishment meets the FSIS pathogen reduction performance standards, or what category an establishment is in. This notice also responds to comments received on the January 2015 Federal Register notice that proposed the standards and announced changes to FSIS's verification sampling program.