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

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 revision of the approved information collection regarding the procedures for notifying the Agency about new technology and requests for waivers because the OMB approval will expire on April 30, 2017. Based on the latest available data, FSIS has increased its total annual burden estimate by 9,184 hours to account for in-plant trials, and monthly data collection and recordkeeping for establishments operating under a waiver.

The Office of the Deputy 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 24, 2017. 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 25th Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 27-March 3, 2017. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 25th Session of the CCFO and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is establishing January 1, 2020, as the uniform compliance date for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations that are issued between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2018. FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic impact of label changes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF). There are 15 vacancies. Advisory Committee members serve a two-year term, renewable for two consecutive terms. USDA is seeking nominees with scientific expertise in the fields of microbiology, epidemiology, food technology (food, clinical, and predictive), toxicology, risk assessment, infectious disease, biostatistics, and other related sciences. USDA is seeking nominations for NACMCF from persons in academia, industry, State governments, and the Federal Government, as well as all other interested persons with the required expertise. Please note that federally registered lobbyists cannot be considered for USDA advisory committee membership. USDA is also seeking nominations for one individual affiliated with a consumer group to serve on the NACMCF. This member will serve as a representative member to provide a consumer viewpoint to the committee. This member will not be required to have a scientific background and will not be subject to a conflict of interest review. Members can serve on only one USDA advisory committee at a time. All nominees will undergo a USDA background check. With the exception of the consumer representative member, any member who is not a Federal government employee will be appointed to serve as a non-compensated special government employee (SGE). SGEs will be subject to appropriate conflict of interest statutes and standards of ethical conduct. Nominations for membership on the NACMCF must be addressed to the Secretary of USDA and accompanied by a cover letter addressing the nomination, a resume or curriculum vitae, and a completed USDA Advisory Committee Membership Background Information form AD-755 available online at: https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/ad-755. A person may self-nominate, or a nomination can be made on behalf of someone else. The resume or curriculum vitae must be limited to five one-sided pages and should include educational background, expertise, and a list of select publications, if available, that confirm the nominee's expertise for this work. For submissions received that are more than five one- sided pages in length, only the first five pages will be reviewed.