Food Safety and Inspection Service 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

FSIS is announcing the 2024 rates it will charge meat, poultry, and egg products establishments, and importers and exporters for providing voluntary, overtime, and holiday inspection and identification, certification, and laboratory services. Additionally, FSIS is announcing that there will be no changes to the fee FSIS assesses to exporters that choose to apply for export certificates electronically through the export component of the Agency's Public Health Information System. The 2024 basetime, overtime, holiday, and laboratory services rates will be applied on January 14, 2024.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to request renewal of the approved information collection regarding the qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback on service delivery by FSIS. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on March 31, 2024.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to request a new information collection for pilot projects that test different control strategies for Salmonella contamination in poultry products. This is a new information collection with an estimated annual burden of 620 hours. On April 8, 2022, FSIS published a notice announcing this new information collection with an estimated annual burden of 310 hours. However, since publication, FSIS received an increased number of requests for participation in the pilot projects program. Therefore, FSIS is republishing the notice to increase the estimated annual burden by 310 hours for a total of 620 hours.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to renew the approved information collection regarding the Salmonella Initiative Program (SIP). FSIS is making no changes to the current collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on February 29, 2024.

FSIS is amending the poultry products inspection regulations to rescind several regulations related to the inspection and condemnation of poultry carcasses affected with any of the forms of avian leukosis complex.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to collect information from interviews on consumer food safety knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. FSIS will also collect consumer responses to food safety messages related to home cooking to gather feedback on message content and format. This is a new information collection with 547 hours.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to request a revision of the approved information collection for the accreditation of laboratories; transactions with official meat and poultry establishments, egg products processing plants, and other firms; and exemptions from requirements of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act. FSIS has reduced the burden estimate for this collection by 13 hours based on updated information for the accreditation of laboratories. The approval for this information collection will expire on November 30, 2023.

FSIS is announcing that it has updated its guideline for pork producers on controlling Salmonella in swine from pre-harvest through slaughter. The guideline covers pre-harvest controls, including farm rearing, multi-hurdle interventions, transport, and lairage. It contains slaughter control recommendations. It also covers pork fabrication controls, including processing, packaging, and distribution controls for pork cuts and comminuted pork products. Additionally, FSIS is responding to comments on the guideline.

FSIS is announcing the availability of and requesting comments on a guidance document for small and very small meat and poultry establishments manufacturing ready-to-eat (RTE), shelf-stable, fermented, salt-cured, and dried meat and poultry products, that do not use cooking as the primary lethality step. This guideline addresses many commonly asked questions concerning the food safety hazards associated with these products and the key steps in each process needed to ensure safety. This guideline replaces and expands upon information previously found in other guidance documents addressing the safe production of RTE fermented meat and poultry products.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to declare that not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) breaded stuffed chicken products that contain Salmonella at levels of 1 colony forming unit (CFU) per gram or higher are adulterated within the meaning of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA). Although the labeling of these products has undergone significant changes over time to better inform consumers that they are raw and to provide instructions on how to prepare them safely, NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products continue to be associated with Salmonella illness outbreaks. Therefore, FSIS has concluded that public health measures that focus primarily on product labeling and consumer handling practices have not been effective in preventing additional foodborne illnesses associated with NRTE breaded stuffed chicken products. FSIS is also proposing to carry out verification procedures, including sampling and testing of the chicken component of these products prior to stuffing and breading, to ensure producing establishments control Salmonella in these products.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to request renewal of the approved information collection regarding poultry slaughter inspection. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on August 31, 2023.

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 revise the approved information collection regarding its Public Health Information System (PHIS). The Agency has increased the burden estimate by 524 hours to include time for exporters to print meat and poultry export certificates. FSIS is expecting exporters with access to PHIS and a functional printer to print digitally signed export certificates. The approval for this information collection will expire on September 30, 2024.

FSIS is announcing the dollar limitations on the amount of meat and meat products and 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.

FSIS is proposing to amend its regulations to define the conditions under which the labeling of meat, poultry, and egg products, as well as voluntarily-inspected products, may bear voluntary label claims indicating that the product is of United States origin. The Agency is taking this action to resolve consumer confusion surrounding current voluntary label claims related to the origin of FSIS-regulated products in the U.S. marketplace. Under this proposal, establishments would not need to include these claims on the label, but if they chose to include them, they would need to meet the requirements in this rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) (jointly, we) are announcing the withdrawal of the proposed rule entitled ``General Principles and Food Standards Modernization,'' which published in the Federal Register of May 20, 2005. FDA and FSIS are taking this action in response to comments received in 2005 and in 2020 after FDA reopened the comment period for the proposed rule.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to request renewal of the approved information collection regarding nutrition labeling of the major cuts of single-ingredient raw meat or poultry products and ground or chopped meat and poultry products. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on June 30, 2023.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing its intention to request renewal of the approved information collection regarding Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (Sanitation SOPs) and pathogen testing and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems requirements. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on June 30, 2023.

FSIS is amending its regulations to expand the circumstances under which it will generically approve the labels of meat, poultry, and egg products. Also, as of the effective date of this final rule, FSIS will no longer evaluate generically approved labels that establishments and egg products plants voluntarily submit for FSIS review. FSIS is also announcing the availability of revised guidelines on the types of labels that must be submitted to FSIS for approval.