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

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a public meeting on February 22, 2011. 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 5th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, March 21-25, 2011. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 5th 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), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), are sponsoring a public meeting on February 9, 2011. 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 32nd session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Budapest, Hungary March 7-11, 2011. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 32nd session of the CCMAS and to address items on the agenda.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are sponsoring a public meeting on February 24, 2011. 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 43rd Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Beijing, P.R. China April 4-9, 2011. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the EPA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 43rd Session of the CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

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 concerning its Web-based Public Health Information System.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal meat inspection regulations to provide that establishments that slaughter livestock or prepare livestock carcasses and parts may inflate carcasses and parts with air if they develop, implement, and maintain written controls to ensure that the procedure does not cause insanitary conditions or adulterate the product. FSIS is requiring establishments to incorporate these controls into their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans or Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (Sanitation SOPs) or other prerequisite programs. In addition, FSIS is amending its regulations to remove the approved methods for inflating livestock carcasses and parts by air and to remove the requirement that establishments submit requests to FSIS for approval of air inflation procedures not listed in the regulations. FSIS is also adding a paragraph in the regulations to make clear that the current prohibition against injecting compressed air into the skulls of cattle remains in force.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice is announcing the re-chartering of the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) by the Secretary of Agriculture on September 24, 2010. The Committee is being renewed in cooperation with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The establishment of the Committee was recommended by a 1985 report of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Food Protection, Subcommittee on Microbiological Criteria, ``An Evaluation of the Role of Microbiological Criteria for Foods.'' The current charter for the NACMCF is available for viewing on the NACMCF homepage at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/NACMCF/index.asp. At this time the charter is being changed to add one individual affiliated with a consumer group to be appointed to the NACMCF as a representative member. This member will provide a consumer viewpoint to Committee work and will not be required to have a scientific background. The balance of the Committee membership will be scientists, and those who are not regular government employees will be appointed as special government employees.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring a public meeting on October 13, 2010. 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 32nd session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Commission), which will be held in Santiago, Chile, November 1-5, 2010. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognizes the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 32nd session of the CCNFSDU and to address items on the agenda.

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 an extension of an approved information collection regarding the regulatory requirements associated with the production of meat from Advanced Meat Recovery systems because the OMB approval will expire on January 31, 2011.

The Office of the Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine, are sponsoring a public meeting on August 16, 2010. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 19th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), which will be held in Burlington, Vermont, from August 30-September 3, 2010. The Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice announces the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) intention to request a revision of a currently approved information collection regarding Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) for ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products because the OMB approval will expire on November 30, 2010, and to reflect its most recent plant data, which supports an estimate of fewer total burden hours.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this notice announces that the Secretary of Agriculture signed the charter of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) on June 19, 2010. The charter for the NACMPI is available for viewing on the NACMPI home page at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_ FSIS/NACMPI/index.asp.

This notice is announcing that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are jointly hosting two public meetings to obtain stakeholder input. The first is on July 21, 2010, in Chicago, IL. The second will be held on October 20, 2010, in Portland, OR. The Agencies are requesting information from all stakeholders, including the regulated food industry, State regulators, and consumer groups, on appropriate metrics to be used to assess performance in food safety. The Agencies are also interested in input on stakeholders' understanding and perceptions of metrics currently being used by the Federal Agencies. Although the Agencies are primarily interested in obtaining stakeholder input, the Agencies will present a limited amount of background on the Food Safety Working Group's charge to create meaningful metrics to measure the effectiveness of the Nation's food safety system and the Agency's current thinking on these issues.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice announces the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) intention to request a revision of an approved information collection regarding pathogen reduction and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems requirements because OMB approval will expire on December 31, 2010, and to include information on the use of video recordkeeping.

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, Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809. 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 the time periods from June 1, 2009, to May 31, 2010, and June 1, 2010, to May 31, 2011, seeks comments on standards under consideration and recommendations for new standards.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to revise the Federal meat inspection regulations to permit establishments that slaughter livestock or prepare livestock carcasses and parts to inflate carcasses and parts with air if they develop, implement, and maintain written controls to ensure that the procedure does not cause insanitary conditions or adulterate product. FSIS is proposing to require that establishments incorporate these controls into their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans or Sanitation standard operating procedures (Sanitation SOPs) or other prerequisite programs.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal poultry products inspection regulations to correct an inadvertent error in the required shackle width for Bar-type cut turkey operations that use J-type cut maximum line speeds.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to implement provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 by adopting regulations that require official establishments to promptly notify the appropriate District Office that an adulterated or misbranded meat or poultry product has entered commerce; require official establishments to prepare and maintain current procedures for the recall of meat and poultry products produced and shipped by the establishment; and require official establishments to document each reassessment of the establishment's process control plans, that is, its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point plans.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing that it will hold a public meeting on March 10, 2010 to discuss Agency procedures for identifying suppliers of source material used to produce raw beef product that FSIS has found positive for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7. FSIS will also discuss additional verification activities the Agency will conduct at suppliers in response to positive E. coli O157:H7 results. In addition, FSIS will seek input from meeting participants on ways to improve Agency procedures for identifying product that may be positive for E. coli O157:H7.

The Office for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is sponsoring a public meeting on March 23, 2010. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States positions that will be discussed at the 26th session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Paris, France, April 12-16, 2010. The Office for Food Safety recognizes the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 26th Session of the

The Office of the Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a public meeting on February 8, 2010. 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 42nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Beijing, China March 15-19, 2010. The Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 42nd Session of the

The Office for Food Safety, and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), are sponsoring a public meeting on January 13, 2010. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States positions that will be discussed at the 9th Session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, February 1-5, 2010. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the AMS recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 9th Session of

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice is announcing the Food Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS's) intention to request an extension of an information collection regarding data on meat, poultry, exotic animal, and rabbit slaughter for the Agency's electronic Animal Disease Reporting System (eADRS) since the OMB approval for this information collection is scheduled to expire in February 2010, and because the Agency now has more accurate data regarding eADRS, which has led to an increase in the estimate of burden hours.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to request a revision of an information collection concerning the exportation, transportation, and importation of meat and poultry products since the OMB approval for this information collection is scheduled to expire in January 2010, and because the Agency now has more accurate data regarding the forms used to export and import product.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing that it will hold two public meetings on proposed regulations that it recently published to implement a new voluntary cooperative program under which State-inspected establishments with 25 or fewer employees will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce (74 FR 47648, September 16, 2009). To provide stakeholders with ready access to the public meetings, FSIS will conduct these meetings by teleconference. This notice provides information on the public meetings.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing regulations to implement a new voluntary cooperative program under which State-inspected establishments with 25 or fewer employees will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce. In participating States, State-inspected establishments selected to take part in this program will be required to comply with all Federal standards under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), as well as with all State standards. These establishments will receive inspection services from State inspection personnel that have been trained in the enforcement of the FMIA and PPIA. Meat and poultry products produced under the program that have been inspected and passed by designated State personnel will bear an official Federal mark of inspection and will be permitted to be distributed in interstate commerce. FSIS will provide oversight and enforcement of the program.