Food Safety and Inspection Service – 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 renew the approved information collection regarding petitions for rulemaking. The approval for this information collection will expire on December 31, 2021. FSIS is making no changes to the approved information collection.

This document corrects the Regulation Identifier Number that appeared in a proposed rule published in the Federal Register on July 15, 2021, regarding establishing a uniform time period requirement and clarifying related procedures for the filing of appeals of agency inspection decisions or actions.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is responding to two recommendations from the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding the Agency's rulemaking process for the proposed rule entitled Modernization of Swine Slaughter Inspection, that included the proposal to establish the New Swine Slaughter Inspection System (NSIS).

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending its regulations to define yak and include it among ``exotic animals'' eligible for voluntary inspection under 9 CFR part 352. This change is in response to a petition for rulemaking from a yak industry association, which FSIS granted in 2015. Additionally, FSIS is revising the definitions of antelope, bison, buffalo, catalo, deer, elk, reindeer, and water buffalo to make them more scientifically accurate. Moreover, FSIS is responding to comments on whether all farmed-raised species in the biological families Bovidae, Cervidae, and Camelidae, if not already subject to mandatory inspection, should be eligible for voluntary inspection, and whether any species in these families should be added to the list of amenable species requiring mandatory inspection.

In the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted on March 11, 2021, Congress provided the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) with $100 million in budget authority to reduce the costs of overtime inspection for small and very small official meat and poultry establishments and egg products plants. FSIS will implement this provision by reducing overtime and holiday inspection fees for small establishments by 30 percent and very small establishments by 75 percent. FSIS has developed an Overtime/Holiday Rate Reduction form that official establishments will need to submit to request an overtime or holiday inspection fee reduction. FSIS will review the form to determine whether an establishment qualifies for the fee reduction. This notice contains information on how to complete and submit the form to FSIS and describes the procedures FSIS will follow to implement the American Rescue Plan Act's overtime and holiday inspection fee reduction provisions.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of revised guidelines to assist poultry establishments in controlling Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw poultry. The Agency has revised the content of the guidelines in light of new scientific and technical information, public comments received on the 2015 guideline, and the Agency's decision to issue two separate guidelines one on controlling Salmonella and the other on controlling Campylobacter. The guidelines provide ``best practice'' recommendations that poultry establishments may follow to reduce Salmonella and Campylobacter contamination of raw products.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is removing from the Federal meat inspection regulations a requirement for the defibrination of livestock blood saved as an edible product. Defibrination is the process for removing the protein fibrin, which causes blood to clot. Removal of the defibrination requirement will not affect food safety, but it will allow the industry to meet a demand for non-defibrinated blood products.

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 renew the approved information collection regarding voluntary recalls from commerce of meat, poultry, and egg products. There are no changes to the existing burden estimates for this information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on September 30, 2021.

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 revise the approved information collection regarding requirements for official establishments to notify FSIS of adulterated or misbranded product, prepare and maintain written recall procedures, and document certain HACCP plan reassessments. The approval for this information collection will expire on September 30, 2021. FSIS has decreased the burden estimate for this collection by 37,515 hours due to more recent, updated information. The public may comment on either the entire information collection or on one of its three parts.

This notice is announcing that the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a public meeting of the full Committee on April 22, 2021. The Committee will discuss and vote on adopting the following two reports: Microbiological testing by industry of ready-to-eat foods under FDA's jurisdiction for pathogens (or appropriate indicator organisms): Verification of prevention controls and The Use of Water in Animal Production, Slaughter and Processing.

We are reopening the comment period for our advance notice of proposed rulemaking on establishing regulations for the movement of certain animals modified or developed by genetic engineering. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

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 renew an approved information collection regarding the labeling requirements for mechanically tenderized beef products. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on July 31, 2021.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of and requesting comment on a guideline for meat and poultry establishments interested in donating products to non-profit organizations. FSIS has received several questions from meat and poultry establishments and non-profit organizations on this subject and has decided to address the major concerns associated with donation in this guideline. FSIS encourages establishments to donate meat and poultry products to non-profit organizations, when possible, to reduce food loss and waste.

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 renewal of the approved information collection regarding the qualitative customer and stakeholder feedback on service delivery by the Food Safety and Inspection Service. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on June 30, 2021.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is establishing January 1, 2024, as the uniform compliance date for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations that will be issued between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2022. FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic impact of label changes.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the 2021 rates it will charge meat and poultry establishments, egg products plants, 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 2021 basetime, overtime, holiday, and laboratory services rates will be applied on January 3, 2021.

Pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 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 9 vacancies. Advisory Committee members serve a two-year term that may be renewed for two additional consecutive terms, at the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to amend its inspection regulations to expand the circumstances under which FSIS will generically approve the labels of meat, poultry, and egg products. FSIS is also proposing to cease evaluating generically approved labels submitted to FSIS for review.

Pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing a virtual meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI). The committee is authorized under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The committee will convene virtually on September 24-25, 2020. The objective of the public meeting is for the Committee to review and advise about the steps FSIS should take to ensure better control of artisanal, shelf-stable ready- to-eat (RTE) fermented, salt-cured, or dried products that rely on multiple hurdles for lethality. NACMPI will also review and advise whether the Agency should continue not to test boxed beef primal and sub-primal products for Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), if they are intended for intact cuts.

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 renewal of the approved information collection regarding the regulatory requirements for marking, labeling, and packaging of meat, poultry, and egg products. This collection covers the labeling approval process whereby establishments are to submit their labels to FSIS for approval and maintain related files. There are no changes to the information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on May 31, 2021.

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 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. The approval for this information collection will expire on December 31, 2020.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing plans to expand its routine verification testing for six Shiga toxin- producing Escherichia coli (non-O157 STEC; O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, or O145) that are adulterants, in addition to the adulterant Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7, to ground beef, bench trim, and raw ground beef components other than raw beef manufacturing trimmings (i.e., head meat, cheek meat, weasand (esophagus) meat, product from advanced meat recovery (AMR) systems, partially defatted chopped beef and partially defatted beef fatty tissue, low temperature rendered lean finely textured beef, and heart meat)(hereafter ``other raw ground beef components'') for samples collected at official establishments. STEC includes non-O157 STEC; O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, or O145, that are adulterants, and E. coli O157:H7. Currently, FSIS tests only its beef manufacturing trimmings samples for these six non-O157 STEC and E. coli O157:H7; all other aforementioned raw beef products are presently tested for E. coli O157:H7 only. FSIS also intends to test for these non-O157 STEC in ground beef samples that it collects at retail stores and in applicable samples it collects of imported raw beef products. FSIS is requesting comments on the proposed sampling and testing of ground beef, bench trim, and other raw ground beef components. FSIS will announce the date it will implement the new testing in a subsequent Federal Register notice. Additionally, FSIS is responding to comments on the November 19, 2014, Federal Register notice titled ``Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in Certain Raw Beef Products.'' FSIS is also making available its updated analysis of the estimated costs and benefits associated with the implementation of its non-O157 STEC testing on raw beef manufacturing trimmings and the costs and benefits associated with the expansion of its non-O157 STEC testing to ground beef, bench trim, and other raw ground beef components (https:// www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/c37a7129-639c-41fa-ab75-be6 dddcd1c44/ placeholder-link?MOD=AJPERES&useDefaultText=0&useDefaultDesc= 0).

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing to remove a provision from the Federal meat inspection regulations that requires the defibrination of livestock blood saved as an edible product. This proposed action would eliminate a regulatory requirement and its associated costs to industry without affecting food safety. Moreover, it would allow industry to fulfill a demand for non-defibrinated blood products.

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 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 September 30, 2020.

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 renewal of the approved information collection regarding State Meat and Poultry Programs. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on July 31, 2020.