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 extend the currently approved information collection regarding both its Consumer Complaint Monitoring System (CCMS) web portal and its electronic Food Safety Mobile questionnaire. The approval for this information collection will expire on August 31, 2015. FSIS is making no changes to the currently approved collection. The public may comment on either the entire information collection or on one of its two parts.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sponsoring a public meeting on June 17, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 38th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, July 6-11, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety recognizes the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 38th Session of the CAC and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is extending the effective date for foreign inspection certificate requirements to March 18, 2015, to ensure that countries have sufficient time to adjust to the new requirements for additional product information.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is extending the comment period for the Federal Register notice ``Changes to the Salmonella and Campylobacter Verification Testing Program: Proposed Performance Standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in Not-Ready-to- Eat Comminuted Chicken and Turkey Products and Raw Chicken Parts and Related Agency Verification Procedures and Other Changes to Agency Sampling'' until May 26, 2015. The Agency is taking this action in response to a request made by a coalition of trade associations.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sponsoring a public meeting on February 25, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 29th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will take place in Paris, France, March 9-13,2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety recognizes the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 29th Session of CCGP and to address items on the agenda.

FSIS is making available to the public its new Web-based Self- Reporting Tool (SRT) that it will be sending to foreign countries to report information on their food regulatory systems for the purpose of establishing that the systems are, or continue to be, equivalent to that of the United States' system. The Agency will send a letter to foreign countries with instructions on how to access and use the Web- based SRT. FSIS is also responding to the comments on its document review process for determining and verifying equivalence that the Agency received in response to the Federal Register notice that it published on January 25, 2013, on the use of the SRT. FSIS evaluates the information provided in the SRT and uses it, along with the results of on-site systems audits and port-of-entry (POE) reinspections, to make a determination on equivalence.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing and requesting comment on new pathogen reduction performance standards for Salmonella and Campylobacter in raw chicken parts and not-ready-to- eat (NRTE) comminuted chicken and turkey products. The Agency is also announcing its plans to begin sampling raw chicken parts to gain additional information on the prevalence and the microbiological characteristics of Salmonella and Campylobacter in those products. In addition, FSIS intends to begin an exploratory sampling of raw pork products for pathogens of public health concern, as well as for indicator organisms. Finally, FSIS is announcing that it plans to use routine sampling throughout the year rather than infrequently sampling on consecutive days to assess whether establishments' processes are effectively addressing Salmonella and, where applicable, Campylobacter on poultry carcasses and other products derived from these carcasses, including chicken parts and comminuted chicken and turkey product. FSIS intends to perform this assessment using a moving window of sampling results. FSIS will proceed with implementing the routine sampling of raw chicken parts and the changes to specified verification procedures on the dates announced in this notice. However, FSIS is seeking comments on its implementation strategy as part of its effort to continuously assess and improve the effectiveness of Agency policy.

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 17, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 47th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Xi'an, China, March 23-27, 2015. The Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 47th Session of the CCFA and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the 2015 rates that 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. The 2015 basetime, overtime, holiday, and laboratory services rates will be applied beginning the first FSIS pay period approximately 30 days after the publication of this notice. This pay period begins on February 22, 2015.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending its regulations to require the use of a descriptive designation as part of the product name on the labels of raw meat and poultry products that contain added solutions and that do not meet a standard of identity. The descriptive designation will have to include the percentage of added solution, and the individual ingredients or multi-ingredient components in the solution listed in descending order of predominance by weight. The print for all words in the product name, including the descriptive designation, must appear in a single easy-to-read type style and color and on a single-color contrasting background. The print may appear in upper and lower case letters, with the lower case letters not smaller than one-third (\1/3\) the size of the largest letter. The percent solution must appear as a number (e.g., 15, 20, 30) with the percentage sign (%) and may be declared with the word ``containing'' or ``contains.'' Under this final rule, the word ``enhanced'' is not allowed in the product name. The Agency is also removing the standard of identity regulation for ``ready-to-cook poultry products to which solutions are added''.

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 a currently approved information collection regarding the regulatory requirements for marking, labeling, and packaging of meat, poultry, and egg products and for establishments that produce mechanically separated poultry. This approval covers the labeling approval process whereby establishments are to submit their labels to FSIS for approval or maintain files related to generic labeling. This package also covers the recordkeeping burden for packaging material letters of guarantee for safety. Lastly, this package contains the recordkeeping burden imposed on establishments that produce mechanically separated poultry. There are no changes to the existing information collection.

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 5, 2015. 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 36th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Budapest, Hungary, February 23-27, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Food and Drug Administration recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 36th Session of CCMAS and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is establishing January 1, 2018, as the uniform compliance date for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations that are issued between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016. FSIS periodically announces uniform compliance dates for new meat and poultry product labeling regulations to minimize the economic impact of label changes.

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 January 13, 2015. 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 24th session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Malaysia, February 9-13, 2015. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 24th session of the CCFO and to address items on the agenda.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Food Safety and Inspection Service's intention to renew an information collection related to the Salmonella Initiative Program (SIP). FSIS is requesting the renewal because the current OMB approval will expire on January 31, 2015.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the meat, poultry, and egg products import regulations to provide for the Agency's Public Health Information System (PHIS) Import Component. The PHIS Import Component, launched on May 29, 2012, provides an electronic alternative to the paper-based import inspection application and the foreign inspection and foreign establishment certificate processes. The Agency is also removing from the regulations the discontinued ``streamlined'' import inspection procedures for Canadian product and is requiring Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) at official import inspection establishments. In addition to the regulatory amendments outlined above, FSIS is discontinuing its practice of conducting imported product reinspection based on a foreign government's guarantee to replace a lost or incorrect foreign inspection certificate and is clarifying its policy of addressing imported product that is not presented for reinspection.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing that it will no longer issue export certificates for Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-regulated prepared or manufactured food products that contain egg products as an ingredient because the Agricultural Marketing Service has instituted a program to provide this service. FSIS will discontinue issuing certificates on November 10, 2014.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Food Safety and Inspection Service's intention to renew an information collection related to the application for inspection, accreditation of laboratories, and exemptions. FSIS is requesting the renewal because the current OMB approval will expire on January 31, 2015.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on September 23, 2014. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 42nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling in Foods (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Santiago, Chile October 21-24, 2014. The 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 CCFL, 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), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring a public meeting on October 23, 2014. 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 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in Lima, Peru, November 17-21, 2014. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 46th Session of CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of its updated guidance document on pre-harvest management controls and intervention options for reducing Shiga toxin- producing Escherichia coli (STEC) shedding in cattle. In addition, this notice summarizes and responds to comments received on the guidance document and on the pre-harvest management issues that FSIS raised in a previous Federal Register notice and public meeting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to renew the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI). The purpose of the Committee is to provide advice to the Secretary of Agriculture concerning State and Federal programs with respect to meat and poultry inspection, food safety, and other matters that fall within the scope of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA).

On May 15, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a notice soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI). Nominations were to have been submitted by June 16, 2014. That deadline is now reopened until July 23, 2014.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the dollar limitations on the amount of meat and meat food products, 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. In accordance with FSIS's regulations, for calendar year 2014, the dollar limitation for meat and meat food products is being increased from $69,600 to $70,400 and for poultry products from $54,500 to $57,100. FSIS is changing the dollar limitations from calendar year 2013 based on price changes for these products evidenced by the Consumer Price Index.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is reopening the comment period on its notice requesting comments on a new information collection for a survey of the meat slaughter industry that appeared in the Federal Register on April 21, 2014. FSIS is reopening the comment period for 30 days because the document that announced the information collection contained an incorrect comment period end date and did not provide a full 60 days for public comment.