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 collect information from food industry and academic experts on vulnerabilities and research activities related to food defense for FSIS-regulated food products. The purpose of this information collection is to inform FSIS food defense efforts to help protect against an intentional attack on the food supply.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal meat inspection regulations to eliminate the requirements for both ready-to-eat (RTE) and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) pork and pork products to be treated to destroy trichinae (Trichinella spiralis) because the regulations are inconsistent with the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, and because these prescriptive regulations are no longer necessary. FSIS is ending its Trichinella Approved Laboratory Program (TALP program) for the evaluation and approval of non-Federal laboratories that use the pooled sample digestion technique to analyze samples for the presence of trichinae. FSIS is also consolidating the regulations on thermally processed, commercially sterile meat and poultry products (i.e., canned food products containing meat or poultry).

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 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, 2018. FSIS is making no changes to the approved collection. The public may comment on either the entire information collection or on one of its three parts.

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 voluntary recalls from commerce of meat, poultry, and egg products. FSIS has reduced the burden estimate by 2,000 hours due to updated information on recall effectiveness checks. The approval for this information collection will expire on September 30, 2018.

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 its Consumer Complaint Monitoring System (CCMS) web portal. FSIS is discontinuing use of the electronic Food Safety Mobile questionnaire that was approved under this collection. Therefore, the Agency has reduced the burden estimate by 13 hours for the Food Safety Mobile questionnaire. Additionally, FSIS has reduced the burden hours for the CCMS web portal by 75 hours due to updated information about consumer complaints. The approval for this information collection will expire on August 31, 2018.

The Office of 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 April 6, 2018. 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 39th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Budapest, Hungary, between May 7 and 11, 2018. The Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Office of Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties with the opportunity to obtain background information on the 39th Session of the CCMAS and to address items on the agenda.

The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are sponsoring a public meeting on April 4, 2018. 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 24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission's (Codex's) Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), taking place in Chicago, Illinois, April 23-27, 2018. 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 24th Session of the CCRVDF and to address items on the agenda.

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 regulatory requirements for mechanically tenderized beef products. There are no changes to the existing information collection. The approval for this information collection will expire on June 30, 2018.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the 2018 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. The 2018 basetime, overtime, holiday, and laboratory services rates will be applied on the first FSIS pay period approximately 30 days after the publication of this notice, which begins on January 21, 2018.

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 labeling requirements for raw meat and poultry products that do not meet the standard of identity regulations and to which solutions have been added. There are no changes to the existing information collection.

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 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 collection also covers the recordkeeping burden for packaging material letters of guarantee for safety. Lastly, this collection contains the recordkeeping burden imposed on establishments that produce mechanically separated poultry. There are no changes to the existing information collection.

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 collect information from focus groups on consumer food safety knowledge, attitudes, and practices and to elicit consumer responses to FSIS food safety messages and determine their impact on consumer food safety knowledge and behavior.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), with participation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), and other stakeholders is hosting a public meeting to discuss FSIS' and other agencies' practices and plans for collecting and analyzing whole genome sequence (WGS) data of bacteria isolated from official samples, as well as the state of the science and other issues surrounding this technology. WGS analyses can determine sequence relatedness between bacterial isolates with higher resolution than other analytical methods, including pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), FSIS' current method of characterizing bacteria. In addition, WGS analyses can characterize genes and other features of bacterial genomes. Currently, FSIS, local, State, and Federal public health and regulatory partners submit WGS data to a Federal public database, readily accessible to Federal and state partners, and other stakeholders, including regulated industry and consumers. Using this common database, Federal food safety partners can share information and collaborate on issues related to food safety and public health. FSIS intends to analyze WGS data using thoroughly vetted and scientifically accepted procedures and standards, along with epidemiological information and industry production and distribution records on amenable product, to carry out its public health mission. Inclusion of WGS analyses in decision-making will enhance foodborne outbreak investigations, as well as general decisions related to the use of data from routine verification sampling of establishments under FSIS jurisdiction. Industry, interested individuals, organizations, and other stakeholders are invited to participate in the meeting and comment on FSIS approaches for using WGS data within a regulatory framework.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of and requesting comments on the updated compliance guideline for small and very small businesses on reducing STEC and Salmonella in beef and veal operations. The new guideline will assist small and very small beef (including veal) processing establishments understand and comply with the regulatory requirements associated with controlling STEC and Salmonella in raw non-intact beef products and beef products intended for non- intact use. The guideline also includes information for establishments and retail stores on developing and maintaining records associated with the production of ground beef.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is confirming that on September 1, 2017, it will adjust inspection coverage at official establishments that slaughter fish of the order Siluriformes from all hours of operation to once per production shift. FSIS also is responding to comments received on the May 17, 2017 Federal Register document that announced these changes.

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 renewal of the approved information collection regarding its Web-based Public Health Information System (PHIS). There are no changes to the existing information collection except a revision to remove the FSIS Form 9080-4, Product List, because FSIS no longer uses it. This will result in a reduction in burden of 41,667 hours. The approval for this information collection will expire on January 31, 2018.

On December 7, 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in a Federal Register notice that it was soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) to fill 15 vacancies. The closing date for nominations was January 6, 2017. This notice reopens the nomination period for 30 days. This notice also announces that there are two more vacancies on the committee. Since the original announcement was made, two additional members have left the committee. The USDA is now seeking nominations to fill 17 vacancies. Nominations submitted during the original submission period do not need to be resubmitted.

The Office of the Deputy 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 13, 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 to be discussed at the 44th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will take place in Asuncion, Paraguay, October 16-20, 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 44th Session of the CCFL and to address items on the agenda.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing an educational meeting to discuss the enforcement and implementation of the Final Rule, ``Mandatory Inspection of Fish of the Order Siluriformes and Products Derived from Such Fish.'' Fish of the order Siluriformes include fish of several families, including catfish (fish of the family Ictaluridae), basa, tra, and swai (fish of the family Pangasiidae), and clarias (fish of the Clariidae family). FSIS will present information on the upcoming full implementation of the regulatory requirements at official domestic establishments that process Siluriformes fish and fish products, as well as information on entry procedures and reinspection at official import inspection establishments. FSIS is particularly interested in soliciting participation from representatives from domestic wild-caught operations that process Siluriformes fish and fish products. The primary objectives of the meeting are to provide updated information to stakeholders and to encourage dialogue between FSIS and the Siluriformes fish industry. Affected industry and interested individuals, organizations, and other stakeholders are invited to participate in the meeting.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of and requesting comment on guidance for importing meat, poultry, and egg products into the United States. This guidance is intended to help U.S. importers, customs brokers, official import inspection establishments, egg products plants, and other interested parties understand and comply with FSIS import requirements.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of and requesting comments on two updated compliance guidelines for small and very small businesses. The new guidelines will assist small and very small meat and poultry establishments understand and comply with the regulatory requirements associated with the destruction of Salmonella and other pathogens (lethality) in ready-to- eat (RTE) products and the control of pathogen growth in heat-treated RTE and not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) products during cooling and hot-holding (stabilization). FSIS is including the time-temperature tables and cooling options in these guidelines that were previously in Appendices A and B, originally made available in 1999, along with new recommendations establishments can use to achieve lethality and stabilization of these products.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to amend the poultry products inspection regulations to list the PRC as eligible to export to the United States poultry products from birds slaughtered in the PRC. The PRC is currently eligible to export processed poultry products to the United States if the products are derived from poultry slaughtered in the United States or in other countries eligible to slaughter and export poultry to the United States. FSIS is proposing this action because the Agency has reviewed the PRC's laws, regulations, and poultry slaughter inspection system as implemented and has determined that the PRC's poultry slaughter inspection system is equivalent to the system that the United States has established under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) and its implementing regulations. Should this rule become final, slaughtered poultry, or parts or other products thereof, processed in certified PRC establishments, would be eligible for export to the United States. Although the PRC may be listed in FSIS's regulations as eligible to export poultry products to the United States, the products must also comply with all other applicable requirements of the United States, including those of USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), before any products can enter the United States. All such products would be subject to re- inspection at United States ports-of-entry by FSIS inspectors.

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 2017, the dollar limitation for meat and meat food products is being decreased from $79,200 to $75,700 and for poultry and poultry products from $58,200 to $56,600. FSIS is changing the dollar limitations from calendar year 2016 based on price changes for these products evidenced by the Consumer Price Index. FSIS has provided an 18-month transitional period for mandatory inspection of Siluriformes fish and fish products. FSIS is currently considering the retail dollar limitations for this product.

The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is sponsoring a public meeting on June 26, 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 to be discussed at the 40th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, between July 17 and 22, 2017. The Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service and Acting Deputy Under Secretary, Office of Food Safety, recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 40th Session of the CAC 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 renewal of the approved information collection regarding poultry slaughter inspection. The approval for this information collection will expire on September 30, 2017. There are no changes to the existing information collection.