[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 113 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 32053-32054]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15333]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 304, 308, 310, 320, 327, 381, 416, and 417

[Docket No. 97-025N]


Generic HACCP Models and Guidance Materials Available for Review 
and Comment

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has developed 13 
generic Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) models and 
has revised its Guidebook for the Preparation of HACCP Plans and its 
Hazards and Controls Guide for Meat and Poultry Products to assist meat 
and poultry establishments in the development of their HACCP systems. 
The models, Guidebook, and Guide will be available for review and study 
by interested members of the public. FSIS is soliciting public comments 
on the models and other guidance materials to determine their 
appropriateness and useability, especially by owners of ``small'' and 
``very small'' establishments.

DATES: Written comments on the models, Guidebook, and Guide must be 
submitted on or before August 11, 1997.

ADDRESSES: The models, Guidebook, and Guide may be viewed in the FSIS 
Docket Reading Room, Room 102 Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700 and at Government Depository Libraries 
throughout the country. Comments on the models and other documents 
should be directed to Ms. Diane Moore, FSIS Docket Clerk, at the above 
address. Paper copies of the complete set of materials are available 
from the Public Outreach Office, Room 1180, South Agriculture Building, 
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. To obtain a 
paper copy of the Guidebook, Guide, and appropriate model(s), please 
mail your request indicating the number and title of the document to 
the Public Outreach Office at the above address; or FAX to (202) 720-
9063.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Patricia F. Stolfa, Assistant 
Deputy Administrator, Regulations & Inspection, in the Office of 
Policy, Program Development and Evaluation, Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, at (202) 205-0699, FAX (202) 401-1760.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 25, 1996, FSIS published a final 
rule, ``Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point 
(HACCP) Systems'' (61 FR 38806). This rule introduces sweeping changes 
to the meat and poultry inspection system and directly targets 
pathogenic organisms on those products that can cause foodborne 
illness. In the preamble to the proposed rule, FSIS announced that it 
would develop 13 generic HACCP models to facilitate preparation of 
mandated HACCP plans, especially by ``small'' and ``very small'' 
establishments, and to reduce costs associated with developing HACCP 
plans. FSIS said that the models would be available in draft form for 
public comment, and in final form at least six months before HACCP 
implementation. HACCP will be implemented in ``small'' and ``very 
small'' plants in the years 1999 and 2000 respectively.
    The following generic HACCP models and guidance materials are 
available: HACCP-1, Guidebook for the Preparation of HACCP Plans; 
HACCP-2, Meat and Poultry Products Hazards and Control Guide; HACCP-3, 
Generic

[[Page 32054]]

HACCP Model for Raw, Ground Meat and Poultry Products; HACCP-4, Generic 
HACCP Model for Raw, Not Ground Meat and Poultry Products;
HACCP-5, Generic HACCP Model for Poultry Slaughter; HACCP-6, Generic 
HACCP Model for Mechanically Separated (Species)/Mechanically Deboned 
Poultry; HACCP-7, Generic HACCP Model for Thermally Processed 
Commercially Sterile Meat and Poultry Products;
HACCP-8, Generic HACCP Model for Irradiation; HACCP-9, Generic HACCP 
Model for Meat and Poultry Products with Secondary Inhibitors, Not 
Shelf-Stable; HACCP-10, Generic HACCP Model for Heat Treated, Shelf-
Stable Meat and Poultry Products; HACCP-11, Generic HACCP Model for Not 
Shelf-Stable Heat Treated, Not Fully Cooked Meat and Poultry Products;
HACCP-12, Generic HACCP Model for Fully Cooked, Not Shelf-Stable Meat 
and Poultry Products; HACCP-13, Generic HACCP Model for Beef Slaughter; 
HACCP-14, Generic HACCP Model for Pork Slaughter; and HACCP-15, Generic 
HACCP Model for Not Heat Treated, Shelf-Stable Meat and Poultry 
Products.
    Ten of the models were developed by the International Meat and 
Poultry HACCP Alliance, a consortium of academics, industry, and 
consumer group representatives, on a contractual basis with FSIS. The 
remaining three models were developed in-house at FSIS in consultation 
with representatives from other Federal agencies, academia, and 
industry, who peer reviewed the models. The previously published 
Guidebook and Guide have been revised and are being reissued for public 
comment with the HACCP models.
    Since each HACCP system should be developed by an individual 
establishment for its specific processes and practices, the generic 
models are meant to serve as illustrations and were developed as 
conceptual, informational models. They are not intended and should not 
serve as blueprints for a specific plant's HACCP plan. Interested 
persons are invited to evaluate the materials in the 13 generic HACCP 
models and comment on their use and adaptability, especially by 
``small'' and ``very small'' establishments in developing their own 
plant-specific HACCP plans. Comments are invited on: (a) whether the 
materials clearly are appropriate as generic models and not blueprints; 
(b) whether the language conveys unequivocally throughout the document 
that these are models; (c) whether the models are ``user friendly'' to 
the extent that they will guide plant owners in developing their own 
plans at reduced costs; and (d) whether the methodology and the 
technical assumptions used in the models have validity and utility as 
guidelines for plant owners. In addition, FSIS is interested in 
comments on the preferred format for publication of these guidance 
materials.

    Done at Washington, DC, on: June 4, 1997.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-15333 Filed 6-11-97; 8:45 am]
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