[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 182 (Friday, September 19, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49246-49247]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-24956]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 97N-0378]
Food Code; 1997 Revision; Availability
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the
availability of the 1997 revision of the Food Code. This 1997 revision
was initiated in cooperation with the Conference for Food Protection
(CFP) to help ensure that safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented
food is sold or offered for human consumption by retail food
establishments.
ADDRESSES: The 1997 revision of the Food Code is available for public
examination in the Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug
Administration, 12420 Parklawn Dr., rm. 1-23, Rockville, MD 20857.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Regarding questions about this document: Betty Harden, Office of
Field Programs, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-627),
200 C St. SW., Washington, DC 20204, 202-205-8140.
Regarding additional information about the CFP: Leon Townsend,
Conference for Food Protection, 110 Tecumseh Trail, Frankfort, KY
40601, 502-695-0253.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FDA provides assistance to local, State, and
Federal governmental bodies to ensure that the food that is provided to
consumers by retail food establishments is not a vector of communicable
diseases. One mechanism for providing that assistance is the
publication of a model code that sets out FDA's best advice for a
uniform system of regulation to ensure that the food sold or offered
for human consumption at retail is safe, properly protected, and
accurately presented.
The CFP was originally established in 1971 by State and Federal
officials and by representatives of industry. In 1988, the CFP adopted
a constitution and by-laws to provide a formal structure under which
State regulatory authorities could meet and consider guidelines for
improving food safety in the retail segment of the food industry.
At the 1986 CFP meeting, FDA presented a White Paper that
recommended combining the three distinct model codes that existed at
that time (retail food stores, food service facilities, and vending)
into a Food Protection Unicode. The CFP endorsed the approach that FDA
would develop a model Food Protection Unicode as a priority project.
FDA formed a Unicode Task Group and published a notice of the Unicode's
availability for comment in the Federal Register of May 9, 1988 (53 FR
16472), when the Task Group completed a draft. Based on comments
submitted in response to that notice, and in consideration of
subsequent comments provided by regulatory officials, industry
representatives, academia, and consumer representatives at the CFP
meetings in 1988, 1990, and 1992, FDA modified the document and
finalized it as the 1993 Food Code. Based on field application trials,
further comment, and input from the 1994 CFP meeting, FDA issued a
revised version of the 1993 Food Code as the 1995 Food Code.
The CFP wrote a letter to FDA on May 28, 1996, and suggested
changes in the 1995 Food Code. The CFP developed these suggestions in
cooperation with the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO).
The 1997 Food Code responds to those suggestions. Noteworthy
changes from the 1995 Food Code include the following:
(1) Modification of the definition of potentially hazardous food to
specifically state that a food might contain pathogens even though it
does not qualify as a potentially hazardous food;
(2) Identification of three methods of complying with the knowledge
requirements for the person in charge;
(3) Addition of Shigella spp. and E. coli O157:H7 to the list of
organisms that warrant restriction or exclusion if a food worker is
found to be an asymptomatic shedder;
(4) Removal of the special handwashing procedures and reservation
of that section;
(5) Allowance for the storage of potentially hazardous food at 45
deg.F (7 deg.C) under certain conditions;
(6) Adjustment of the number of days that prepared foods may be
stored at 41 deg.F (5 deg.C) and 45 deg.F from 10 to 7 and from 3 to
4, respectively;
(7) Revision of certain cooking temperatures and times, e.g., for
preparing ratites and formed roast beef and for microwave cooking;
(8) Modifications throughout the document to coincide with the
seafood hazard analysis critical control point rule at 21 CFR parts 123
and 1240;
(9) Provision for the regulatory authority to approve alternatives
to the rule of no bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food;
(10) Insertion of an explanation of the current status of the
consumer advisory language recommended by the CFP;
(11) Use of the term ``raw shell eggs'' to distinguish provisions
that apply to in-shell eggs versus in-shell eggs that were subjected to
in-shell pasteurization at a food processing plant;
(12) Addition of a statement that shell eggs placed, upon receipt,
in a refrigerated unit that maintains food at the required temperature
constitutes satisfactory compliance;
(13) Addition of a section that collates and expands the Food
Code's special precautions for highly susceptible populations;
(14) Removal of the requirement for a specified carbonator backflow
prevention device and reservation of the section; and
(15) Update of information and addition of user aides in the
annexes.
The 1997 revision of the Food Code is available for public
examination in
[[Page 49247]]
the Dockets Management Branch (address above) between 9 a.m. and 4
p.m., Monday through Friday.
Copies of the 1997 Food Code are available on the World Wide Web at
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html or at http://www.fedworld.com. The
1997 Food Code also may be purchased from the National Technical
Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA
22161, in several formats: Spiral bound, WordPerfect 6.1 files on
diskette, or enhanced electronic version on diskette or CD-Rom. The
enhanced versions include electronic features such as hypertext links
that enable the reader to quickly locate a specific code provision and
to simultaneously read the text of cross-referenced documents.
Dated: September 12, 1997.
William K. Hubbard,
Associate Commissioner for Policy Coordination.
[FR Doc. 97-24956 Filed 9-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F