[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 221 (Tuesday, November 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 63827]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-30646]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 98-059N]


Meeting on HACCP-based Inspection Models Project for Slaughter 
Plants; Models Phase

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Agency is holding a public meeting to discuss its HACCP-
based Inspection Models Project for slaughter plants. The morning 
session will provide general information on the Inspection Models 
Project and a briefing on the project's Baseline phase, which documents 
plant performance under current inspection procedures. By the time of 
the meeting, the Baseline phase will be completed for the first group 
of plants to participate in the project. The afternoon session will 
focus in some detail on the upcoming Inspection Models phase in this 
group of plants and will conclude with an open discussion.

DATES: The meeting will be held on December 2, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 3 
p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza Hotel in 
Washington, DC, 10 Thomas Circle NW (at Massachusetts Avenue and 14th 
Street), Washington DC 20009, (202) 842-1300. Transcripts of the 
meeting will be available in the FSIS Docket Room, Room 102, 300 12th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the meeting, contact 
Ms. Jennifer Callahan of the FSIS Planning Staff at (202) 501-7138 or 
FAX (202) 501-7642. Attendees who require a sign language interpreter 
or other special accommodation should contact Ms. Callahan at the above 
numbers by November 25, 1998.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Inspection Models Project is an 
outgrowth of the Agency's Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and 
Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) Systems Final Rule, published on July 
25, 1996. The PR/HACCP rule calls for the establishment of a HACCP-
based food safety system to reduce the risk of foodborne illness from 
meat and poultry products.
    In a Federal Register Notice of June 10, 1997, FSIS requested 
public comments on the design and development of new inspection models 
for slaughter and processing in a HACCP environment (62 FR 31553). This 
notice summarized recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences 
and the General Accounting Office that FSIS reduce its reliance on 
organoleptic (sensory) inspection and redeploy its resources by using 
inspection methods that are based on the risks inherent in meat and 
poultry slaughter operations. To accomplish these objectives, new 
inspection methods must be developed and tested that are consistent 
with the meat and poultry inspection laws and the systems now required 
by the PR/HACCP rule. The inspection models project is helping to 
define the respective responsibilities of FSIS and the regulated 
industry in slaughter establishments operating under HACCP systems.
    A draft project protocol of July 7, 1998 identifies two objectives: 
(1) Determine the effectiveness of the present inspection system in 
slaughter establishments by collecting and analyzing organoleptic and 
microbial data on carcasses produced under the current system--the 
Baseline phase; and (2) test new inspection models at establishments 
where plant personnel perform slaughter process control and FSIS 
inspectors perform oversight and verification inspection activities and 
collect and analyze data to determine the effectiveness of the models 
and ensure the safety and wholesomeness of the products--the Inspection 
Models phase.
    A public meeting was held in Washington DC on July 27, 1998 (63 FR 
39068, July 21, 1998) to discuss the project. Baseline data were 
collected in three poultry plants and two hog plants from August 
through November. This public meeting will discuss results from the 
Baseline phase in these initial five plants and projected activities in 
the plants during the upcoming Inspection Models phase.
    The meeting is open to the public on a space-available basis.

    Done in Washington, DC, on November 9, 1998.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-30646 Filed 11-16-98; 8:45 am]
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