[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 34 (Monday, February 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8576-8577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4315]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 99N-0191]


Food Code; 1999 Revision; Availability

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration is announcing the 
availability of the 1999 revision of the Food Code. This 1999 revision 
was initiated in cooperation with the Conference for Food Protection 
(CFP) to help assure that safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented 
food is sold or offered for human consumption by retail food 
establishments.

ADDRESSES: The 1999 revision of the Food Code is available for public 
examination in the Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

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 bylaws 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. Another 
revision, the 1997 Food Code, included recommendations made at the 1996 
CFP meeting.
    The CFP wrote a letter to FDA on June 11, 1998, and suggested 
changes in the 1997 Food Code. As in the past, these recommended 
changes were cooperatively developed by regulatory, industry, academic, 
and consumer representatives within the purview of the constitution and 
bylaws of the CFP during its 1998 meeting.
    The 1999 Food Code responds to those suggestions. Note, however, 
that FDA's response in the Food Code to the CFP recommendations differs 
in one respect from the agency's August 14, 1998, letter to the CFP. 
That is, cook-chill and sous vide operations are not exempted from the 
definition of reduced oxygen packaged food or from the attendant Code 
requirements, when Clostridium botulinum is a hazard in the final 
packaged form.
    Significant changes from the 1997 Food Code include the following:
    (1) An insert page is provided to alert the Food Code reader to the 
options (and further discussion in Annex 3 about the requirement and 
the options) available to food establishments in advising especially 
vulnerable consumers of the increased possibility of foodborne illness 
when animal-derived foods are eaten raw or undercooked.
    (2) Clarification of the Code provision that prohibits bare-hand 
contact with ready-to-eat food is provided in Annex 3 and an insert 
page provides a synopsis of the clarification; a prohibition against 
the use of artificial fingernails and nail polish by food employees is 
added; and the display of handwashing signs at handwashing facilities 
and the use of automated handwashing facilities are addressed.
    (3) For establishments serving highly susceptible populations, 
enhanced food safety protections are added with respect to raw shell 
eggs, juices, and raw seed sprouts.
    (4) The definition and Code provisions related to reduced oxygen 
packaging are modified to more clearly address C. botulinum as a 
microbiological hazard in certain packaging processes, barriers against 
the growth of C. botulinum, and types of reduced oxygen packaging.
    (5) New defined terms include accredited program, juice, variance, 
and whole-muscle, intact beef steak; other

[[Page 8577]]

definitions were modified including foodborne illness, potentially 
hazardous food (with respect to garlic in oil), reduced oxygen 
packaging, and support animal which is now service animal.
    (6) Certain food employee-related provisions are modified, such as 
eliminating the requirement that food employees report travel out of 
the country, allowances for nurse practitioners and physician 
assistants to provide medical documentation, and addition of certain 
duties of the person in charge to reflect a 1996 CFP recommendation 
that was overlooked in the 1997 Code.
    (7) Time and temperature controls are modified specifically for the 
cooking temperature for hamburger at less than 1 second and for cooking 
pork, and labeling criteria are added relative to whole-muscle, intact 
beef steaks which may be cooked rare without a consumer advisory and 
relative to safe handling instructions for retail operations that 
package meat and poultry.
    (8) Clarification is provided for cleaning and sanitizing utensils 
and equipment used in food preparation and for refilling consumer 
containers, used by consumers to dispense condiments, and used in 
refrigerated preparation areas.
    (9) Date marking of ready-to-eat food is augmented to limit the 
amount of time new food can be added to a container of existing food.
    (10) More user aids are provided, such as additional references in 
Annex 2 and a diagram of the date marking criteria in Annex 7.
    (11) Provisions are updated to reflect consistency with the current 
Code of Federal Regulations and other Federal agencies' guidance.
    The 1999 revision of the Food Code is available for public 
examination in the Dockets Management Branch (address above) between 9 
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    Copies of the 1999 Food Code are available on the World Wide Web at 
``http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html or at http://www.fedworld.com''. 
The 1999 Food Code also may be purchased from the National Technical 
Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 
22161, in several formats: Docutek copy, spiral bound, WordPerfect 6.1 
files on diskette, and enhanced electronic version on diskette or on 
CD-ROM including Adobe Reader. The enhanced versions include electronic 
features such as hypertext links that enable the reader to quickly 
access the text of cross-referenced Code provisions or other documents. 
Other documents include Federal laws and regulations and, in the CD-ROM 
version, reference manuals to assist with plan review and HACCP 
implementation.

    Dated: February 10, 1999.
 William K. Hubbard,
 Associate Commissioner for Policy Coordination.
[FR Doc. 99-4315 Filed 2-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F