[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44195-44196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21144]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 98-045N2]

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. 98N-1230]


Egg Safety Action Plan; Public Meeting

AGENCIES: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA; Food and Drug 
Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS) are announcing a public meeting to discuss 
the development of an action plan to address the presence of Salmonella 
enteritidis (SE) in shell eggs and egg products using a farm-to-table 
approach. The purpose of the action plan is: To promote the 
implementation of existing technologies, to control and prevent, to the 
extent possible, the presence of pathogens, particularly SE, in shell 
eggs and egg products, in order to reduce the incidence of foodborne 
illness; to examine alternative regulatory inspection structures to 
better coordinate the government's egg safety efforts from farm-to-
table; to change, through education, unsafe egg handling practices by 
producers, distributors, retailers, and consumers, in part, by 
eliminating temperature abuse as required by FDA's proposed and USDA's 
final rules; and to identify and develop new technologies to ensure 
safer shell eggs and egg products through research. FDA and FSIS have 
established public dockets to receive comments about the egg safety 
action plan.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 26, 1999, from 9 
a.m. to 5 p.m. Comments should be submitted to one of the dockets no 
later than September 11, 1999, to be considered in the development of 
the egg safety action plan.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 
Thomas Circle, NW., Massachusetts Ave. and 14th St., Washington, DC. 
Thirty rooms have been blocked off at the government rate of $115 for a 
single under reference #8613. To guarantee a room with a credit card, 
call the hotel at 800-424-1140 or 202-842-1300.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    For registration: Sheila A. Johnson, FSIS, 202-501-7305 or FAX 202-
501-7642. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other 
special accommodations should call by August 19, 1999.
    For general information: Stephanie A. Smith, FDA, 202-205-0136 or 
FAX 202-205-4422, or Alice Thaler, FSIS, 202-690-2683.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The President's Council on Food Safety was established in August 
1998 under Executive Order 13100 to strengthen and focus our efforts to 
coordinate food safety policy and resources. The Council on Food Safety 
was charged with developing a comprehensive, long-range strategic plan 
that can be used to set priorities, improve coordination and 
efficiency, identify gaps in the current system and how to fill those 
gaps, enhance and strengthen prevention and intervention strategies, 
and identify or develop measures to show progress.
    On July 1, 1999, FDA and FSIS testified before the Senate Committee 
on Governmental Affair's Subcommittee on Oversight of Government 
Management, Restructuring, and the District of Columbia. The hearing 
explored concerns raised by an U.S. General Accounting Office report 
(GAO/RCED-99-184) relating to the Federal Government's current approach 
to shell eggs and egg products safety. During the hearing, the agencies 
committed to developing an action plan in 120 days to address the 
presence of SE in shell eggs and egg products using a farm-to-table 
approach. As part of the action plan development process, FDA and FSIS 
will hold a public meeting on August 26, 1999.
    FDA and FSIS, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention, the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Agricultural 
Research Service, and the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, 
have already begun the process of developing an egg

[[Page 44196]]

safety action plan by participating in interagency sessions. The 
purpose of the August 26, 1999, public meeting is to obtain stakeholder 
input on the draft goals, as well as on the development of the 
objectives and action items. The meeting is intended to be a working 
meeting, with breakout sessions, in order to provide the stakeholders 
in attendance the opportunity to offer comments and suggestions. 
Therefore, the agenda will include brief informational presentations to 
provide: (1) Background to individuals unfamiliar with the relevant 
issues, and (2) breakout sessions to facilitate public participation. 
The breakout sessions will be organized around the draft goals and will 
include members of the interagency planning workgroups to lead and 
facilitate discussions. Discussion summaries will be available within 
30 days of the meeting. The draft goals for the egg safety action plan 
to be discussed at the meeting are as follows:
     Overarching Goal: To protect public health by 
significantly reducing the number of foodborne illnesses associated 
with SE in shell eggs and egg products through science-based and 
coordinated regulation, inspection, enforcement, research, and 
education programs.
     Goal 1: To promote the implementation of existing 
technologies, to control and prevent, to the extent possible, the 
presence of pathogens, particularly SE, in shell eggs and egg products, 
in order to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness;
     Goal 2: To examine alternative regulatory inspection 
structures to better coordinate the government's egg safety efforts 
from farm-to-table;
     Goal 3: To change, through education, unsafe egg handling 
practices by producers, distributors, retailers, and consumers, in 
part, by eliminating temperature abuse as required by FDA's proposed 
and USDA's final rules; and
     Goal 4: To identify and develop new technologies to ensure 
safer shell eggs and egg products through research.
    Because the interagency workgroups will continue revising these 
goals and will begin developing objectives and action items in 
preparation for the August 26, 1999, meeting, the material distributed 
at the meeting may differ slightly from the information provided in 
this document.

II. Public Dockets and Submission of Comments

    The agencies have established public dockets to which comments may 
be submitted. Comments should be directed either to FSIS, Docket No. 
98-045N2, or to FDA, Docket No. 98N-1230, and all comments must include 
a docket number. Submit a disk with the written comments in WordPerfect 
5.1/6.1 or ASCII file format. Submit written comments in triplicate to:
    USDA/FSIS Hearing Clerk, 300 12th St. SW., rm. 102 Cotton Annex, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700.
    FDA/Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 
1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Alternatively, comments may be submitted electronically to 
``[email protected]''. Electronic comments must be submitted as an 
ASCII file avoiding the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption.

III. Meeting Summaries

    Summaries of the public meeting will be posted on the Internet at 
``www.foodsafety.gov''. This website is a joint FDA, USDA, and 
Environmental Protection Agency food safety home page. It is linked to 
each agency for persons seeking additional food safety information. 
Summaries of the public meeting may also be requested in writing from 
the Dockets Management Branch (address above) approximately 30 business 
days after the meeting at a cost of 10 cents per page. The summaries of 
the public meeting will be available for public examination at the 
Docket Management Branch between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.

    Dated: August 10, 1999.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator, Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
William K. Hubbard,
Senior Associate Commissioner for Policy, Planning, and Legislation, 
Food and Drug Administration.
[FR Doc. 99-21144 Filed 8-11-99; 1:11 pm]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F