[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 160 (Thursday, August 17, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50176-50177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-20974]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-031N]


National Conference on Animal Production Food Safety

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is cosponsoring, 
with the USDA's Agriculture Research Service, the Animal Plant Health 
Inspection Service, the Cooperative State Research, Education and 
Extension Service, the Agriculture Marketing Service and the Food and 
Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine and Center for 
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, a National Conference on Animal 
Production Food Safety. The meeting will be held in St. Louis, Missouri 
on September 6-7, 2000. The purpose of the conference will be to review 
the status of food safety at the food animal production level, to 
provide an update on industry quality assurance activities, and to 
review ongoing research in support of animal production food safety 
practices.

DATES: The meeting will be held September 6-7, 2000.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis, One 
St. Louis Union Station, St. Louis, MO, (314) 231-1234 or (800) 233-
1234. On September 6, the meeting time will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. On 
September 7, the meeting time will be 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Submit one 
original and two copies of written comments to: FSIS Docket Room, 
Docket #00-031N, Room 102 Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments received in response to this 
notice will be considered part of the public record and will be 
available for viewing in the FSIS Docket Room between 8:30 a.m. and 
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the meeting, contact 
Debi Seymour, Federation of Animal Science Societies, (217) 356-3182 in 
Savoy, IL. If you require a sign language interpreter or other special 
accommodations, please notify Ms. Seymour 7 days before the meeting. 
For technical information contact Mr. Dan Vitiello, Animal Production 
Food Safety Staff, FSIS, by Telephone (202) 690-2676, FAX (202) 720-
8213, or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Administration's Draft Preliminary Food Safety Strategic Plan 
(available on www.foodsafety.gov), states that the foundation of any 
food safety system includes the articulation and implementation of a 
unified research agenda to provide the scientific knowledge needed for 
prevention, monitoring, surveillance, inspection, regulation, and 
education programs. It also suggests that there are a number of 
challenges to improving the scientific basis of the food safety system. 
For example, it states that gaps exist in our knowledge of microbial 
pathogens and in our ability to measure their impact on human health. 
It also notes that the limited knowledge about microbial contamination 
hampers efforts to develop on-farm preventative controls and systems of 
testing.
    The National Conference will review the current status of food 
safety at the food animal production level, provide an update on 
industry quality assurance activities, and review ongoing research in 
support of animal production food safety practices. The National 
Conference will provide an opportunity for discussion of (1) gaps in 
research to address food safety at the animal production level and (2) 
what additional educational efforts are needed to improve food safety 
at the animal production level.
    Participation in the conference will be limited to available 
seating

[[Page 50177]]

(approximately 250 people). The target audience for the conference 
includes representatives from food safety regulatory agencies, 
producers, animal producer organizations, veterinarians, animal 
scientists, agricultural educators, extension agents, researchers, 
consumers, and others with interest in food safety.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure 
that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this 
notice, FSIS will announce it and provide copies of this Federal 
Register publication in the FSIS Constituent Update. FSIS provides a 
weekly FSIS Constituent Update, which is communicated via fax to over 
300 organizations and individuals. In addition, the update is available 
on-line through the FSIS web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. 
The update is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies, 
procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS public 
meetings, recalls, and any other types of information that could affect 
or would be of interest to our constituents/stakeholders. The 
constituent fax list consists of industry, trade, and farm groups, 
consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific 
professionals, and other individuals that have requested to be 
included. Through these various channels, FSIS is able to provide 
information to a much broader, more diverse audience. For more 
information and to be added to the constituent fax list, fax your 
request to the Congressional and Public Affairs Office, at (202) 720-
5704.

    Done at Washington, DC on: August 14, 2000.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 00-20974 Filed 8-16-00; 8:45 am]
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