[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 173 (Wednesday, September 6, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54056-54057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-22851]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. 00N-1485]


Report of the FDA Retail Food Program Database of Foodborne 
Illness Risk Factors; Notice of Availability; Public Meeting by 
Satellite

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability and announcement of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the 
availability of the report entitled ``Report of the FDA Retail Food 
Program Database of Foodborne Illness Risk Factors'' and a public 
meeting via an interactive satellite teleconference. The purpose of the 
meeting is to present: The methodology used for developing a baseline 
on the occurrence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC)-identified foodborne illness risk factors in retail-level 
institutional food establishments, restaurants, and retail food stores 
and the data from the baseline inspections that were conducted by FDA 
Regional Food Specialists in 1998 to 1999.
    Date and Time: The meeting will be held on October 27, 2000, 1 p.m. 
to 4 p.m. Satellite coordinates for the broadcast will be posted on the 
FDA Internet at www.fda.gov beginning October 13, 2000. The report will 
be available beginning September 11, 2000, on the FDA Internet at 
www.fda.gov and hard copies will be available after October 1, 2000, 
from the contact persons listed below.
    Location: The satellite meeting will be broadcast nationwide from 
the FDA broadcast studio at the Center for Devices and Radiological 
Health, 16071-B Industrial Dr., Gaithersburg, MD 20877.
    Contact: Denise M. Buckmon or LaKesha P. Abbey, Office of Field

[[Page 54057]]

Programs (HFS-625), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food 
and Drug Administration, Switzer Bldg., rm. 1042, 200 C St. SW., 
Washington, DC 20204, 202-205-8140, FAX 202-205-5560, e-mail: 
``[email protected]'' or ``[email protected]''.
    Registration: Stakeholders interested in being a member of the 
studio audience should indicate their interest by October 13, 2000, by 
providing name, title, firm name, address, telephone number, and fax 
number to the contact persons listed below. Seating is limited to 45 
persons.
    If you are interested in attending as a member of the studio 
audience and need any reasonable accommodations due to a disability, 
including a sign language interpreter, please contact Denise M. Buckmon 
or LaKesha P. Abbey at least 7 days in advance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    FDA advises Federal agencies, State, local, and tribal governments 
on food safety standards for institutional food service establishments, 
restaurants, and other retail food stores. In this advisory role, FDA 
works closely with other Federal agencies to provide guidance and 
assistance to enhance the regulatory programs of State, local, and 
tribal jurisdictions.
    In January 1996, the National Partnership for Reinventing 
Government (NPR), formerly the National Performance Review, issued a 
report entitled ``Reinventing Food Regulations.'' In this report, NPR 
concluded that ``foodborne illness caused by harmful bacteria and other 
pathogenic microorganisms in meat, poultry, seafood, dairy products, 
and a host of other foods is a significant public health problem in the 
United States.'' For years, regulatory and industry food safety 
programs have been designed to minimize the occurrence of foodborne 
illness. In 1997, the President called for the creation of a Food 
Safety Initiative (FSI). FSI established steps for Federal agencies 
with the primary responsibility of food safety to take in order to 
reduce foodborne illness. Key necessary actions included: Enhancing 
surveillance and building an early-warning system; improving responses 
to foodborne outbreaks; improving risk assessment; developing new 
research methods; improving inspections and compliance; and furthering 
food safety education.
    To improve responses to foodborne illness outbreaks and risk 
assessment capabilities, the level of risky practices and behaviors 
need to be identified. There is, however, a lack of a national baseline 
on the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors.
    This report and meeting are designed to establish a national 
baseline on the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors within the 
retail segment of the food industry. The CDC-identified foodborne 
illness risk factors being tracked are: Food from unsafe sources, 
inadequate cooking, improper holding temperature, contaminated 
equipment, and poor personal hygiene.
    The purpose of the meeting is to present the methodology used for 
developing a baseline on the occurrence of CDC-identified foodborne 
illness risk factors in retail-level institutional food establishments, 
restaurants, and retail food stores. In addition, FDA will present data 
from the baseline inspections conducted by the FDA Regional Food 
Specialists in 1998 and 1999.
    FDA intends to use the baseline to measure industry and regulatory 
efforts to change behaviors and practices directly related to foodborne 
illness. In addition, the data from this report and meeting along with 
future studies planned for 2003 and 2008 are expected to provide input 
into the Healthy People 2010's Food Safety Objective 10.6. Objective 
10.6 is designed to improve food preparation practices and food 
employee behaviors at institutional food service establishments, 
restaurants, and retail food stores. Healthy People 2010 is a national 
health promotion and disease prevention initiative with the objective 
to improve the health of all Americans.

    Dated: August 31, 2000.
William K. Hubbard,
Senior Associate Commissioner for Policy, Planning, and Legislation.
[FR Doc. 00-22851 Filed 9-1-00; 2:29 pm]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-F