[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 170 (Friday, August 31, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45958-45959]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21982]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-024N]


National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria 
for Foods (NACMCF) will meet September 17-20, 2001. The meeting is open 
to the public. The committee will discuss Salmonella performance 
standards in meat and poultry products; Escherichia coli O157:H7 in 
blade-tenderized, non-intact beef; review Codex Alimentarius Commission 
Draft Guidelines for the Validation of Food Hygiene Control Measures; 
introduce the evaluation of hot holding temperatures; and the 
scientific basis for establishing safety-based ``use by'' date labeling 
for refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods.
    FSIS will finalize an agenda describing the specific charges to the 
Committee on or before the meeting date and post it to its internet web 
page.

DATES: Subcommittees will meet on Monday, September 17, 2001, beginning 
at 8:30 a.m., and again on September 18 and 19, 2001; the full 
Committee will meet in plenary session on September 19-20, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th & 
K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. Send an original and two copies of 
comments to the Food Safety and Inspection Service Docket Room: Docket 
#01-024N, Room 102 Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW., 
Washington, DC 20250. Comments may also be sent by facsimile (202) 205-
0381. The comments and the official transcript of the meeting, when it 
becomes available, will be kept in the FSIS Docket Room at the above 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons interested in making a 
presentation, submitting technical papers, or providing comments should 
contact Ms. Karen Thomas (202) 690-6620, Fax (202) 690-6634, e-mail 
address: [email protected], or mailing address: Food 
Safety and Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture, Office of 
Public Health and Science, Aerospace Center, Room 333, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. Persons requiring 
a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should 
notify Ms. Thomas, by September 3, 2001.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The NACMCF was established in April 1988, in response to a 
recommendation in a 1985 report of the National Academy of Sciences 
Committee on Food Protection, Subcommittee on Microbiological Criteria, 
``An Evaluation of the Role of Microbiological Criteria for Foods.'' 
The Charter for the NACMCF is available for viewing on the FSIS 
internet web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/programs/nacmcf_chart.htm.
    The NACMCF provides scientific advice and recommendations to the 
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
on public health issues relative to the safety and wholesomeness of the 
U.S.

[[Page 45959]]

food supply including development of microbiological criteria and 
review and evaluation of epidemiological and risk assessment data and 
methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards in foods. The 
Committee also provides advice to the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention and the Departments of Commerce and Defense. Dr. I. Kaye 
Wachsmuth, Deputy Administrator, Office of Public Health and Science, 
FSIS, is the Committee Chair, and Janice F. Oliver, Deputy Director, 
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug 
Administration, is the Co-Chair.
    At the September 17-20, 2001, meeting announced in this document, 
the Committee will
     Discuss Salmonella performance standards in meat and 
poultry products;
     Discuss Escherichia coli O157:H7 in blade-tenderized, non-
intact beef;
     Review Codex Alimentarius Commission Draft Guidelines for 
the Validation of Food Hygiene Control Measures;
     Introduce the evaluation of hot holding temperatures; and
     Introduce the scientific basis for establishing safety-
based ``use by'' date labeling for refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods.

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.

Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-21982 Filed 8-30-01; 8:45 am]
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