[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 25, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37730-37735]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15741]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
9 CFR Parts 320 and 381
[Docket No. 01-034N]
Need To Complete New Registration Form and Importance of
Compliance With Recordkeeping and Registration Requirements Under the
Federal Meat and Poultry Products Inspection Regulations
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Policy statement and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Since 1970, FSIS has required registration by: Meat brokers;
poultry products brokers; renderers; animal food manufacturers;
wholesalers; warehousemen; and persons that engage in the business of
buying, selling, transporting in commerce, or importing, any dead,
dying, disabled, or diseased livestock (that is, cattle, sheep, swine,
goats, horses, mules, or other equines) or poultry, or parts of the
carcasses of livestock or poultry that have died otherwise than by
slaughter. Also since 1970, FSIS has required these parties, all
official establishments, and carriers and importers of poultry or
livestock carcasses or parts or products of poultry or livestock
carcasses to keep business records and to make such records available
to FSIS employees upon request. Registration information and business
records are critical in any FSIS investigation related to public
health, food safety, or misbranding of meat or poultry products. For
example, should Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), a neurogenetive
disease in cattle, be introduced in the United States, registration
information and business records will be crucial in tracing the source
of BSE and in preventing its spread. FSIS intends to increase its
enforcement of the registration and recordkeeping requirements to
ensure that all businesses subject to the Federal Meat Inspection Act
and Federal Poultry Products Inspection Act that are required to be
registered with FSIS and/or to maintain business records are properly
doing so.
In this notice, FSIS is also informing the public that the Agency
has developed a new registration form. Because this form requires that
registrants provide certain information that was not required on the
previous form, all parties required to register, including those that
are currently registered, must complete the new form and submit it to
FSIS. Parties must
[[Page 37731]]
submit the new registration form to FSIS by March 22, 2004.
DATES: Comments may be submitted by August 25, 2003. The new
registration form will be available by December 22, 2003. All parties
required to register with FSIS, including those currently registered,
must complete the new registration form and submit it to FSIS by March
22, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit one original and two copies of written comments to
FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket No. 01-034N, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments submitted in
response to this document will be available for public inspection in
the Docket Clerk's office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday
through Friday. When the new registration form becomes available,
parties can access the form over the Internet at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fsisforms/. To obtain a copy of the new registration
form, parties may also write to USDA, FSIS, Program Evaluation,
Enforcement and Review (PEER), Evaluation and Enforcement Division
(EED), 300 West End Court Building, 1255 22nd Street NW., Room 300,
Washington, DC 20250-3700.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Arshad Hussain, Division Director,
Data Analysis and Statistical Support Staff, Food Safety and Inspection
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (202) 720-3219.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Recordkeeping Requirements
In 1967, the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA) was amended to add
section 202 (21 U.S.C. 642), which requires that certain parties keep
records that fully and correctly disclose all transactions involved in
their businesses related to cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules,
or other equines, their carcasses, parts or products of such animal
carcasses for use as human or animal food. Similarly, in 1968, the
Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) was amended, including section
11(b) (21 U.S.C. 460(b)), which requires that certain parties keep such
records as are properly necessary for the effective enforcement of the
PPIA, in order to protect the American consumer against adulterated or
misbranded poultry and poultry products. These provisions of the FMIA
and PPIA require that the following parties keep business records: Any
persons, firms, or corporations that engage in the business of
slaughtering any livestock (as enumerated above) or poultry, or
preparing or processing, freezing, packaging, or labeling any
carcasses, or parts or products of carcasses, of any such animals, for
use as human food or animal food; any persons, firms, or corporations
that engage in the business of buying or selling (as meat brokers or
poultry products brokers, wholesalers, or otherwise), or transporting,
or storing, or importing any livestock or poultry carcasses or parts or
products of these carcasses; and any persons, firms, or corporations
that engage in business as renderers, or engage in the business of
buying, selling, or transporting, or importing any dead, dying,
disabled, or diseased (referred to as 4-D) livestock or poultry or
parts of the carcasses of such livestock or poultry that have died
otherwise than by slaughter.
In addition, those sections of the FMIA and PPIA require that, at
all reasonable times, upon notice by a duly authorized representative
of the Secretary of Agriculture (for example, an FSIS employee), these
parties must afford the USDA representative access to their places of
business and the opportunity to examine the facilities, inventory, and
records and to copy all their records.
Section 11(b) of the PPIA further requires that the businesses
listed above which are subject to it retain such records for the period
of time prescribed by the poultry products inspection regulations, not
to exceed two years, unless otherwise directed by Secretary of
Agriculture for good cause shown. Similarly, section 202 of the FMIA
provides that required records must be maintained for the period of
time prescribed by the meat inspection regulations.
Regulations implementing these recordkeeping requirements were
first published in 1970. The current regulations (9 CFR 320.1(b) and
381.175(b)) list the types of records, including, among other records,
the bills of sale, invoices, bills of lading, and receiving and
shipping papers, that must be maintained; the types of transactions for
which records must be maintained, including purchasing, selling,
shipping, receiving, transporting, or otherwise handling any livestock,
livestock carcass or part thereof, meat or meat food product, poultry,
or poultry carcass or part or product thereof; and the information
about the transaction that the records must include.
Consistent with the provisions of the FMIA and the PPIA, Sec. Sec.
320.4 and 381.178 of the FSIS' regulations provide that, upon
presentation of official credentials by an FSIS employee (or any
authorized USDA representative) during ordinary business hours,
businesses that are required to maintain records must permit the FSIS
employee to enter their place of business and examine and copy the
records that are required to be kept pursuant to these regulations.
Under sections 320.3 and 381.177 of the regulations, records
required to be kept must be retained for at least two years after
December 31 of the year in which the transaction to which they relate
occurred. The regulations also require that records be retained for
longer periods if the Administrator of FSIS requires their retention
for purposes of any investigation or litigation under the FMIA or PPIA.
In these situations, the Administrator is to provide written notice of
a longer retention period to the person required to keep these records.
Sections 320.2 and 381.176 of the regulations require that the
parties that are required to maintain the records at the place they
conduct business that is subject to the FMIA or PPIA, unless they
conduct their business in multiple locations. If they conduct their
business in multiple locations, businesses can maintain their records
at their headquarters' office. When records are not in use, the
regulations require that they be kept in a safe place at the required
location.
Section 11 (21 U.S.C. 1040) of the Egg Products Inspection Act
requires that persons engaged in the business of transporting,
shipping, or receiving any eggs or egg products in commerce or holding
such articles so received, and all egg handlers, maintain records
concerning their receipt, delivery, sale, movement, and disposition of
all eggs and egg products handled by them. FSIS' implementing
regulations are in 9 CFR 590.200. During its continuous inspection at
official plants processing egg products, FSIS ensures that these plants
comply with the recordkeeping requirements. FSIS is also responsible
for enforcing the recordkeeping requirements for other businesses
engaged in transporting, shipping, or receiving egg products in
commerce or businesses engaged in holding these products. In this
notice, FSIS is not focusing on egg products businesses because the
recordkeeping requirements in the egg products inspection regulations
are different from those in the meat and poultry products inspection
regulations. In addition, unlike certain businesses subject to the FMIA
and PPIA, egg products businesses are not required to register with
FSIS. Furthermore, FSIS is developing a proposed rule on shell eggs and
egg products that will
[[Page 37732]]
specifically address recordkeeping requirements.
Congress passed the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism
Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (``the Bioterrorism Act'') (Pub.
L. 107-188), which was signed into law on June 12, 2002. The
Bioterrorism Act provides that the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (HHS) may require the establishment and maintenance of records
by persons who manufacture, process, pack, transport, distribute,
receive hold, or import food for human or animal consumption in the
United States. On May 9, 2003, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
proposed regulations that would implement these recordkeeping
requirements (68 FR 25188). The recordkeeping requirements that will
apply under the Bioterrorism Act will not affect the recordkeeping
requirements in FSIS'' regulations. Therefore, even after the
Bioterrorism Act's recordkeeping requirements take effect, the
recordkeeping requirements in FSIS'' regulations will continue to apply
to the parties listed above.
Registration Requirements
The FMIA and PPIA were also amended in 1967 and 1968, respectively,
to add sections 203 (21 U.S.C. 643) and 11(c) (21 U.S.C. 460(c)). These
provisions prohibit any person, firm, or corporation from engaging in
commerce as a meat or poultry products broker, renderer, animal food
manufacturer, wholesaler, or public warehouseman, or from buying,
selling, or transporting, or importing any dead, dying, disabled or
diseased livestock or poultry or parts of the carcasses of livestock or
poultry that died otherwise than by slaughter unless they have
registered their business as required by the regulations.
Regulations implementing registration requirements were first
published in 1970. Sections 320.5 and 381.179 of the current
regulations require that the parties listed in the preceding paragraph
register with FSIS, unless these parties conduct business only at an
official establishment where meat or poultry inspection is maintained.
According to the regulations, parties required to register with
FSIS must do so by filing out a form and must provide current and
correct information to FSIS, including their name, the address of all
locations at which they conduct the businesses that require them to
register, and all trade or business names under which they conduct
these businesses.
FSIS has developed a new registration form. In addition to
requiring the name and addresses of locations at which registrants
conduct business, the form requires that parties disclose the form of
their organization (e.g., individually owned or partnership), the
nature of their business (e.g., meat or meat products or poultry or
poultry products), and the type of business they are engaged in (e.g.,
domestic broker, import broker, warehouseman, etc). The form also
requires that registrants provide their phone number and e-mail address
and the hours of operation of any of their subsidiaries, branches, or
divisions that conduct the businesses that require them to register.
According to the regulations, parties required to register with FSIS
must do so within 90 days after they begin to engage in any of the
businesses that require them to register.
FSIS' new registration form will be available for use by December
22, 2003. Because this form requires that registrants provide certain
information that was not required on the previous form, including e-
mail address, phone number, and subsidiaries'' hours of operation, all
parties required to register, including those that are currently
registered, must complete the new form and submit it to FSIS. Parties
must submit the form to FSIS by March 22, 2004.
The registration form can be obtained over the Internet at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/fsisforms/. To obtain the form, parties can also
write to USDA, FSIS, Program Evaluation, Enforcement and Review (PEER),
Evaluation and Enforcement Division (EED), 300 West End Court Building,
1255 22nd Street, NW., Room 300, Washington, DC 20250-3700. The FSIS
regulations provide a different mailing address for obtaining the
registration form, and state that the registration form can be obtained
from ``Compliance Programs, Regulatory Programs'' (Sec. Sec. 320.5(a)
and 381.179(a)). FSIS intends to update this information in a future
rule. The form will also be available from FSIS personnel that visit
businesses required to register. Once parties complete the form, they
should mail it to USDA, FSIS, Program Evaluation, Enforcement and
Review (PEER), Evaluation and Enforcement Division (EED), 300 West End
Court Building, 1255 22nd Street, NW., Room 300, Washington, DC 20250-
3700 (the same address as for obtaining forms) or fax it to Director,
Evaluation and Enforcement Division (EED) at (202) 418-8941.
The regulations require that, whenever any change is made in the
registrant's name, business address, or any trade or business name
under which it conducts its business, the registrant must report such
change in writing to the Administrator within 15 days after making the
change.
The Bioterrorism Act includes a provision that requires the
Secretary of HHS to develop regulations mandating domestic and foreign
facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold food for human or
animal consumption in the United States to register with the FDA by
December 12, 2003. On February 3, 2003, FDA proposed regulations that
would implement these registration requirements (68 FR 5378). The
registration requirements that will apply under the Bioterrorism Act
will not replace the registration requirements in FSIS' regulations.
Therefore, even after the Bioterrorism Act's registration requirements
take effect, the registration requirements in FSIS' regulations will
continue to apply to the parties listed above.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly referred to as
``Mad Cow Disease,'' is a slowly progressive degenerative disease that
affects the central nervous system (CNS) of adult cattle. BSE belongs
to the family of diseases known as the transmissible spongiform
encephalopathies (TSEs). Other TSEs include scrapie in sheep and goats,
transmissible mink encephalopathy, feline spongiform encephalopathy,
chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk, and in humans, kuru,
classic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker
syndrome, fatal familial insomnia, and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease (vCJD).
The agent that causes BSE and other TSEs has yet to be fully
characterized. There are three main theories on the nature of the BSE
agent: (1) The agent is a virus with unusual characteristics; (2) the
agent is a prion--an abnormal form of a normal protein known as
cellular prion protein; and (3) the agent is a virino--an
``incomplete'' virus composed of nucleic acid protected by host
proteins. The BSE agent is highly resistant to heat, ultraviolet light,
ionizing radiation, and common disinfectants that normally inactivate
viruses or bacteria. Scientific experts believe that prions most likely
cause BSE and other TSEs.
BSE was first diagnosed in 1986 in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and
since then has been confirmed in native-born cattle in many other
European countries and several countries outside Europe. This animal
disease is most likely spread by feeding the rendered parts of cattle
infected with the BSE agent to other cattle in the form of meat and
bone meal. No cases of BSE have been
[[Page 37733]]
detected in the U.S. despite active surveillance for the disease since
May 1990.
In 1996, a newly recognized form of the human disease CJD, called
variant CJD (vCJD), was reported in 10 patients in the U.K. vCJD is a
chronic, neurodegenerative disease that affects humans. Scientific and
epidemiological studies have linked vCJD to exposure to BSE, probably
through human consumption of beef products contaminated with the agent
that causes BSE.
Until recently, vCJD had not been detected in the U.S. In April
2002, the Florida Department of Health and the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) began investigating a likely case of vCJD
in a citizen of the U.K. living in Florida. In October 2002, CDC
reported the investigation of this case and stated that it represents
the first probable vCJD case in a U.S. resident (CDC, Morbidity and
Mortality Weekly Report, 51(41): 927-929, 2002). CDC believes, however,
that the patient was exposed to the BSE agent while living in the U.K.
This is likely to be the case, as the disease is thought to have a long
incubation period and the appearance of symptoms does not mean that
exposure was recent.
Surveillance data from European countries in which BSE has been
detected indicate that cattle with clinical signs of a central nervous
system (CNS) disorder, ``dead'' cattle (i.e., died otherwise than by
slaughter), and cattle that cannot rise from a recumbent position
(i.e., nonambulatory, cattle commonly referred to as ``downer'' cattle
in the U.S.), have a greater incidence of having BSE than other cattle.
The FSIS regulations prohibit for use as human food cattle with
clinical signs of a CNS disorder or certain infectious or parasitic
diseases, or that are in a dying condition or that died otherwise than
by slaughter (Sec. Sec. 309.3, 309.4). All seriously crippled cattle
and cattle commonly termed ``downers'' presented for slaughter are
automatically suspected of being affected with a disease or condition
that may require condemnation of the animal, in whole or in part, and
are identified as ``U.S. Suspects'' (Sec. 309.2(b)). Such cattle are
examined at ante-mortem inspection by an FSIS veterinarian, and a
record of the veterinarian's clinical findings accompanies the carcass
to post-mortem inspection if the animal is not condemned on ante-mortem
inspection. Post-mortem inspections on the carcasses of U.S. Suspects
cattle are performed by a veterinarian rather than a food inspector,
and the results of this inspection are recorded. U.S. Suspects, unless
otherwise released pursuant to Sec. 309.2(p), must be set apart and
slaughtered separately (Sec. 309.2(n)). If, on post-mortem inspection,
the meat and meat food products from such cattle are found to be
otherwise not adulterated, such products may be used for human food
(Sec. 311.1).
Surveillance for BSE in Europe has shown that the typical clinical
signs associated with BSE cannot always be observed in nonambulatory
(downer) cattle infected with BSE because the signs of BSE often cannot
be differentiated from the typical clinical signs of the many other
diseases and conditions affecting downer cattle. Thus, if BSE were
present in the U.S., it is possible that downer cattle infected with
BSE could be presented for slaughter, and, if the clinical signs of the
disease were not obvious, pass ante-mortem inspection. These cattle
could then be slaughtered, and, if they pass post-mortem inspection,
the meat and meat food products from such cattle could be used for
human food. However, the BSE agent has not been detected in muscle
tissue of infected cattle. Tissues that have been found to contain high
levels of the agent that causes BSE in BSE-infected cattle--such as the
brain tissue, the spinal cord, and the retina of the eye--could
possibly cross-contaminate muscle tissues with the BSE agent during
slaughter and processing.
The U.S. government has implemented a number of measures to prevent
BSE from entering the U.S. and to prevent the spread of the disease
should it be introduced in the U.S. For example, since 1989, the USDA's
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has prohibited the
importation of live cattle and certain cattle products, including
rendered protein products, from countries where BSE is known to exist.
In 1997, because of concerns about widespread risk factors and
inadequate surveillance for BSE in many European countries, these
importation restrictions were extended to include all of the countries
in Europe. On December 7, 2000, APHIS prohibited all imports of
rendered animal protein products, regardless of species, from BSE-
restricted countries because of concern that feed intended for cattle
may have been cross-contaminated with the BSE agent.
In addition, APHIS leads an ongoing, comprehensive, interagency
surveillance system for BSE in the U.S. and, in cooperation with FSIS,
has drafted an emergency response plan to be used in the event that BSE
is identified in the U.S. Other Federal agencies also have contingency
plans that work in concert with the USDA plan.
In 1997, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibited the use
of most mammalian protein in the manufacture of animal feeds given to
cattle and other ruminants (21 CFR 589.2000). Firms must keep specified
records on the manufacture of their feed, must have processes in place
to prohibit co-mingling of ruminant feed with non-ruminant feed, which
may contain materials prohibited in ruminant feed, and must ensure that
non-ruminant feed containing materials prohibited in ruminant feed is
labeled conspicuously with the statement, ``Do not feed to cattle and
other ruminants.'' These regulations are intended to prevent the
introduction and spread of BSE in U.S. cattle through feed contaminated
with the BSE agent.
In addition, the CDC monitors the incidence of CJD in the U.S. by
analyzing death certificate information from multiple-cause-of-death
data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics. This
information is also used to search for possible cases of vCJD in the
U.S.
In 1998, USDA entered into a cooperative agreement with Harvard
University's School of Public Health to conduct an analysis and
evaluation of the current measures implemented by the U.S. government
to prevent the entry and spread of BSE in U.S. cattle herds and to
reduce the potential for exposure of Americans to the BSE agent. The
Harvard study identifies three pathways or practices that could
contribute the most to the spread of BSE and the amount of potentially
dangerous tissue in the human food supply: (1) Noncompliance with the
FDA feed ban, including misfeeding on the farm and the mislabeling of
feed and feed products prohibited for consumption by cattle; (2) unsafe
disposition of cattle that die on the farm; and (3) inclusion of high-
risk tissue, such as brain and spinal cord, in edible products. With
regard to the second pathway listed, a potential use for cattle that
die on the farm otherwise than by slaughter would be for rendering as
non-ruminant animal feed since rendered product from animals that die
otherwise than by slaughter is prohibited for use as human food but may
be used to produce animal feed.
On January 17, 2002, FSIS announced the availability of a paper on
its current thinking on possible actions to minimize human exposure to
meat products from cattle that could contain the infective agent that
causes BSE (67 FR 2399). This paper is available on the
[[Page 37734]]
FSIS web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/topics/BSE_Thinking.pdf
and http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/topics/BSE_thinking.htm.
In this paper, FSIS stated that it planned to increase its
enforcement of recordkeeping and registration requirements for
renderers and persons who engage in the business of buying, selling,
and transporting 4-D livestock or parts of the carcasses of any such
livestock that died otherwise than by slaughter. In considering
measures to minimize human exposure to bovine tissue and products that
could contain the agent that causes BSE, FSIS determined that
registration information and records from renderers and persons who
engage in the business of buying, selling, and transporting 4-D
livestock, or parts of the carcasses of any such livestock that died
otherwise than by slaughter, would support FDA in enforcing its
regulations that prohibit most mammalian protein in ruminant feed.
Parts of carcasses of 4-D livestock are often used in rendering.
Renderers produce meat and bonemeal and similar products used in
livestock and poultry feed. If any ruminant feed is suspected of
containing mammalian protein, FSIS will need and will be able to obtain
registration information from the renderers that supplied rendered
ruminant product to the animal feed manufacturers and from the
producers or businesses that supplied the renderers with 4-D livestock
or parts of carcasses of 4-D livestock. FSIS will also require and will
have access to their related business records. FSIS will work
collaboratively with FDA to locate these producers and businesses and
obtain their records.
Should BSE be introduced into the United States, registration
information and business records will be crucial in quickly determining
and tracking the source of BSE so as to prevent its spread.
Registration information and business records would be crucial in
tracking transactions involving cattle that are suspected of being, or
confirmed to be, infected with BSE and carcasses and products that are
suspected of being, or confirmed to be, contaminated with the agent
that causes BSE.
FSIS is reminding businesses subject to the PPIA that are required
to register or maintain records that they must do so because the
registration and recordkeeping requirements in the poultry products
inspection regulations are almost identical to those in the meat
inspection regulations. Also, FSIS needs to make sure that its
information on registrants is accurate, complete, and current.
Therefore, it is important that all businesses required to register
under the FMIA or PPIA do so and keep their registrations current. As
stated above, in this notice, FSIS is not focusing on egg products
businesses because the recordkeeping requirements in the egg products
inspection regulations are different from those in the meat and poultry
products inspection regulations, because egg products businesses are
not required to register with FSIS, and because FSIS is developing a
proposed rule on shell eggs and egg products that will address
recordkeeping requirements.
Failure To Register or Maintain Records
As FSIS previously stated in its BSE current thinking paper, FSIS
intends to increase enforcement of the registration and recordkeeping
requirements discussed above. If FSIS determines that a party required
to register, or a party required to maintain records, has not done so,
FSIS program employees will first remind the party to register
immediately or to maintain current and accurate records. If the party
continues to violate the registration or recordkeeping requirements,
FSIS will then issue a letter of warning. If any party continues to
violate the registration or recordkeeping requirements after receiving
a letter of warning, FSIS will consider pursuing criminal or other
legal action against the violating party.
For violations of the statute such as failure to register with FSIS
or to maintain required records, section 406(a) of the FMIA (21 U.S.C.
676(a)) provides that the penalties may be imprisonment for not more
than one year, or a fine of not more than $1,000, or both such
imprisonment and fine. The PPIA provides that the same penalties may be
imposed for certain violations of the statute, including violation of
registration and recordkeeping requirements (21 U.S.C. 461(a)). In
addition, both statutes provide that if such violations involve intent
to defraud, or any distribution or attempted distribution of an article
that is adulterated (except when the product is adulterated for certain
reasons, mostly concerning product quality), the penalty can be
imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine of not more than
$10,000, or both.
Section 406(a) of the FMIA (21 U.S.C. 676(a)) also provides that
persons, firms, or corporations would not be subject to the above
penalties for receiving for transportation any article or animal in
violation of the FMIA, if the receipt was made in good faith, unless
the person, firm, or corporation refuses to furnish at the request of
an FSIS employee the name and address of the person from whom it
received such article or animal and copies of any documents pertaining
to the delivery of the article or animal to them. Similarly, section
12(b) of the PPIA (21 U.S.C. 461(b)) provides that carriers are not
subject to penalties under the PPIA (except for violations of
regulations concerning the buying, selling, or transporting of poultry
carcasses or parts or products of poultry that are not intended for use
as human food) for receiving, carrying, holding or delivering poultry
or poultry products owned by another person, in carriers' usual course
of business, unless they have knowledge or are in possession of facts
that would indicate that the poultry or poultry products were not
inspected or marked in accordance with the provisions of the PPIA or
were otherwise not eligible for transportation under the PPIA. Carriers
are liable, however, if they refuse to furnish at the request of an
FSIS employee the name and address of the person from whom they
received such poultry or poultry products, and copies of any documents
pertaining to the delivery of the poultry or poultry products. These
statutory provisions emphasize the importance of carriers' maintaining
records of business transactions subject to the FMIA and PPIA and
making these records available to FSIS employees.
Under section 404 of the FMIA (21 U.S.C. 674) and section 21 of the
PPIA (21 U.S.C. 467c), the United States district courts, the District
Court of Guam, the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the highest
court of American Samoa, and the United States courts of the other
Territories, are vested with jurisdiction specifically to enforce, and
to prevent and restrain violations of, the FMIA and PPIA (including
violations of the registration and recordkeeping requirements).
Paperwork Reduction Act
Title: Registration requirements under the FMIA and PPIA.
Type of Collection: New.
Abstract: FSIS has developed a new registration form and has
reviewed the paperwork and recordkeeping requirements associated with
this form in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act. Existing
regulations require that certain parties register with FSIS. See
``respondents'' below for a list of the parties required to register.
According to the regulations, parties required to register with
FSIS must do so by filing a form and must provide current and correct
information to FSIS,
[[Page 37735]]
including their name, the address of all locations at which they
conduct the businesses that require them to register, and all trade or
business names under which they conduct these businesses. These parties
must register with FSIS within 90 days after they begin to engage in
any of the businesses that require them to register. Because FSIS has
developed a new registration form that requires that registrants
disclose certain information that was not required on the previous
form, all parties required to register with FSIS, including those
currently registered, must complete the new form and submit it to FSIS.
Estimate of burden: FSIS estimates that completing the form will
take an average of 10 minutes.
Respondents: Meat brokers; poultry products brokers; renderers;
animal food manufacturers; wholesalers; warehousemen; and persons that
engage in the business of buying, selling, transporting in commerce, or
importing, any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or poultry,
or parts of the carcasses of livestock or poultry that have died
otherwise than by slaughter.
Estimated number of respondents: 9125 per year.
Estimated number of responses per respondent: 1.
Estimated total annual burden on respondents: 1,521 hours.
Copies of this information collection assessment can be obtained
from John OConnell, Paperwork Reduction Act Coordinator, Food Safety
and Inspection Service, USDA, 112 Annex, 300 12th St., Washington, DC
20250.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways
to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments may be sent to John O'Connell, see address above, and the
Desk Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC 20253.
Comments are requested by August 25, 2003. To be most effective,
comments should be sent to OMB within 30 days of the publication date.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this
notice, FSIS will announce it and make copies of this Federal Register
publication available in the FSIS Constituent Update, which is
communicated via Listserv, a free e-mail subscription service. 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 and stakeholders. The constituent Listserv consists of
industry, trade, and farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied
health professionals, scientific professionals, and other individuals
who have requested to be included. Through the Listserv and web page,
FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, more diverse
audience.
For more information, contact the Congressional and Public Affairs
Office at (202) 720-9113. To be added to the free e-mail subscription
service (Listserv), go to the ``Constituent Update'' page on the FSIS
web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/update/update.htm. Click on the
``Subscribe to the Constituent Update Listserv'' link, then fill out
and submit the form.
Done in Washington, DC, on June 17, 2003.
Garry L. McKee,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 03-15741 Filed 6-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P