[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 216 (Friday, November 7, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63108-63109]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-28005]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. 1999N-1168]


Relative Risk to Public Health From Foodborne Listeria 
Monocytogenes Among Selected Categories of Ready-to-Eat Foods; 
Quantitative Risk Assessment and Risk Management Action Plan; Notice of 
Public Meeting

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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[[Page 63109]]

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS) is announcing a public meeting to 
present the ``Quantitative Assessment of the Relative Risk to Public 
Health from Foodborne Listeria monocytogenes Among Selected Categories 
of Ready-to-Eat Foods'' and to present information relative to the risk 
management action plan that has been updated in light of the results of 
the risk assessment. The risk assessment was conducted by FDA in 
cooperation with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture and in consultation with the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of HHS. The notice of availability 
of the risk assessment was published in the Federal Register on October 
24, 2003 (68 FR 61006). This public meeting is intended to provide 
clarification about the results of the risk assessment and information 
as to how the risk assessment may be utilized. Stakeholders will have 
an opportunity to ask questions about the risk assessment and the risk 
management action plan. Questions may also be submitted in advance of 
the public meeting (see the Contact section of this document).
    Date and Time: The meeting will be held on December 4, 2003, from 
at 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration and requests for formal oral 
presentations by December 2, 2003.
    Location: The meeting will be held at the FDA/CFSAN Harvey W. Wiley 
Building, 1500 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740-3835.
    Contact: Lori Pisciotta, Center for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition (CFSAN) (HFS-006), Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint 
Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD, 301-436-2279, FAX: 301-436-2630, e-
mail: [email protected].
    Registration and Requests for Oral Presentation: Send registration 
information (including name, title, firm name, address, telephone and 
fax number), to the contact person by December 2, 2003. Interested 
persons may present data, information, or views orally or in writing, 
on the issue. If you desire to make a formal oral presentation, you 
should notify the contact person before December 2, 2003, and be 
prepared to give a brief description of the general nature of the 
information you wish to present. Time allotted for each presentation 
may be limited. Written submissions must also be made to the contact 
person by December 2, 2003.
    If you need special accommodations due to a disability, please 
contact Ms. Pisciotta (see the Contact section) at least 7 days in 
advance of the meeting.
    Transcripts: Transcripts of the meeting may be requested in writing 
from the Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857, 
approximately 15 working days after the meeting at a cost of 10 cents 
per page.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: FDA is announcing a public meeting on 
December 4, 2003, to present the ``Quantitative Assessment of the 
Relative Risk to Public Health from Foodborne Listeria monocytogenes 
Among Selected Categories of Ready-to-Eat Foods'' and the risk 
management action plan that has been updated in light of the risk 
assessment. In the Federal Register of January 19, 2001 (66 FR 5515), 
FDA and FSIS announced the availability of a draft Listeria 
monocytogenes risk assessment and a draft risk management plan based on 
the risk assessment. FDA, FSIS, and CDC held a public meeting on March 
19, 2001, to receive comments on the technical aspects of the draft 
risk assessment on the relationship between foodborne L. monocytogenes 
and human health. Interested persons were given until March 20, 2001, 
with extensions to May 21, 2001, and to July 18, 2001, to comment on 
these documents. The risk assessment has been revised in response to 
public comments, newly available data, and updated modeling techniques, 
and was made available to the public in the Federal Register of October 
24, 2003 (68 FR 61006). Comparable revisions also have been made to the 
draft risk management action plan.

    Dated: October 31, 2003.
Jeffrey Shuren,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 03-28005 Filed 11-6-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S