[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 98 (Thursday, May 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29124-29125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-11567]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-007N]


National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection 
(NACMPI) will hold a public meeting on June 2-3, 2004, to review and 
discuss the following issues: (1) The appropriateness of the Food 
Safety and Inspection Service's (FSIS) plans for assessing the effects 
of the interim final rule on the control of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) 
in ready-to-eat meat and poultry products; (2) the advisability of 
requiring establishments to develop food security plans; and (3) the 
appropriateness of FSIS establishing test and hold procedures for meat 
and poultry products that are tested for the presence of an adulterant 
by FSIS. Three subcommittees will also meet on June 2, 2004, to work on 
the issues discussed during the full committee session.

DATES: The full Committee will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, June 
2, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Thursday, June 3, 2004, from 8:30 
a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Subcommittees will hold open meetings on Wednesday, 
June 2, 2004, from 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

    Note: FSIS was not able to publish notification of this public 
meeting in the Federal Register at least 15 days prior to the 
meeting, as required by Departmental Regulation 1041-001, due to 
late changes to the agenda.


ADDRESSES: All Committee meetings will take place at the Hilton 
Alexandria Old Town, 1767 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
    A meeting agenda is available on the Internet at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/about/nacmpi/index.asp, which is a sub-web page of 
the FSIS home page, at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/index.asp. FSIS invites 
interested persons to submit comments on the topics to be discussed at 
the public meeting. Comments may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand-or 
courier-delivered items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, SW., 
Room 102 Cotton Annex, Washington, DC 20250.
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions at that site for 
submitting comments.
    All submissions received must include the Agency name and docket 
number 04-007N.
    All comments submitted on the topics to be discussed at the public 
meeting will be available for public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room 
at the address listed above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday. The comments also will be posted on the Agency's Web 
site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2004_notices_index/index.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Tynan for technical 
information at (202) 720-2982 or e-mail [email protected] and 
Ms. Sonya L. West for meeting information at (202) 690-1079, FAX (202) 
690-6519, or e-mail [email protected]. Members of the public 
will be required to register before entering the meeting. Persons 
requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations 
should notify Ms. West no later than May 28, 2004, at the above numbers 
or by e-mail. Information is also available on the Internet at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/about/nacmpi/index.asp.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On April 15, 2003, the Secretary of Agriculture renewed the charter 
for the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection 
(NACMPI). The Committee provides advice and recommendations to the 
Secretary of Agriculture pertaining to the Federal and State meat and 
poultry inspection

[[Page 29125]]

programs, pursuant to sections 7(c), 24, 205, 301(a)(3), 301(a)(4), and 
301(c) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 607(c), 624, 645, 
661(a)(3), 661(a)(4), and 661(c)) and sections 5(a)(3), 5(a)(4), 5(c), 
8(b), and 11(e) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 
454(a)(3), 454(a)(4), 454(c), 457(b), and 460(e)).
    The Administrator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) 
is the chairperson of the Committee. Membership of the Committee is 
drawn from representatives of consumer groups; producers, processors 
and marketers from the meat and poultry industry; state government 
officials; and academia. The current members of the NACMPI are: Ms. 
Deanna Baldwin, Maryland Department of Agriculture; Dr. Gladys Bayse, 
Spelman College; Dr. David Carpenter, Southern Illinois University; Dr. 
James Denton, University of Arkansas; Mr. Kevin Elfering, Minnesota 
Department of Agriculture; Ms. Sandra Eskin, American Association of 
Retired Persons; Mr. Michael Govro, Oregon Department of Agriculture; 
Dr. Joseph Harris, Southwest Meat Association; Dr. Jill Hollingsworth, 
Food Marketing Institute; Dr. Alice Johnson, National Turkey 
Federation; Mr. Michael Kowalcyk, Safe Tables Our Priority; Dr. Irene 
Leech, Virginia Citizens Consumer Council; Mr. Charles Link, Cargill 
Meat Solutions; Dr. Catherine Logue, North Dakota State University; and 
Mr. Mark Schad, Schad Meats. The Committee has three subcommittees to 
deliberate on specific issues and make recommendations to the 
Committee.
    One of the issues to be discussed at the meeting will be FSIS's 
interim final rule on the control of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in 
ready-to-eat meat and poultry products (68 FR 34207, June 6, 2003). 
FSIS is interested in learning the Committee's opinion of the Agency's 
efforts to assess the effectiveness of the interim final rule. The 
Committee will also examine whether the Agency should require that 
establishments develop food security plans. Finally, the Committee will 
consider whether FSIS should require test and hold procedures for meat 
and poultry products that are subjected to verification testing for the 
presence of an adulterant by the Agency.
    All interested parties are welcome to attend the meetings and to 
submit written comments and suggestions concerning issues the Committee 
will review and discuss. The comments and the official transcript of 
the meeting, when they become available, will be kept in the FSIS 
Docket Room at the address provided above. 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, except for Federal holidays.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure 
that the public and in particular that minorities, women, and persons 
with disabilities are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-
line through the FSIS Web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov and 
through the Regulations.gov Web site. The Regulations.gov Web site is 
the central online rulemaking portal of the United States government. 
It is being offered as a public service to increase participation in 
the Federal government's regulatory activities. FSIS participates in 
Regulations.gov and will accept comments on documents published on the 
site. The site allows visitors to search by keyword or Department or 
Agency for rulemakings that allow for public comment. Each entry 
provides a quick link to a comment form so that visitors can type in 
their comments and submit them to FSIS. The Web site is located at 
http://www.regulations.gov.
    FSIS also will make copies of this Federal Register publication 
available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide 
information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal 
Register notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other types of 
information that could affect or would be of interest to our 
constituents and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, 
a free e-mail subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and 
farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, 
scientific professionals, and other individuals who have requested to 
be included. The update also is available on the FSIS Web page. Through 
Listserv and the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a 
much broader, more diverse audience.

Barbara J. Masters,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 04-11567 Filed 5-18-04; 2:07 pm]
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