[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 36 (Friday, February 23, 2007)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 8111]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-801]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

21 CFR Parts 71 and 171

[Docket No. 1995N-0220 (formerly 95N-0220)]


Substances Approved for Use in the Preparation of Meat and 
Poultry Products; Announcement of Effective Date

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Final rule; announcement of effective date.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the 
effective date for the information collection requirements contained in 
a final rule published in the Federal Register of August 25, 2000 (65 
FR 51758). The rule amended FDA's regulations on food additive and 
color additive petitions to permit an efficient joint review by both 
FDA and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), of petitions for approval to use a 
food ingredient or source of radiation in or on meat or poultry 
products. An information collection requirement cannot be instituted 
unless it is reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA), approved by OMB, 
and assigned an OMB control number. OMB's approval of the information 
collection requirements of the August 25, 2000, final rule was 
announced in the Federal Register of March 1, 2001 (66 FR 12938), and 
these requirements are currently approved under OMB control number 
0910-0016. Accordingly, FDA is announcing that the information 
collection requirements of the August 25, 2000, final rule will go into 
effect on March 26, 2007.

DATES: Effective Date: The amendments to Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 171.1 (21 
CFR 71.1 and 171.1), published in the Federal Register of August 25, 
2000, are effective as of March 26, 2007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen M. Waldron, Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-206), Food and Drug Administration, 
5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740-3835, 301-436-1256.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 25, 2000, FDA published a final 
rule entitled, ``Substances Approved for Use in the Preparation of Meat 
and Poultry Products,'' which, in part, amended its regulations to 
permit an efficient joint review by both FDA and FSIS of USDA, of 
petitions for approval to use a food ingredient or source of radiation 
in or on meat or poultry products. The final rule requires applicants 
petitioning for approval for the use of substances in meat and poultry 
products to provide four copies of the petition to FDA, rather than the 
three copies previously specified in Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 171.1. FDA 
will then forward a copy of the petition or relevant portions of the 
petition to FSIS so that both agencies can perform the necessary 
reviews simultaneously, thus reducing the time it takes to authorize a 
food additive or color additive for use in meat and poultry products. 
The rule does not require petitioners to submit any new information to 
either FDA or FSIS. This final rule resulted from a coordinated effort 
by the two agencies to ease the paperwork burden on regulated 
industries through streamlining the Government's approval process for 
substances used as food additives or color additives in meat and 
poultry products (Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 171.1).
    At the time of publication of the final rule, the information 
collection requirements contained in Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 171.1 had been 
submitted to, but not yet approved by, OMB under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 
3501-3520). Under the PRA, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a 
person is not required to respond to, a collection of information 
unless and until the collection displays a valid OMB control number.
    FDA announced OMB approval of the information collection 
requirements in Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 171.1, as amended by FDA's August 
25, 2000, final rule, in the Federal Register of March 1, 2001. The 
agency is now announcing that these requirements will become effective 
on March 26, 2007. The information collection requirements at 
Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 171.1 were originally assigned OMB control number 
0910-0461. In December 2003, OMB control number 0910-0016 replaced OMB 
control number 0910-0461 as the valid control number that authorizes 
the information collection requirements. OMB control number 0910-0016 
remains the currently approved control number for Sec. Sec.  71.1 and 
171.1.

    Dated: February 14, 2007.
Jeffrey Shuren,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 07-801 Filed 2-22-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S