[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13070-13072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5272]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2012-0009]


National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice is announcing that the National Advisory Committee 
on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a meeting of 
the full Committee by an audio conference call that is open to the 
public on March 28, 2012. The Committee will discuss: Food Safety 
Questions from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
Agricultural Marketing Service to Support Ground Beef Purchase for the 
Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs. Specifically NACMCF 
will address food safety questions to assist the 2012-2013 ground beef 
purchase for the School Lunch Program on microbiological criteria, 
pathogen

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testing methodology, and sampling plans.

DATES: The full Committee will hold a meeting by phone conference on 
Wednesday March 28, 2012, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. E.S.T.

ADDRESSES: The March 28, 2012, meeting will be held by phone. Please 
contact Karen Thomas-Sharp at the address below to register for the 
meeting:

USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, Stop 3777, Patriots Plaza 
3, Floor 9-47, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250, or 
by phone (202) 690-6620, fax (202) 690-6334, or email: [email protected].

    All documents related to the full Committee meeting will be 
available for public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room, USDA, at 
Patriots Plaza 3, 355 E. Street SW., Room 8-164, Washington, DC 20250 
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, as soon as they 
become available. The NACMCF documents will also be available on the 
Internet at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/Federal_Register_Notices/index.asp.
    FSIS will finalize the agenda on or before the meeting and post it 
on the FSIS Web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Meetings_&_Events/. Please note that the meeting agenda is subject to change due 
to the time required for Committee discussions; thus, sessions could 
end earlier or later than anticipated. Please plan accordingly if you 
would like to attend or participate in a public comment period.
    The official meeting minutes of the March 28, 2012, full Committee 
meeting, when it becomes available, will be kept in the FSIS Docket 
Room at the above address and will also be posted on http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About/NACMCF_Meetings/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons interested in registering to 
attend the meeting, making a presentation, submitting technical papers, 
or providing comments at the March 28, plenary session should contact 
Karen Thomas-Sharp, phone (202) 690-6620, fax (202) 690-6334, email: 
[email protected] or at the mailing address above. 
Persons requiring special accommodations for this phone conference 
(voice and TTY) should notify Ms. Thomas-Sharp by March 1, 2012.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The NACMCF was established in 1988, in response to a recommendation 
of the National Academy of Sciences for an interagency approach to 
microbiological criteria for foods, and in response to a recommendation 
of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, as 
expressed in the Rural Development, Agriculture, and Related Agencies 
Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988. The charter for the NACMCF is 
available on the FSIS Web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About/NACMCF_Charter/.
    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. food supply, including development of microbiological criteria, as 
well as the review and evaluation of epidemiological and risk 
assessment data and methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards 
in foods. The Committee also provides scientific advice and 
recommendations to the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, and the Departments of Commerce and 
Defense.
    Dr. Elisabeth A. Hagen, Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is 
the Committee Chair; Mr. Michael Landa, Acting Director of the Food and 
Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition 
(CFSAN), is the Vice-Chair; and Ms. Gerri Ransom, FSIS, is the 
Executive Secretary.

Documents Reviewed by NACMCF

    FSIS will make all materials reviewed and considered by NACMCF 
regarding its deliberations available to the public. Generally, these 
materials will be made available as soon as possible after the full 
Committee meeting. Further, FSIS intends to make these materials 
available in electronic format on the FSIS Web page 
(www.fsis.usda.gov), as well as in hard copy format in the FSIS Docket 
Room. Often, an attempt is made to make the materials available at the 
start of the full Committee meeting when sufficient time is allowed in 
advance to do so.
    Disclaimer: NACMCF documents and comments posted on the FSIS Web 
site are electronic conversions from a variety of source formats. In 
some cases, document conversion may result in character translation or 
formatting errors. The original document is the official, legal copy.
    In order to meet the electronic and information technology 
accessibility standards in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, 
NACMCF may add alternate text descriptors for non-text elements 
(graphs, charts, tables, multimedia, etc.). These modifications only 
affect the Internet copies of the documents.
    Copyrighted documents will not be posted on the FSIS Web site, but 
will be available for inspection in the FSIS Docket Room.

Additional Public Notification

    FSIS will announce this notice online through the FSIS Web page 
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_
Register_Notices/index.asp.
    FSIS will also 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, and other types of information 
that could affect or would be of interest to constituents and 
stakeholders. The Update is communicated via Listserv, a free 
electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade groups, 
consumer interest groups, health professionals, and other individuals 
who have asked to be included. The Update is also available on the FSIS 
Web page. In addition, FSIS offers an electronic mail subscription 
service which provides automatic and customized access to selected food 
safety news and information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Email_Subscription/. Options range 
from recalls to export information to regulations, directives, and 
notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves, and have 
the option to password protect their accounts.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

    USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on 
the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, 
disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or 
family status (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs).
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication of program information (Braille, large print, and 
audiotape) should contact USDA's Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice 
and TTY).
    To file a written complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office 
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TTY). 
USDA

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is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

    Done at Washington, DC, on February 28, 2012.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-5272 Filed 3-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P