[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 155 (Wednesday, August 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48288-48289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19748]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2015-0035]


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 meetings of 
the full Committee and subcommittees on September 9-11, 2015. The 
Committee will discuss: (1) Effective Salmonella Control Strategies for 
Poultry and (2) Virulence Factors and Attributes that Define Foodborne 
Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) as Severe Human 
Pathogens.

DATES: The full Committee will hold an open meeting on Wednesday, 
September 9, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The Subcommittee on 
Effective Salmonella Control Strategies for Poultry and the 
Subcommittee on Virulence Factors and Attributes that Define Foodborne 
Shiga Toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) as Severe Human Pathogens 
will hold concurrent open subcommittee meetings on Wednesday, June 9, 
2015 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday, September 10, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. 
to 5:00 p.m., and Friday, September 11, 2015 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 
p.m.

ADDRESSES: The September 9, 2015, full Committee meeting will be held 
at the Residence Inn by Marriott, Washington DC, 333 E Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20024. The subcommittee meetings will be held at the 
Patriot's Plaza III, 1st Floor Auditorium and Conference Rooms, 355 E. 
Street SW., Washington, DC 20024. All documents related to the full 
Committee meeting will be available for public inspection in the FSIS 
Docket Room, USDA, 355 E. Street SW., Patriots Plaza 3, Room 8-164, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700, 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 an agenda on or before the meeting dates 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 start or end earlier or later than anticipated. Please 
plan accordingly if you would like to attend a particular session or 
participate in a public comment period.
    Also, the official transcript of the September 9, 2015, 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/.
    The mailing address for the contact person is: Karen Thomas-Sharp, 
USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW., Patriots Plaza 3, Mailstop 3777, Room 9-47, Washington, DC 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons interested in making a 
presentation, submitting technical papers, or providing comments at the 
September 1, plenary session should contact Karen Thomas: Phone: (202) 
690-6620; Fax (202) 690-6334; Email: [email protected] 
or at the mailing address above. Persons requiring a sign language 
interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Ms. Thomas by 
September 1, 2015.

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 for viewing on the FSIS Internet 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 and 
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 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Departments of 
Commerce and Defense.
    Mr. Brian Ronholm, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is 
the Committee Chair; Dr. Susan T. Mayne, Director of the Food and Drug 
Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), 
is the Vice-Chair; and Dr. James Rogers, 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. FSIS will try 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

[[Page 48289]]

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/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulations/federal-register/federal-register-notices.
    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, 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 also is 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/wps/portal/fsis/programs-and-services/email-subscription-service. 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 
is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

    Done at Washington, DC on: August 6, 2015.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2015-19748 Filed 8-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P