[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 154 (Wednesday, August 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52811-52812]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18985]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2015-0055]


Concurrence With OIE Risk Designations for Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public of our decision to concur with the 
World Organization for Animal Health's (OIE) bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE) risk designations for 14 regions. The OIE 
recognizes these regions as being of negligible risk for BSE. We are 
taking this action based on our review of information supporting the 
OIE's risk designations for these regions.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Roberta Morales, Senior Staff 
Veterinarian, Regionalization Evaluation Services, National Import 
Export Services, VS, APHIS, 920 Main Campus Drive, Suite 200, Raleigh, 
NC 27606; (919) 855-7735.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The regulations in 9 CFR part 92 subpart B, 
``Importation of Animals and Animal Products; Procedures for Requesting 
BSE Risk Status Classification With Regard to Bovines'' (referred to 
below as the regulations), set forth the process by which the Animal 
and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) classifies regions for 
bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) risk. Section 92.5 of the 
regulations provides that all countries of the world are considered by 
APHIS to be in one of three BSE risk categories: Negligible risk, 
controlled risk, or undetermined risk. These risk categories are 
defined in Sec.  92.1. Any region that is not classified by APHIS as 
presenting either negligible risk or controlled risk for BSE is 
considered to present an undetermined risk. The list of those regions 
classified by APHIS as having either negligible risk or controlled risk 
can be accessed on the APHIS Web site at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/animalhealth/animal-and-animal-product-import-information/ct_animal_disease_status. The list can also be obtained by 
writing to APHIS at National Import Export Services, 4700 River Road 
Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737.
    Under the regulations, APHIS may classify a region for BSE in one 
of two ways. One way is for countries that have not received a risk 
classification from the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to 
request classification by APHIS. The other way is for APHIS to concur 
with the classification given to a country by the OIE.
    If the OIE has recognized a country as either BSE negligible risk 
or BSE controlled risk, APHIS will seek information to support our 
concurrence with the OIE classification. This information may be 
publicly available information, or APHIS may request that countries 
supply the same information given to the OIE. APHIS will announce in 
the Federal Register, subject to public comment, its intent to concur 
with an OIE classification.
    In accordance with that process, we published a notice \1\ in the 
Federal Register on December 4, 2015 (80 FR 75849, Docket No. APHIS-
2015-0055), in which we announced our intent to concur with the OIE 
risk designations for 16 regions. The OIE recognizes these regions as 
being of negligible risk for BSE. We solicited comments on the notice 
for 60 days ending on February 2, 2016. We received two comments by 
that date, from a private citizen and a representative of a foreign 
government.
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    \1\ To view the notice and the comments we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2015-0055.
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    One commenter stated that if a product is being imported only for 
use in pet food, then the BSE risk status of the exporting region 
should not be an issue.
    We disagree that bovine products imported for use in pet food do 
not pose a risk for introducing or spreading BSE in the United States. 
It is possible that pet foods could be used for cattle feed, either by 
accidental misfeeding of pet foods to cattle or by misusing salvage pet 
food for cattle. Farms that raise multiple species (e.g. dogs, swine, 
and cattle) present a particular risk for misfeeding.
    The other commenter stated that the United States does not 
recognize all the OIE's risk designations for BSE, noting that the 
United States still considers several countries as controlled risk 
regions though the OIE has classified them as negligible risk.
    As we explained above, Sec.  92.5 of the regulations provides two 
ways that APHIS may classify a region for BSE. One way is for countries 
that have not received a risk classification from the OIE to request 
classification by APHIS. The other way is for APHIS to concur with the 
classification given to a country by the OIE. If the OIE has recognized 
a country as either BSE negligible risk or BSE controlled risk, APHIS 
will seek information to support our concurrence with the OIE 
classification. This information may be publicly available information, 
or APHIS may request that countries supply the same information given 
to the OIE.
    The length of APHIS's review of information in support of 
concurrence depends on a number of factors, including whether the 
information is publicly available, and, if it is not publicly 
available, how quickly a country responds to our request for 
information. This notice updates APHIS' list of regions recognized as 
negligible risk for BSE to include all the regions for which we have 
been able to review information. We intend to announce concurrence with 
additional countries recognized by the OIE in a future notice.
    One commenter noted that while the OIE guidelines call for removal 
of specified risk materials (SRMs) from animals older than 30 months of 
age, our regulations require the removal of SRMs from animals 30 months 
of age or older. The commenter stated that while this is not a 
significant difference from an epidemiological perspective, it creates 
a major problem for certification through the veterinary services of 
exporting countries and presents a barrier to trade.
    APHIS notes that the wording ``30 months of age or older'' is 
consistent with Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and U.S. Food 
and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations as well as with Canadian 
regulations. We also note that anyone wishing to import bovine products 
into the United States must also meet FSIS or FDA requirements as well 
as APHIS requirements. We do not anticipate that this difference will 
have a significant impact on trade.

[[Page 52812]]

    In the December 2015 notice, we mistakenly announced our intent to 
recognize Romania as a region of negligible risk for BSE. In December 
2014, the OIE suspended Romania's status as a negligible risk region 
because Romania reported a case of atypical BSE. Since then, the OIE 
has announced its intent to reinstate Romania's status as a region of 
negligible risk for BSE. We will be seeking information to verify 
Romania's status and will announce our intent to concur with the OIE's 
designation in a future notice.
    Also in the December 2015 notice, we announced our intent to 
recognize France as a region of negligible risk for BSE in concurrence 
with the OIE. Since then, France has confirmed a case of classical BSE 
in a 5-year-old cow. Accordingly, the OIE has suspended France's status 
as a region of negligible risk for BSE and reinstated its status as a 
region of controlled risk effective March 25, 2016. For this reason we 
have removed France from the list of regions of negligible risk for BSE 
in this document. We will continue to recognize France as a region of 
controlled risk for BSE.
    Therefore, in accordance with the regulations in Sec.  92.5, we are 
announcing our decision to concur with the OIE risk classifications of 
the following countries:
     Regions of negligible risk for BSE: Bulgaria, Cyprus, 
Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, India, Korea (Republic of), Latvia, 
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, and Switzerland.

    Authority:  7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301-8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 
31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 4th day of August, 2016.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2016-18985 Filed 8-9-16; 8:45 am]
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