[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 13 (Monday, January 23, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7783-7784]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01413]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Agricultural Marketing Service

[Docket No. AMS-LPS-16-0114]


U.S. Standards for Grades of Catfish and Catfish Products

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice informs the public that the Agricultural Marketing 
Service (AMS) will not proceed with the development of voluntary U.S. 
Standards for Grades of Catfish and Catfish Products at this time.

DATES: January 23, 2017.

ADDRESSES: USDA, AMS, Quality Assessment Division (QAD); 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Stop 0258, Room 3932-S, Washington, DC 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Bowden, Chief, Standardization 
Branch; USDA, AMS, QAD; 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 0258, Room 
3932-S, Washington, DC 20250; phone (202) 690-3148; or via email at 
[email protected]. Alternately, Bucky Gwartney, Marketing 
Specialist, Standardization Branch; USDA, AMS, QAD; 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW., Stop 0258, Room 3932-S, Washington, DC 20250; phone (202) 
720-1424; or via email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under section 203(c) of the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621-1627), the Secretary of 
Agriculture is directed to ``develop and improve standards of quality, 
condition, quantity, grade, and packaging, and recommend and 
demonstrate such standards in order to encourage uniformity and 
consistency in commercial practices.'' USDA is committed to carrying 
out this authority in a manner that facilitates the marketing of 
agricultural products. One method of achieving this objective is 
through the development and maintenance of standards by AMS. Currently, 
AMS maintains standards for a wide variety of commodities and in many 
cases applies those standards to commodities on a fee-for-service 
basis.
    The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) and 
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) directed the Secretary of 
Agriculture to establish within USDA a voluntary, fee-based grading 
program for catfish. Since passage of the 2008 and 2014 Farm Bills, and 
particularly since the publication of the Food Safety and Inspection 
Service (FSIS) final rule, ``Mandatory Inspection of Fish of the Order 
Siluriformes and Products Derived From Such Fish,'' which defined 
catfish (80 FR 75589), AMS has engaged the U.S. catfish industry and 
other stakeholders to seek input on requirements for voluntary U.S. 
standards for grades of catfish. This culminated in a Notice published 
in the Federal Register (81 FR 45449) on July 14, 2016, inviting the 
public to submit information, background, comments, and data to assist 
in the development of voluntary U.S. Standards for Grades of Catfish 
and Catfish Products.
    During the 60-day comment period, four responses were submitted--
two from catfish importers, one from an industry institution, and one 
from a U.S. catfish producer/processor. One importer stated support for 
a USDA grading program if it included all Siluriformes species 
(currently, imported products of many varieties of Siluriformes are not 
eligible to be graded under the U.S. Department of Commerce's National 
Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Standard). Two additional responses did 
not support USDA's development of voluntary U.S. standards or a grading 
program. One pointed out the duplicity of creating these under AMS when 
they already exist under NFMS, noting the unnecessary use of resources 
to develop a program ``and market to a consuming [public] that is not 
demanding a new U.S. Grade Standard;'' the other recommended the use of 
the NMFS standards and grading program, as these are already familiar 
to the industry and their customers. The final response was outside the 
scope of the Notice, as it objected to the mandatory inspection of fish 
of the order Siluriformes by FSIS but did not address development by 
USDA of voluntary U.S. standards or a grading program. These comments 
are available at the following Web site: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=AMS-LPS-16-0006.
    Based on the responses received from the Notice as well as 
additional feedback from stakeholders through other avenues, including 
two industry workshops coordinated by AMS and academia and an industry-
wide conference call held by AMS in May 2016, AMS has concluded that 
there is not sufficient interest in USDA-AMS standards for catfish or 
an AMS-administered grading program at this time.
    It is important to note that a standard for catfish, and associated 
voluntary grading services, are currently available to the industry 
through NMFS. NMFS maintains the ``United States Standards for Grades 
of North American Freshwater Catfish and Products Made Therefrom'' and 
provides grading and certification services on a fee-for-service basis. 
Graded catfish and catfish products may bear official marks, including 
`U.S. Grade A,' `Processed

[[Page 7784]]

Under Federal Inspection,' and `Lot Inspection.' Additional services 
provided by NMFS include system and process audits, product inspection, 
and export certification.
    In light of the response from industry stakeholders indicating 
there is no current need for USDA-AMS standards nor a subsequent AMS-
administered grading program for catfish, AMS will discontinue the 
initiative to establish either at this time. AMS stands ready to assist 
agricultural industries in establishing voluntary standards and grading 
programs for commodities for which it has authority to do so; the 
catfish industry retains this option should the need arise.

    Dated: January 17, 2017.
Elanor Starmer,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-01413 Filed 1-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-02-P