[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58775-58776]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25347]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA-2018-N-3522]
Use of the Names of Dairy Foods in the Labeling of Plant-Based
Products; Extension of Comment Period
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice; extension of comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is extending the
comment period for the notice that appeared in the Federal Register of
September 28, 2018. In the notice, FDA invited interested parties to
provide information on specific topics related to the labeling of
plant-based products with names that include the names of dairy foods
such as ``milk,'' ``cultured milk,'' ``yogurt,'' and ``cheese.'' We are
extending the comment period to give interested parties more time to
comment.
DATES: FDA is extending the comment period on the notice published in
the Federal Register of September 28, 2018 (83 FR 49103). Submit either
electronic or written comments by January 28, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late,
untimely filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments
must be submitted on or before January 28, 2019. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of January 28, 2019. Comments
received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions)
will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery
service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.
Electronic Submissions
Submit electronic comments in the following way:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information,
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
If you want to submit a comment with confidential
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public,
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').
Written/Paper Submissions
Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified,
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No.
FDA-2018-N-3522 for ``Use of the Names of Dairy Foods in the Labeling
of Plant-Based Products.'' Received comments, those filed in a timely
manner (see ADDRESSES), will be placed in the docket and, except for
those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at
https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between
9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You
should submit two
[[Page 58776]]
copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be
confidential with a heading or cover note that states ``THIS DOCUMENT
CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' We will review this copy,
including the claimed confidential information, in our consideration of
comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential
information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing
and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the
Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact
information to be made publicly available, you can provide this
information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and
you must identify this information as ``confidential.'' Any information
marked as ``confidential'' will not be disclosed except in accordance
with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more
information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80
FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the
prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane,
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mabel Lee, Center Food Safety and
Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr.,
College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-2371.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the Federal Register of September 28,
2018 (83 FR 49103), FDA published a notice with a 60-day comment period
inviting interested parties to provide information on specific topics
related to the labeling of plant-based products with names that include
the names of dairy foods such as ``milk,'' ``cultured milk,''
``yogurt,'' and ``cheese.'' The information will inform our development
of an approach to the labeling of plant-based products that consumers
may substitute for dairy foods. We asked that comments be submitted by
November 27, 2018.
We have received requests for a 120-day extension of the comment
period for the notice. The requests conveyed concern that the current
60-day comment period does not allow sufficient time to develop
meaningful or thoughtful responses to the questions that appeared in
the notice requesting data and other evidence in support of answers.
We have considered the requests and are extending the comment
period for another 60 days, until January 28, 2019. We believe that a
60-day extension allows adequate time for interested persons to submit
comments without significantly delaying any potential further action on
these important issues.
Dated: November 15, 2018.
Leslie Kux,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2018-25347 Filed 11-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P