[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64089-64090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25123]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
[Docket No. FDA-2019-N-4187]
A New Era of Smarter Food Safety; 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 the Agency) is
extending the comment period for the notice of public meeting and
request for comments that appeared in the Federal Register of September
18, 2019. The notice announced a public meeting entitled ``A New Era of
Smarter Food Safety'' that was held on October 21, 2019. In the notice
of public meeting and request for comments, FDA requested comments on a
modern approach the Agency is taking to strengthen its protection of
the food supply to help shape an FDA blueprint for a new era of smarter
food safety. The Agency is taking this action in response to requests
for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit
comments.
DATES: FDA is extending the comment period on the notice published
September 18, 2019 (84 FR 49111). Submit either electronic or written
comments by December 5, 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 December 5, 2019. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of December 5, 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-2019-N-4187 for ``A New Era of Smarter Food Safety.'' 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 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.'' The Agency will
review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in
its 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
[[Page 64090]]
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: Susan Kelly, Office of Food Policy and
Response, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave.,
Silver Spring, MD, 301-796-1259.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In the Federal Register of September 18,
2019, FDA published a notice of public meeting and request for comments
with a 30-day comment period after the October 21, 2019, public meeting
to request comments on the new era of smarter food safety. Comments on
the new era of smarter food safety will shape an FDA blueprint for a
new era of smarter food safety.
The Agency has received requests for an extension of the comment
period for ``A New Era of Smarter Food Safety; Public Meeting, Request
for Comments.'' Each request conveyed concern that the current 30-day
comment period following the October 21, 2019, public meeting does not
allow sufficient time to develop a meaningful or thoughtful response to
the September 18, 2019, notice.
FDA has considered the requests and is extending the comment period
for ``A New Era of Smarter Food Safety; Public Meeting, Request for
Comments'' for 15 days, until December 5, 2019. The Agency believes
that a 15-day extension allows adequate time for interested persons to
submit comments without significantly delaying action on these
important issues.
Dated: November 14, 2019.
Lowell J. Schiller,
Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2019-25123 Filed 11-19-19; 8:45 am]
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