[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 6, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17770-17771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-06993]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2021-0010]
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 a public
meeting of the full Committee on April 22, 2021. The Committee will
discuss and vote on adopting the following two reports: Microbiological
testing by industry of ready-to-eat foods under FDA's jurisdiction for
pathogens (or appropriate indicator organisms): Verification of
prevention controls and The Use of Water in Animal Production,
Slaughter and Processing.
DATES: The full Committee will hold an open meeting on Thursday, April
22, 2021, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Submit comments on or before
June 7, 2021.
ADDRESSES: The Committee meeting will be held virtually. Attendees must
pre-register at https://ems8.intellor.com?do=register&t=1&p=838073 to
receive a join link, dial-in number, access code, and unique Attendee
ID for the event.
The NACMCF documents for adoption will be available at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulations/federal-register/federal-register-notices. FSIS invites interested persons to submit
comments on the meeting documents. Comments may be submitted by one of
the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides the
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this
web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions at that site for
submitting comments.
Mail: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: Deliver to 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 350-E,
Washington, DC 20250-3700. Instructions: All items submitted by mail or
electronic mail must include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-
2021-0010. Comments received in response to this docket will be made
available for public inspection and posted without change, including
any personal information, to https://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: For access to background documents or comments received,
call (202) 720-5627 to schedule a time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Agenda: FSIS will finalize an agenda on or before the meeting date
and post it on the FSIS web page at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/meetings
Please note that the meeting agenda is subject to change
due to the time required for reviewing and adopting the reports; thus,
sessions could end earlier or later than anticipated. Please plan
accordingly if you would like to attend this meeting or participate in
the public comment period.
Also, the official transcript of the April 22, 2021 Committee
meeting, when it becomes available, will be kept in the FSIS Docket
Room and will also be posted on https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/nacmcf/meetings/nacmcf-meetings.
The mailing and Email address for the contact person is: Laarina
Mullings, USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Whitten Building Room 341E, Washington, DC
20250; Email: [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons interested in providing
comments at the April 22 plenary session should contact Laarina
Mullings: Phone: (202) 720-2644; Email: [email protected].
Sign Language Interpretation: Persons requiring a sign language
interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Ms. Mullings
by April 14, 2021.
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,
[[Page 17771]]
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 https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collection-and-reports/nacmcf/committee-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.
Mrs. Sandra Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is
the Acting 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 Mr. John J. Jarosh, FSIS, is the
Director of the NACMCF Secretariat and Designated Federal Officer.
Documents Reviewed by NACMCF
FSIS will make the draft reports considered by NACMCF regarding its
deliberations available to the public prior to the Plenary Session on
the FSIS web page.
Disclaimer: NACMCF documents and comments posted on the FSIS
website 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 website, but
will be available for inspection in the FSIS Docket Room.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal
Register publication on-line through the FSIS web page located at:
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register.
FSIS also will make copies of this 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 our constituents and
stakeholders. The Constituent Update is available on the FSIS web page.
Through the web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much
broader, more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email
subscription service which provides automatic and customized access to
selected food safety news and information. This service is available
at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/subscribe. Options range from recalls to
export information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can
add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to password
protect their accounts.
USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its
Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or
administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including
gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital
status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance
program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil
rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA
(not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing
deadlines vary by program or incident.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of
communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible
Agency or USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or
contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages
other than English.
To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at How to
File a Program Discrimination Complaint and at any USDA office or write
a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the
information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint
form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA
by: (1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC
20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email:
[email protected].
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Done at Washington, DC, on March 31, 2021.
Cikena Reid,
USDA Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-06993 Filed 4-5-21; 8:45 am]
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