[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5779-5780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-02139]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2021-0028]


National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for 
Foods: Committee and Charter Reestablishment

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to reestablish the committee and its charter.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this 
notice is announcing the intention of the USDA and the U.S. Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS) to reestablish the committee for the 
National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods 
(NACMCF) and its charter. The purpose of NACMCF is to provide 
impartial, scientific advice and peer reviews to Federal food safety 
agencies for use in the development of an integrated national food 
safety systems approach that assures the safety of domestic, imported, 
and exported foods.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Jarosh, Designated Federal 
Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS), Room 9-180 Patriots Plaza III, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. Telephone number: 
(202) 690-6128. Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

[[Page 5780]]

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, 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/policy/advisory-committees/national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf. A change was made in 
the charter to replace `consumer group' with `consumer organization' in 
reference to the representative on the Committee providing the 
viewpoint of consumers. This change addresses feedback received during 
the NACMCF membership appointment process for the consumer 
representative on the Committee to be a member of a consumer 
organization. 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 Departments of Commerce 
and Defense. The Committee reports to the Secretary of Agriculture 
through the Under Secretary for Food Safety, the Committee's Chair, and 
to the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Assistant 
Secretary for Health, the Committee's Vice-Chair. Currently, Ms. Sandra 
Eskin, Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is the 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.
    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/policy/federal-register-rulemaking/federal-register-notices. 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/news-events/news-press-releases/news-feeds-subscriptions. Options range from recalls 
toexport 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 https://www.usda.gov/oascr/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.

    Dated: January 28, 2022.
Cikena Reid,
USDA Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2022-02139 Filed 2-1-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P