[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 21, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10463-10464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03559]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 94

[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0066]


Alignment of Canned Meat and Canned Product Requirements

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are revising the regulations for cured or cooked meat from 
regions where foot-and-mouth disease exists to reflect changes to the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service 
(FSIS) regulations regarding thermally processed, commercially sterile 
meat. This action will remove from our regulations reference to a 
section in FSIS' regulations that was eliminated when FSIS consolidated 
their regulations regarding thermally processed, commercially sterile 
meat. This action will align the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service's animal product regulations with the current FSIS regulations.

DATES: Effective February 21, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Nathaniel J. Koval, Veterinary 
Medical Officer, APHIS Veterinary Services, Strategy and Policy, Animal 
Product Import and Export, 4700 River Road, Unit 40, Riverdale, MD 
20737-1231; (301) 851-3434; [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulations 
in 9 CFR part 94 (referred to below as the regulations) govern the 
importation of certain animals and animal products into the United 
States in order to prevent the introduction of various foreign animal 
diseases. The regulations in Sec.  94.4 prescribe conditions for 
importing into the United States cured or cooked meat from regions 
where APHIS considers foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) to exist.
    Currently, Sec.  94.4(b)(3) states that canned product (canned 
meat) as defined in 9 CFR 318.300(d) is exempt from the requirements of 
Sec.  94.4. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS) administers the regulations in 9 CFR part 
318. In brief, paragraph (d) of Sec.  318.300 had defined canned 
product as a meat food product with a water activity above 0.85 that 
receives a thermal process either before or after being packed in a 
hermetically sealed container. The intent of Sec.  94.4(b)(3) is, 
accordingly, to specify that canned product that meets FSIS' definition 
of that term is exempt from our conditions governing cured or cooked 
meat from regions where APHIS considers FMD to exist. This exemption is 
warranted because canned product that meets FSIS' regulatory definition 
of that term has been processed in a manner that denatures FMD.
    However, on May 31, 2018, FSIS published in the Federal Register 
(83 FR 25302-25325, Docket No. FSIS-2015-0036) \1\ a final rule that, 
among other things, combined their regulations for thermally processed, 
commercially sterile meat products that appeared in 9 CFR 318.300 
through 381.311 into 9 CFR part 431, Thermally Processed, Commercially 
Sterile Products. As FSIS' final rule has taken effect, the reference 
to Sec.  318.300(d) in APHIS' regulations is outdated, and it has 
become necessary to update our regulations to reflect this change by 
removing reference to 9 CFR 318.300(d) and replacing it with the 
reference to 9 CFR part 431.
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    \1\ To view the final rule, go to www.regulations.gov and enter 
FSIS-2015-0036 in the Search box.
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Effective Date

    This rule updates APHIS' regulations in order to ensure that 
references to FSIS' regulations are accurate. Therefore, APHIS 
considers there to be good cause pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 to find that 
an opportunity for public comment is unnecessary and contrary to the 
public interest, and this rule may be made effective less than 30 days 
after publication in the Federal Register.

[[Page 10464]]

Further, since this rule ensures that regulations issued by one USDA 
Agency are cited accurately in those issued by another USDA Agency, 
APHIS considers it to relate to internal agency management with USDA, 
and it is, accordingly, exempt from the provisions of Executive Orders 
12866 and 12988. Finally, this action is not a rule as defined by the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 501) and, thus, it is exempt from 
the provisions of that Act.

Executive Order 12372

    This program/activity is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.025 and is subject to Executive Order 12372, 
which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local 
officials. (See 2 CFR chapter IV.)

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule contains no reporting or recordkeeping requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

Lists of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 94

    Animal diseases, Canned meat, Canned product, Imports, Livestock, 
Meat and meat products.
    Accordingly, we amend 9 CFR part 94 as follows:

PART 94--FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE, NEWCASTLE DISEASE, HIGHLY 
PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA, AFRICAN SWINE FEVER, CLASSICAL SWINE 
FEVER, SWINE VESICULAR DISEASE, AND BOVINE SPONGIFORM 
ENCEPHALOPATHY: PROHIBITED AND RESTRICTED IMPORTATIONS

0
1. The authority citation for part 94 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1633, 7701-7772, 7781-7786, and 8301-8317; 
21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.


Sec.  94.4  [Amended]

0
2. In Sec.  94.4, paragraph (b)(3) is amended by removing the text 
``Sec.  318.300(d) of this chapter'' and adding the text ``part 431 of 
this title'' in its place.

    Done in Washington, DC, this 15th day of February 2023.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-03559 Filed 2-17-23; 8:45 am]
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