[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 83 (Monday, May 1, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26518-26520]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09111]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2023-0014]


National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for 
Foods; Notice of Public Meeting

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria 
for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a public meeting of the full Committee and 
Subcommittees from May 16, 2023 to May 18, 2023. The Committee will 
provide updates on the charges related to Cyclospora cayetanensis in 
produce and Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula.

DATES: The full Committee will hold an in-person and virtual public 
meeting on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The 
Subcommittees on Cyclospora cayetanensis in produce and on Cronobacter 
spp. in Powdered Infant Formula will hold concurrent Subcommittee 
meetings on Tuesday,

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May 16, 2023, from 1 to 5 p.m., as well as on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, 
and Thursday, May 18, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., respectively. The 
deadline to register to provide verbal comments is May 8, 2023.
    FSIS invites interested persons to submit written comments on the 
Cyclospora cayetanensis in produce and on the Cronobacter spp. in 
Powdered Infant Formula charges. The deadline to submit comments is May 
8, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held in the USDA South Building, 1400 
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250. Room locations will be 
provided the day of the meeting. Virtual attendees will be provided 
details on how to access the full Committee and Subcommittee meetings 
upon registration.
    In-person attendees must show valid photo identification and will 
be required to pass through the security screening systems and escorted 
to the respective conference rooms. Please allow adequate time for this 
process.
    Attendance is free. Attendees must pre-register at https://ems8.intellor.com/?do=register&t=1&p=847719. FSIS requests that those 
interested in providing public comments at the May 16, 2023, full 
Committee session indicate this when registering. Comments will be 
limited to three minutes per speaker. FSIS will do its best to 
accommodate all registered persons who request to provide verbal 
comments at the plenary meeting.
    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-2023-0014. 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) 937-4272 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 FSIS' website at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/events-meetings.
    Please note that the meeting agenda is subject to change and 
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.
    The official transcript of the May 16, 2023 Committee meeting, when 
it becomes available, will also be posted on FSIS' website at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/events-meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Kristal Southern, USDA, FSIS, 
Office of Public Health Science, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 
1128, Washington, DC 20250; Phone: (202) 937-4171 or Email: 
[email protected].
    Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special 
accommodations should notify Dr. Southern by May 5, 2023.

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, Agriculture, and Related Agencies 
Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988. The charter for the NACMCF is 
available on FSIS' website at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/advisory-committees/national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf. 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, Dr. 
Jos[eacute] Emilio Esteban, 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 Dr. Kristal Southern, 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. 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 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 through the FSIS website 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 to export information, 
regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or delete 
subscriptions themselves and have the

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option to password protect their accounts.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights 
regulations and policies, USDA, its Mission Areas, agencies, staff 
offices, 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.
    Program information may be made available in languages other than 
English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large 
print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the 
responsible Mission Area, agency, or staff office; the USDA TARGET 
Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY); or the Federal Relay Service 
at (800) 877-8339.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should 
complete a Form, AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, 
which can be obtained online at https://www.usda.gov/forms/electronic-forms, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a 
letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's 
name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the 
alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the 
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights about the nature and date of an 
alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter 
must be submitted 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: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 
690-7442; or (3) Email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

    Dated: April 25 2023.
Cikena Reid,
Committee Management Officer, United States Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2023-09111 Filed 4-28-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P