[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 143 (Thursday, July 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48426-48427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15856]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service


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 virtual 
public meeting of the full Committee on August 30, 2023. The Committee 
will discuss and vote to adopt the following report: Cyclospora 
cayetanensis in Produce. The Committee will also provide an update on 
the Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula charge.

DATES: The full Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on 
Wednesday, August 30, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET. Submit 
comments on or before August 25, 2023.

ADDRESSES: The Committee meeting will be held virtually using Webex. 
Attendance is free but pre-registration by Friday, August 25, 2023, is 
requested. Attendees must pre-register at https://ems8.intellor.com?do=register&t=1&p=848498 to receive a join link, 
dial-in number, access code, and unique Attendee ID for the event. An 
American Sign Language interpreter will be present during the meeting 
and attendees will also have the option to turn on closed captions. 
Persons interested in providing comments at the August 30, 2023, 
plenary meeting should indicate so when registering. Comments will be 
limited to three minutes per speaker. The deadline to submit written 
comments is August 25, 2023.
    The NACMCF document for adoption will be available at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/advisory-committees/national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf/2021. FSIS invites 
interested persons to submit written comments on the Cyclospora 
cayetanensis in Produce report. Written 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, Room 1128, 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-2023-0017. 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. The official transcript of the August 30, 2023 
Committee meeting, when it becomes available, will be posted on FSIS' 
website at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/data-collectionand-reports/nacmcf/meetings/nacmcfmeetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristal Southern, USDA, FSIS, Office 
of Public Health Science, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 1128, 
Washington, DC 20250; Email: [email protected].

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 for viewing 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. Emilio 
Esteban, Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is the Committee Chair; 
Dr. Donald Prater, Acting Director of the Food and Drug 
Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), 
is the Vice-Chair; and Dr. Kristal Southern, USDA 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

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FSIS web page. Through the web page, FSIS can 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 option to password protect their 
accounts.

USDA's 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.ocio.usda.gov/document/ad-3027, 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 (ASCR) 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; or (2) Fax: (833) 
256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or (3) Email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

    Dated: July 21, 2023.
Egypt Simon,
Acting USDA Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-15856 Filed 7-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P