[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 206 (Thursday, October 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73583-73585]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23636]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[FSIS-2023-0024]


National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for 
Foods: Public Meeting

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Department of 
Agriculture (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 from November 14, 2023, through November 16, 2023. The 
NACMCF Secretariat will introduce newly appointed members for the 2023-
2025 Committee term and introduce a new charge from FSIS on genomic 
characterization of pathogens. Also, the Committee will continue 
working on the response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 
(FDA) Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula charge.

DATES: The full Committee will hold a virtual public plenary meeting on 
Tuesday, November 14, 2023, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Concurrent 
virtual public subcommittee meetings will be held on Tuesday, November 
14, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. As well as on Wednesday, November 
15, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Thursday, November 16, 2023, 
from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., respectively. Attendance is free but 
pre-registration by Wednesday, November 8, 2023, is requested.
    The deadline to submit written comments is Wednesday, November 8, 
2023.

ADDRESSES: The plenary and subcommittee meetings will be held virtually 
using Webex. Attendees must pre-register at https://ems8.intellor.com/?do=register&t=1&p=849304 to receive a join link, dial-in number, 
access code, and unique Attendee ID for the plenary and subcommittee 
meetings. Persons interested in providing comments at the Tuesday, 
November 14, 2023, plenary meeting should indicate so when registering. 
Comments will be limited to three minutes per speaker.
    An American Sign Language interpreter will be present during the 
meeting and attendees will also have the option to turn on closed 
captions.
    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 the 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

[[Page 73584]]

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-2023-0024. Comments made 
in response to the 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.
    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; 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 November 14, 2023 plenary 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 impartial 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 online through the FSIS web page located at: 
http://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 
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/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 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 (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;
    (2) Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
    (3) Email: [email protected].

[[Page 73585]]

    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

    Dated: October 19, 2023.
Cikena Reid,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2023-23636 Filed 10-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P