[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 167 (Wednesday, August 28, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68851-68853]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19372]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[FSIS-2024-0020]


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 public 
meeting of the full Committee and Subcommittees from September 24, 
2024, to September 26, 2024. The Committee will provide updates on 
FSIS' Genomics charge and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's 
(FDA's) Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula charge.

DATES: The full Committee will hold an in-person and virtual public 
meeting on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 
and on Thursday, September 26, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The 
Subcommittees on Genomics and on Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant 
Formula will hold concurrent Subcommittee meetings on Wednesday, 
September 25, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. The Subcommittee meetings 
are open to members of the public by virtual attendance only. 
Attendance to all meetings is free but pre-registration by Wednesday, 
September 18, 2024, is requested.
    Persons interested in providing oral comments at the Tuesday, 
September 24, 2024, public meeting of the full Committee should 
indicate so when registering. Oral comments will be limited to three 
minutes per speaker. FSIS will do its best to accommodate all 
registered persons who request to provide oral comments at the public 
meeting.

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    The deadline to submit written comments is Wednesday, September 18, 
2024.

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be held in the USDA Whitten Building, 1400 
Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250. In-person attendees will be 
escorted to the meeting room upon arrival. 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.
    Attendees must pre-register at https://events.intellor.com/?do=register&t=7&p=509550 to receive a join link, dial-in number, 
access code, and unique Attendee ID for the public meeting.
    An American Sign Language interpreter will be present online during 
the public meeting and attendees will also have the option to turn on 
closed captions.
    For more information on the NACMCF charges, visit: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/advisory-committees/national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf.
    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 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-2024-0020. 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 202-720-5046 to schedule a time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at 
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250.
    Agenda: The Committee meeting will discuss updates on FSIS' 
Genomics charge and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) 
Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula charge. 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 oral public comment period.
    The official transcripts of the September 24-26, 2024, public 
meetings, when they become 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; Phone: 202-937-4162; 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 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 the 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 Executive 
Secretariat and Designated Federal Officer.
    The NACMCF charter is available for viewing at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/advisory-committees/national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf.
    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: 
https://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

[[Page 68853]]

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].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. Equal 
opportunity practices in accordance with USDA's policies will be 
followed in all member appointments to the committee. To ensure that 
the recommendations of the committee consider the needs of the diverse 
groups served by USDA, membership shall include, to the extent 
practicable, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent the 
many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, 
abilities, cultures, and beliefs of the American people, including 
underserved communities.

Cikena Reid,
Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-19372 Filed 8-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P