. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/683
13 January 2003
(03-0164)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   UNITED STATES
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   US Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where
applicable):  ):  Ready-to-eat meat (beef and pork) and poultry products
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:   All
trading partners
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   Microbial Sampling of
Ready-to-Eat (RTE) Products for the FSIS Veri fication Testing Program:  Draft Directive
10,240.3 (16 pages).
6. Description of content:   The Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) of the US Department
of Agriculture is providing instructions to US domestic inspection programme personnel for
the sampling of ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and poultry products produced in official
establishments as one aspect of the verifica tion activities conducted by FSIS.  The directive
also outlines new Hazard Analysis and Cr itical Control Point (HACCP) and Sanitation
Standard Operating Procedure (Sanitation SO P) verification steps that FSIS will take in
establishments to ensure control of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes)  in certain
RTE products and in their processing environments.  Additionally, it outlines the regulatory
actions that FSIS will follow should a sample of product test positive for a microbial hazard,
including L. monocytogenes, Salmone lla, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ( E. coli  O157:H7), or
staphylococcal enterotoxin.  Finally, it outlines the regulatory actions FSIS will follow should
a food contact surface environmental sample test positive for a microbial contaminant.
Under this directive, domestic plants producin g high and medium risk RTE products (deli
meats and hot dogs) that do not have an evalua ted environmental testing regime designed to
find and take necessary actions to eliminate Listeria monocytogenes  will be placed under an
intensified testing program by FSIS.  This intensified testing programme will consist of
increased testing of the final product, and testing of food contact surfaces and plant
environment.  Plants that have an environmental testing programme but do not choose to
share these testing data with FSIS on an ongoing basis will also fall under the intensified
testing programme.  As a means of verification, those plants that share complete data from
their environmental testing programme with FS IS will be subject to a targeted testing
programme, which consists of final product testing.
7. Objective and rationale:  [  X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,  [   ]  protect territory from other
damage from pestsG/SPS/N/USA/683
Page 2
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties,
[   ] International Plant Prot ection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Available in English
at:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oppde/rdad/DraftIssuances/102403.pdf
10. Proposed date of adoption:  9 December 2002
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  9 December 2002
12. Final date for comments:   N/A
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification
authority, [   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:  Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notification authority,  [ X ] National enquiry point,
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Mr. Bill Janis
US Department of AgricultureStop 1027
Washington DC 20250
Tel:  202 720 9047
Fax: 202 720 0677
E-mail: fstsd@fas/usda.gov