WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/N/USA/2488 
19 December 2012  
 (12-6971) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Notifying Member:  UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
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 numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO;  ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  Poultry 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  HACCP Plan Reassessment for Not-Ready-to-Eat 
Comminuted Poultry Products and Related Agency Verification Procedures  Language(s):  
English  Number of pages:  6 
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-12-06/html/2012-29510.htm  
6. Description of content:  The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is publishing this 
notice to inform establishments producing not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) ground or otherwise 
comminuted chicken and turkey products that they must reassess thei r Hazard Analysis and 
Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans for these products to take into account several 
recent Salmonella outbreaks associated with  consumption of comminuted NRTE turkey 
products.  No sooner than 90 days following publication of this notice, Agency inspection program personnel (IPP) will begin verifyin g that establishments that manufacture 
comminuted NRTE turkey or chicken product, as a final or intermediary product for further 
processing as NRTE product, have reassessed th eir HACCP plans for these products.  This 
notice also describes how FSIS will determine whether the association of NRTE meat or 
poultry product with an outbreak would make subsequently-produced like product adulterated. 
In addition, FSIS is expanding its Salmonella  Verification Sampling Program for Raw Meat 
and Poultry product to include all forms of  non-breaded, non-battered comminuted NRTE 
poultry product that are not destined under company control programs for further processing into RTE products in official establis hments.  Finally, this notice announces that 
FSIS will apply its Category 1 performance measure based on current performance 
standards for ground chicken and turkey product to comminuted poultry to mark the level 
of process control that all establishments  producing such products should maintain. G/SPS/N/USA/2488 
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  No sooner than 90 days after publication of th is notice, the Agency will begin sampling to 
determine the prevalence of Salmonella in  comminuted poultry and will use the results 
from this sampling to develop performance standards for these products. For reasons 
discussed later, FSIS has not tested NRTE comminuted poultry products, other than ground chicken and ground turkey, for Salmonella.  In addition, FSIS is likely to develop 
Campylobacter standards for these products follo wing validation of an analytic method.  
FSIS invites comments on this notice. 
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 pests.    
8. Is there a relevant international stan dard?  If so, identify the standard:  
[ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard 
or related text)   
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number)    
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g. ISPM number)    
[X] None Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?   
 [ ] Yes   [ ] No 
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:    
9. Other relevant documents and language (s) in which these are available:      
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) :  To be determined. 
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) :  To be determined. 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  [ ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) :  To be determined. 
[ ] Trade facilitating measure    G/SPS/N/USA/2488 
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12. Final date for comments:  [ ] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the notification 
and/or (dd/mm/yy) :  6 March 2013 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [X] National Notification 
Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and e-mail address (if available) of other body:   
Federal eRulemaking Portal:  This Web site  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 http://www.regulations.gov/ .  Follow the on-line instructions at that site for 
submitting comments. 
Mail, including CD-ROMs: Send to Docket Clerk, US Department of Agriculture, Food 
Safety and Inspection Service, Patriots Pl aza 3, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Mailstop 
3782 Room 8-163A, Washington, DC 20250-3700. 
Hand- or courier-delivered s ubmittals: Deliver to Patriots Plaza 3, 355 E Street, SW, 
Room 8-163A, Washington, DC 20250-3700. 
Instructions:  All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must include the Agency name 
and docket number FSIS-2012-0007.  Comments recei ved in response to this docket will be 
made available for public inspection and post ed without change, including any personal 
information, to http://www.regulations.gov . 
13. Texts available from:  [X] National Notification Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point.  
Address, fax number and e-mail address (if available) of other body:   United States 
SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Fore ign Agricultural Service, International 
Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 1014, Washington D.C. 20250. Tel: 202-720-1301; Fax: 202-720- 0433; Email: us.spsenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov