This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

59574

Vol. 69, No. 192

Tuesday, October 5, 2004

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. 04–035N] 

Food Safety Institute of the Americas

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service will hold a public 

meeting on October 13–15, 2004, in 

Miami, Florida, to review and discuss 

the establishment of the Food Safety 

Institute of the Americas (FSIA). The 

creation of the FSIA is an innovative 

idea for integrating scientific food safety 

education, information, communication, 

and outreach in the Americas. During 

the public meeting, the following issues 

relating to the FSIA will be discussed: 

(1) Identifying and assessing 

educational and informational needs; (2) 

fostering collaboration and partnership 

development; (3) establishing strategies 

and best practices for developing and 

delivering programs; and (4) planning 

next steps for the FSIA. 

The public meeting will be an 

interactive session. Discussions will be 

conducted in plenary sessions as well as 

in small group workshops for each of 

the above four issues.

DATES: The public meeting will begin on 

Wednesday, October 13, 2004, from 12 

p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Thursday, October 

14, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 

Friday, October 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 

p.m.

ADDRESSES: All FSIA meetings will take 

place at the Radisson Hotel Miami, 1601 

Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida, 

33132. 

In addition, a block of rooms has been 

held for participants at the Marriott 

Biscayne Bay Hotel, 1633 North 

Bayshore Drive, Miami, Florida 33132. 

(Phone: 305–374–3900). Participants for 

the FSIA meeting will receive a special 

rate of $119.00 per night. Reservations 

must be confirmed with the necessary 

credit card or payment information no 

later than October 8, 2004. Please 

reference the USDA–FSIA meeting 

when making reservations. 

A meeting agenda is available on the 

Internet at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

News_&_Events/Meetings_&_Events

which is a sub-website of the FSIS home 

page, at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. FSIS 

invites interested persons to submit 

comments on the topics to be discussed 

at the public meeting. Comments may 

be submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

• Mail, including floppy disks or CD–

ROM’s, and hand- or courier-delivered 

items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, 

SW., Room 102, Cotton Annex, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

All submissions received must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number 04–035N. 

All comments submitted on the topics 

to be discussed at the public meeting 

will be available for public inspection in 

the FSIS Docket Room at the address 

listed above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 

p.m., Monday through Friday. The 

comments also will be posted on the 

Agency’s Web site at http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/

2004_notices_index/index.asp.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Linda Swacina, The Food Safety 

Institute of the Americas office at 305–

347–5552, linda.swacina@fsis.usda.gov

or Mr. Robert Tynan, SIPO–Office of 

Public Affairs Education and Outreach 

at 202–690–6522, 

robert.tynan@fsis.usda.gov for technical 

information. 

All meeting participants will be 

required to pre-register before entering 

the meeting. A pre-registration form is 

located at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

News_&_Events/Meetings_&_Events.

You may also call in your registration 

using a special toll free number that has 

been established for the public meeting. 

To phone in registration, please call 

866–520–8999. 

Persons requiring a sign language 

interpreter or other special 

accommodations should notify the FSIA 

office no later than October 7, 2004, at 

the above number or by e-mail.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The explosive growth of the 

international food market has brought a 

variety of food never before available to 

the ordinary consumer’s table 

throughout the Americas. People can 

consume new products from different 

regions and enjoy traditional seasonal 

favorites throughout the year. Countries 

are now more dependent on each other’s 

safeguards to guarantee their citizens a 

wholesome food supply and to protect 

the public health of their country and 

the region. 

The nations of the Americas make up 

a community committed to meeting the 

many challenges of ensuring food safety 

and security. One approach to these 

complex problems is for our countries to 

develop and effectively exchange 

scientific information and education on 

food safety and security risks and on 

how to manage them.

The FSIA is an innovative approach 

for harmonizing, developing, and 

distributing food safety and security 

information and education throughout 

the Americas; coordinating programs so 

that we concentrate on areas where our 

needs are the greatest; sharing resources 

on programs that already exist within 

our community; promoting the 

development of international food safety 

standards; and protecting ourselves as a 

region from food security threats. 

To do this, the FSIA will develop and 

enlist the support of existing networks 

among researchers, public health 

officials, regulatory officials, and food 

and animal producers and distributors. 

There are many academic, governmental 

and nongovernmental organizations 

with wide-ranging expertise that would 

make them potential partners in FSIA’s 

development and implementation. 

FSIA Subject Areas or Colleges 

In one scenario, the FSIA would be 

divided into the following nine colleges 

and include development and 

implementation of training, education, 

and information materials in these 

areas: (1) Codex Alimentarius; (2) 

Regulatory Foundation Studies; (3) 

Public Health Studies; (4) Food 

Security; (5) Manufactured Foods; (6) 

Animal and Food Production Studies; 

(7) Retail Programs; (8) Laboratory 

Studies; and (9) Consumer Education 

and Information Programs. 

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 192 / Tuesday, October 5, 2004 / Notices 59575

FSIA Benefits 

The major goal of the FSIA is to 

improve and harmonize food safety 

education, information, and 

communication throughout the 

Americas in order to improve public 

health within each and among the 

countries of the region. It will provide 

major outreach activities to identify, 

develop, and coordinate educational 

programs and to promote the 

development of international food safety 

standards and common food security 

protection. 

FSIA will provide the region with 

greater access to food safety information 

and the technical assistance necessary 

to ensure the safety of meat, poultry, 

and egg products. In addition, FSIA will 

promote the activities of the Codex 

Alimentarius Commission to bring 

about standardization of food safety 

requirements and become a forum for 

scientific discussion relevant to food 

safety and international standards in the 

Americas. In this way, it will encourage 

and support development of sciencebased agreements that strengthen 

national and local economies. 

Conclusion 

The FSIA will help establish working 

relationships among collaborating 

countries through regular interaction of 

academic researchers and educators, 

government regulators, and food safety 

professionals. Enhancing and fostering 

these contacts are critically important in 

addressing regional food safety concerns 

and improving understanding about 

requirements for imported and exported 

products. 

All interested parties are welcome to 

attend the meetings and to submit 

written comments and suggestions 

addressing issues concerning the FSIA 

that will be reviewed and discussed. 

The comments and the official 

transcript of the meeting, when they 

become available, will be kept in the 

FSIS Docket Room at the address 

provided above. All comments received 

in response to this notice will be 

considered part of the public record and 

will be available for viewing in the FSIS 

Docket Room between 8:30 a.m. and 

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, 

except for Federal holidays. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, in an effort to 

better ensure that the public and in 

particular that minorities, women, and 

persons with disabilities are aware of 

this notice, FSIS will announce it online through the FSIS Web site located 

at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.

FSIS also will make copies of this 

Federal Register publication available 

through the FSIS Constituent Update, 

which is used to provide information 

regarding FSIS policies, procedures, 

regulations, Federal Register notices, 

FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other 

types of information that could affect or 

would be of interest to our constituents 

and stakeholders. The update is 

communicated via a free e-mail 

subscription service consisting of 

industry, trade, and farm groups, 

consumer interest groups, allied health 

professionals, scientific professionals, 

and other individuals who have 

requested to be included. The update 

also is available on the FSIS Web site. 

Through the free e-mail subscription 

service and the Web site, FSIS is able to 

provide information to a much broader, 

more diverse audience.

Done at Washington, DC on September 30, 

2004. 

Bryce Quick, 

Acting Administrator.

[FR Doc. 04–22392 Filed 10–1–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 1410–DM–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. 04–034N] 

Salmonella Enteritidis in Shell Eggs 

and Salmonella spp. in Liquid Egg 

Products Risk Assessments Technical 

Meeting

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

availability of draft risk assessments. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

that it will hold a public meeting to 

discuss two draft quantitative risk 

assessments on Salmonella Enteritidis 

(SE) in shell eggs and Salmonella spp. 

in liquid egg products. The first is a 

quantitative risk assessment of SE in 

shell eggs. The second is a quantitative 

risk assessment of Salmonella spp. in 

pasteurized liquid egg products. The 

Agency is also announcing the 

availability of these draft risk 

assessments and an opportunity to 

comment on them. The Agency has 

prepared these draft risk assessments to 

provide scientific information on which 

to base pathogen reduction lethality 

performance standards that the Agency 

intends to propose for pasteurized shell 

eggs and pasteurized egg products. 

These performance standards are 

intended to reduce the incidences of 

foodborne illness associated with eggs 

and egg products. 

At the public meeting, FSIS will 

discuss the technical design and 

assumptions used to create these draft 

risk assessments. The draft risk 

assessments will be available in the 

FSIS docket room (address below) and 

will be posted to the FSIS Web site at 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

regulations_&_policies/

2004_Notices_Index/index.asp on or 

before October 15, 2004.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled 

for Friday, October 22, 2004. The 

meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 

12:30 p.m. Submit written comments on 

the draft risk assessments on or before 

November 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be 

held at the Hyatt Regency Washington 

on Capitol Hill, 400 New Jersey Avenue, 

NW., Washington, DC, 20001. 

A tentative agenda is available in the 

FSIS docket room (address below) and 

on the FSIS Web site at http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/

regulations_&_policies/

2004_Notices_Index/index.asp. FSIS 

invites interested persons to submit 

comments on the two draft risk 

assessments by any of the following 

methods: 

• Mail, including floppy disks or CD–

ROM’s, and hand- or courier-delivered 

items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, 

SW., Room 102, Cotton Annex, 

Washington, DC 20250. 

All submissions received must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number 04–034N. 

All comments received and the 

official transcript of the meeting will be 

available for viewing in the FSIS Docket 

Room at the address listed above 

between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. The comments 

also will be posted on the Agency’s Web 

site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/

rdad/FRDockets.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Philip Derfler, Assistant Administrator, 

Office of Policy, Program, and Employee 

Development, FSIS, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–

3700, (202) 720–2709. For technical 

information, contact Carl Schroeder, 

Ph.D., at (202) 690–6346 or e-mail 

carl.schroeder@fsis.usda.gov. Members 

of the public will be required to preregister for this meeting. Persons may 

pre-register by calling (202) 690–6516 or 

e-mailing renee.ellis@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: