FSIS Constituent Update - May 21, 2004 1 Congressional & Public Affairs Office

Export

Requirement

Updates

The Library of Export

Requirements has been

updated to reflect changes

in export requirements for

the following countries:

Bulgaria

Japan

Honduras

Mexico

United Arab

Emirates

Complete information can

be found at:

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

OFO/export/explib.htm

Volume 5, Issue 21

United States Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

May 21, 2004

Protecting the Public Health by Significantly Reducing Foodborne Hazards from Meat, Poultry and Egg Products

FSIS Constituent Update

Deadline Approaches for

Registration of Meat and

Poultry Handlers

This notice announces the availability of FSIS Form 5020-1, Registration

of Meat and Poultry Program Handlers as announced in the Federal Register:

Docket No. 01–034N http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/

01-034N.pdf and Docket No. 01–034E http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/01-034E.pdf. The notice informs program

personnel where to direct individuals inquiring about the new form and

provides guidance on the type of information that should be available in

the records meat and poultry program handlers are required to maintain.

Please note the deadline for all applicable businesses to register with

the Agency is May 24, 2004.

Because of changes to the FSIS Form 5020-1, all non-federally inspected

parties, including those already registered, are required to submit a new

form to FSIS. Under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry

Products Inspection Act, the following parties are required to register with

FSIS and maintain records that fully and correctly disclose all transactions:

meat brokers; poultry products; brokers; renderers; animal food

manufacturers; wholesalers; public warehousemen; and persons that

engage in the business of buying, selling, transporting in commerce,

or importing any dead, dying, disabled, or diseased livestock or

poultry, or parts of the carcasses of livestock or poultry that have

died otherwise than by slaughter (and are not federally-inspected

establishments).

The forms can be obtained at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/forms/index.asp

For more information please visit: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

regulations_&_policies/FSIS_notices_index/
FSIS Constituent Update -May 21, 2004 2 Congressional & Public Affairs Office

THIS

WEEK’S

HOT WEB

 LINKS

USDA Meat &

Poultry Hotline

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

Food_Safety_Education/

USDA_Meat_&_Poultry_Hotline/

Federal Inspection

Programs

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

regulations_&_policies/

federal_inspection_programs/

FSIS Science

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

Science/

Statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

show that E. coli O157:H7 illnesses have dropped 36 percent in the last

year alone. This is great news for Americans heading into the summer

grilling season

“The CDC report adds to the body of evidence indicating real progress is

being made toward our goals of preventing foodborne illness and protecting

public health,” said Dr. Elsa Murano, USDA’s under secretary for food safety.

“The decline can be attributed in part to USDA’s aggressive, science-based

policies specifically targeting these deadly bacteria in raw ground beef and

increased consumer awareness of basic food safety principles.”

CDC’s data are consistent with data from samples of meat collected by

FSIS. Between 2002 and 2003, the percentage of raw ground beef regulatory

samples testing positive for E. coli O157:H7 dropped 62 percent.

Although Americans have good cause to feel reassured by these figures,

Murano urged grilling enthusiasts to heed USDA’s key messages of Clean,

Separate, Cook and Chill for a safe Memorial Day and throughout the

barbecue season.

 Clean

Before grilling and handling food, wash your hands with hot soapy water.

Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and counter tops with hot soapy

water after preparing each food item and before going on to the next food.

 Separate

Separate raw meat and poultry from ready-to-eat foods during preparation

and grilling, so that raw juices do not come into contact with other foods.

Never place cooked food on a plate that previously held raw meat, poultry

or other perishable foods, including egg products.

 Cook

Cook to proper temperatures. Use a food thermometer to measure the

internal temperature of your burgers to make sure they are cooked all the

way through. By cooking ground beef to at least 160°F will you can be

certain that E.coli O157:H7 and other bacteria are killed.

 Chill

Refrigerate or freeze perishables, grilled foods and leftovers within two

hours or within one hour if the outside temperature is above 90°F. Divide

large amounts of leftovers into shallow containers for quick cooling in the

refrigerator.

Summer 2004 Grilling Season

Safest in Years
FSIS Constituent Update - May 21, 2004 3 Congressional & Public Affairs Office

Featured

Office of the

Week

Codex

Alimentarius

E. coli O157:H7

Workshops Begin

From May through September 2004, FSIS will hold 11 instructive

workshops to discuss information in three recently revised and released

directives dealing with E. coli O157:H7. Directive 10,010.1, Revision

1 Microbiological Testing Program and Other Verification Activities for

Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Raw Ground Beef Products and Raw Ground

Beef Components and Beef Patty Components; Directive 6420.2 

Verification of Procedures for Controlling Fecal Material, Ingesta, and Milk

in Slaughter Operations; and Directive 5000 Review of Establishment

Data by Inspection Program Personnel will be among the topics discussed.

The workshops are scheduled on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. They will

present the materials in the directives to operators of small and very small

federally-inspected plants, state-inspected plants, federal and state

inspection personnel, members of academia and other interested parties.

For more information please visit: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/

Meetings_&_Events/

Workshop pre-registration information and specific meeting sites will be

announced in upcoming issues of the Constituent Update.

The U.S. Codex Office, located

in FSIS, USDA, is the U.S.

Contact Point for the Codex

Alimentarius Commission and

its activities. Codex

Alimentarius is the major

international mechanism for

encouraging fair international

trade in food while promoting

the health and economic

interest of consumers. For

more information go to:

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

Regulations_&_Policies/

Codex_Alimentarius/

Compliance Date Extended for

Packaged Pizza Manufacturers

FSIS has extended the compliance date for manufacturers of packaged

pizza products to meet new regulations. The new date will be July 31,

2004. 

The extension of the compliance date applies only to those manufacturers

of packaged pizzas that have not changed the formulation of their products

since the final rule became effective and that continue to use their current

label designs without change. FSIS is taking the action to minimize the

costs to small manufacturers of packaged pizza products to redesign and

print new product labels.

A final rule published last year by the Agency rescinded the pizza with

meat or sausage standards of identity. The final rule is available at http:/

/www.fsis.usda.gov/oppde/rdad/frpubs/01-018F.htm .
FSIS Constituent Update -May 21, 2004 4 Congressional & Public Affairs Office

The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection

(NACMPI) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday, June 2, from 8:30

a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Thursday, June 3, 2004, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45

p.m. to review and discuss the following issues:

(1) the appropriateness of FSIS plans for assessing the effects of the interim

final rule on the control of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meat and

poultry products; (2) the advisability of requiring establishments to develop

food security plans; and (3) the appropriateness of FSIS establishing test

and hold procedures for meat and poultry products that are tested for the

presence of an adulterant by FSIS. Three subcommittees will also meet on

June 2, 2004, from 2:45 to 5:30 p.m. to work on the issues discussed during

the full committee session. A meeting agenda and more information is

available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/about/nacmpi/

To obtain more information please contact Mr. Robert Tynan for technical

questions at (202) 720-2982 or e-mail robert.tynan@fsis.usda.gov and Sonya

L. West for meeting questions at (202) 690-1079 or e-mail

sonya.west@fsis.usda.gov. Members of the public will be required to register

before entering the meeting. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter

or other special accommodations should notify West no later than May 28,

2004.

National Advisory Committee

on Meat and Poultry Inspection

Public Meeting

To Contact the Constituent Update Editor

Crystal Straughn crystal.straughn@fsis.usda.gov (202) 720-9113

Note: Constituent Update will not publish on Friday, May

28 but we will be back on June 4th. Have a happy and

safe Memorial Day.

May 25

Health and Safety Fest,

Dayton, Ohio

May 26

Elementary School,

Blanchester, Ohio

May 27

Elementary School,

Cincinnati, Ohio

The USDA Food

Safety Mobile:

Taking Food

Safety

Education on

the Road

The USDA Food Safety

Mobile is a 35-foot,

recreational-style vehicle

covered with a bold, eyecatching design and prominent

food safety messages,

including the four Fight

BAC!® messages of the

Partnership for Food Safety

Education. The next stops for

the Food Safety Mobile are: