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

37504 

Vol. 78, No. 120 

Friday, June 21, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–LPS–13–0029] 

Notice of Request for Extension and 

Revision of a Currently Approved 

Information Collection for Voluntary 

Grading of Poultry Products and 

Rabbit Products 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice 

announces the Agricultural Marketing 

Service’s (AMS) intention to request 

approval, from the Office of 

Management and Budget, for an 

extension of and revision to the 

currently approved information 

collection in support of the Regulations 

for Voluntary Grading of Poultry 

Products and Rabbit Products—7 CFR 

Part 70. 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by August 20, 2013 to be 

assured of consideration. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit comments concerning 

this information collection notice. 

Comments should be submitted online 

at www.regulations.gov or sent to 

Michelle Degenhart, Assistant to the 

Director, Poultry Grading Division, 

Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program, 

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., Room 3842–S, 

Washington, DC 20250–0256, or by 

facsimile to (202) 690–2746. All 

comments should reference the docket 

number (AMS–LPS–13–0029), the date, 

and the page number of this issue of the 

Federal Register. All comments 

received will be posted without change, 

including any personal information 

provided, online at http:// 

www.regulations.gov and will be made 

available for public inspection at the 

above physical address during regular 

business hours. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Degenhart at the above 

physical address, or by email at 

Michelle.Degenhart@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Regulations for Voluntary 

Grading of Poultry Products and Rabbit 

Products—7 CFR Part 70. 

OMB Number: 0581–0127. 

Expiration Date of Approval: 

December 31, 2013. 

Type of Request: Extension and 

revision of a currently approved 

information collection. 

Abstract: The Agricultural Marketing 

Act of 1946 (AMA) (7 U.S.C. 1621 et 

seq.) directs and authorizes the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) to develop standards of quality, 

grades, grading programs, and services 

which facilitate trading of agricultural 

products, assure consumers of quality 

products that are graded and identified 

under USDA programs. To provide 

programs and services, section 203(h) of 

the AMA (7 U.S.C.1622(h)) directs and 

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture 

to inspect, certify, and identify the 

grade, class, quality, quantity, and 

condition of agricultural products under 

such rules and regulations as the 

Secretary may prescribe, including 

assessment and collection of fees for the 

cost of service. The regulations in 7 CFR 

Part 70 provides a voluntary program for 

grading poultry and rabbit products on 

the basis of U.S. standards and grades. 

AMS also provides other types of 

voluntary services under the 

regulations, e.g., contract and 

specification acceptance services and 

certification of quantity. All of the 

voluntary grading services are available 

on a resident basis or lot-fee basis. 

Respondents may request resident 

service on a continuous or temporary 

basis. The service is paid for by the user 

(user-fee). Because this is a voluntary 

program, respondents need to request or 

apply for the specific service they wish, 

and in doing so, they provide 

information. Since the AMA requires 

that the cost of service be assessed and 

collected, information is collected to 

establish the Agency’s cost. The 

information collection requirements in 

this request are essential to carry out the 

intent of the AMA, to provide the 

respondents the type of service they 

request, and to administer the program. 

The information collected is used only 

by authorized representatives of the 

USDA (AMS, Livestock, Poultry and 

Seed Program’s national staff; regional 

directors and their staffs; Federal-State 

supervisors and their staffs; and resident 

Federal-State graders, which includes 

State agencies). The information is used 

to administer and conduct grading 

services requested by respondents. The 

Agency is the primary user of the 

information. Information is also used by 

each authorized State agency that has a 

cooperative agreement with AMS. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 0.0833 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: State or local 

governments, businesses or other for 

profits, Federal agencies or employees, 

and small businesses or organizations. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

690 respondents. 

Estimated Total Annual Responses: 

24,053.50 responses. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 34.86 responses per 

respondent. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 2,004 hours. 

Comments are invited on: (1) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; (3) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

become a matter of public record. 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2013 / Notices 37505 

Dated: June 14, 2013. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–14722 Filed 6–20–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE M 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2013–0002] 

International Standard-Setting 

Activities 

AGENCY: Office of Food Safety, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice informs the public 

of the sanitary and phytosanitary 

standard-setting activities of the Codex 

Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in 

accordance with section 491 of the 

Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as 

amended, and the Uruguay Round 

Agreements Act, Public Law 103–465, 

108 Stat. 4809. This notice also provides 

a list of other standard-setting activities 

of Codex, including commodity 

standards, guidelines, codes of practice, 

and revised texts. This notice, which 

covers the time periods from June 1, 

2012, to May 31, 2013, and June 1, 2013, 

to May 31, 2014, seeks comments on 

standards under consideration and 

recommendations for new standards. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

notice. Comments may be submitted by 

one of the following methods: 

• 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, etc.: 

Send to U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA), FSIS, OPPD, RIMS, Docket 

Clearance Unit, Patriots Plaza 3, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Mailstop 

3782, Room 8–163B, Washington, DC 

20250–3700. 

• Hand- or courier-delivered 

submittals: Deliver to Patriots Plaza 3, 

355 E Street SW., Room 8–163B, 

Washington, DC 20024–3221. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2013–0002. Comments received in 

response to this docket will be made 

available for public inspection and 

posted without change, including any 

personal information, to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the FSIS Docket Room at Patriots Plaza, 

355 E Street SW., Room 8–164, 

Washington, DC 20024–3221 between 

8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday. 

Please state that your comments refer 

to Codex and, if your comments relate 

to specific Codex committees, please 

identify those committees in your 

comments and submit a copy of your 

comments to the delegate from that 

particular committee. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Mary Frances Lowe, United States 

Manager for Codex, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of Food Safety, 

Room 4861, South Agriculture Building, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–3700; 

Telephone: (202) 205–7760; Fax: (202) 

720–3157; Email: 

USCodex@fsis.usda.gov. 

For information pertaining to 

particular committees, the delegate of 

that committee may be contacted. (A 

complete list of U.S. delegates and 

alternate delegates can be found in 

Attachment 2 of this notice.) Documents 

pertaining to Codex and specific 

committee agendas are accessible via 

the World Wide Web at http:// 

www.codexalimentarius.org/meetingsreports/en/. The U.S. Codex Office also 

maintains a Web site at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

Regulations_&_Policies/ 

Codex_Alimentarius/index.asp. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) 

was established on January 1, 1995, as 

the common international institutional 

framework for the conduct of trade 

relations among its members in matters 

related to the Uruguay Round Trade 

Agreements. The WTO is the successor 

organization to the General Agreement 

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). U.S. 

membership in the WTO was approved 

and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act 

was signed into law by the President on 

December 8, 1994. The Uruguay Round 

Agreements became effective, with 

respect to the United States, on January 

1, 1995. Pursuant to section 491 of the 

Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as 

amended, the President is required to 

designate an agency to be ‘‘responsible 

for informing the public of the sanitary 

and phytosanitary (SPS) standardsetting activities of each international 

standard-setting organization.’’ The 

main organizations are Codex, the 

World Organisation for Animal Health, 

and the International Plant Protection 

Convention. The President, pursuant to 

Proclamation No. 6780 of March 23, 

1995 (60 FR 15845), designated the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture as the agency 

responsible for informing the public of 

the SPS standard-setting activities of 

each international standard-setting 

organization. The Secretary of 

Agriculture has delegated to the Office 

of Food Safety the responsibility to 

inform the public of the SPS standardsetting activities of Codex. The Office of 

Food Safety has, in turn, assigned the 

responsibility for informing the public 

of the SPS standard-setting activities of 

Codex to the U.S. Codex Office. 

Codex was created in 1963 by two 

United Nations organizations, the Food 

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and 

the World Health Organization (WHO). 

Codex is the principal international 

organization for establishing standards 

for food. Through adoption of food 

standards, codes of practice, and other 

guidelines developed by its committees 

and by promoting their adoption and 

implementation by governments, Codex 

seeks to protect the health of consumers, 

ensure fair practices in the food trade, 

and promote coordination of food 

standards work undertaken by 

international governmental and 

nongovernmental organizations. In the 

United States, U.S. Codex activities are 

managed and carried out by the United 

States Department of Agriculture 

(USDA); the Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA), Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS); the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), Department of 

Commerce (DOC); and the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA). 

As the agency responsible for 

informing the public of the SPS 

standard-setting activities of Codex, the 

Office of Food Safety publishes this 

notice in the Federal Register annually. 

Attachment 1 (Sanitary and 

Phytosanitary Activities of Codex) sets 

forth the following information: 

1. The SPS standards under 

consideration or planned for 

consideration; and 

2. For each SPS standard specified: 

a. A description of the consideration 

or planned consideration of the 

standard; 

b. Whether the United States is 

participating or plans to participate in 

the consideration of the standard; 

c. The agenda for United States 

participation, if any; and 

d. The agency responsible for 

representing the United States with 

respect to the standard. 

To Obtain Copies of the Standards 

Listed In Attachment 1, Please Contact 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES