Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 72683 

order. The result of these discussions 

was the Committee’s recommendation 

to decrease the assessment rate. The 

Committee also recommended 

suspension of the handling regulations, 

and that recommendation is being 

reviewed separately by USDA. 

A review of historical crop and price 

information, as well as preliminary 

information pertaining to the 2012–13 

fiscal period, indicates that the producer 

price could average approximately 

$1,000 per ton for fresh Washington 

apricots. Therefore, the estimated 

assessment revenue for the 2012–13 

fiscal period as a percentage of total 

producer revenue is 0.05 percent for 

Washington apricots. 

This action decreases the assessment 

obligation imposed on handlers. 

Assessments are applied uniformly on 

all handlers, and some of the costs may 

be passed on to producers. However, 

decreasing the assessment rate reduces 

the burden on handlers, and may reduce 

the burden on producers. In addition, 

the Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the Washington 

apricot industry, and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations on all issues. Like all 

Committee meetings, the May 24, 2012, 

meeting was a public meeting, and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express views on this issue. Finally, 

interested persons are invited to submit 

comments on this interim rule, 

including the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189. No 

changes in those requirements as a 

result of this action are necessary. 

Should any changes become necessary, 

they would be submitted to OMB for 

approval. 

This action imposes no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on either small or large Washington 

apricot handlers. As with all Federal 

marketing order programs, reports and 

forms are periodically reviewed to 

reduce information requirements and 

duplication by industry and public 

sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Laurel May at 

the previously mentioned address in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendation 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, it is hereby found 

that this rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect, and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) The 2012–13 fiscal period 

began on April 1, 2012, and the 

marketing order requires that the rate of 

assessment for each fiscal period apply 

to all assessable apricots handled during 

such fiscal period; (2) the action 

decreases the assessment rate for 

assessable apricots beginning with the 

2012–13 fiscal period; (3) handlers are 

aware of this action, which was 

unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a public meeting and is 

similar to other assessment rate actions 

issued in past years; and (4) this interim 

rule provides a 60-day comment period, 

and all comments timely received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 922 

Apricots, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 922 is amended as 

follows: 

PART 922—APRICOTS GROWN IN 

DESIGNATED COUNTIES IN 

WASHINGTON 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 922 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 922.235 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 922.235 Assessment rate. 

On or after April 1, 2012, an 

assessment rate of $0.50 per ton is 

established for the Washington Apricot 

Marketing Committee. 

Dated: November 30, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29435 Filed 12–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 923 

[Doc. No. AMS–FV–12–0026; FV12–923–1 

IR] 

Sweet Cherries Grown in Designated 

Counties in Washington; Decreased 

Assessment Rate 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Interim rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: This rule decreases the 

assessment rate established for the 

Washington Cherry Marketing 

Committee (Committee) for the 2012– 

2013 and subsequent fiscal periods from 

$0.40 to $0.18 per ton of sweet cherries 

handled. The Committee locally 

administers the marketing order which 

regulates the handling of sweet cherries 

grown in designated counties in 

Washington. Assessments upon 

Washington sweet cherry handlers are 

used by the Committee to fund 

reasonable and necessary expenses of 

the program. The fiscal period begins 

April 1 and ends March 31. The 

assessment rate will remain in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated. 

DATES: Effective December 7, 2012. 

Comments received by February 4, 

2013, will be considered prior to 

issuance of a final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments 

concerning this rule. Comments must be 

sent to the Docket Clerk, Marketing 

Order and Agreement Division, Fruit 

and Vegetable Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., STOP 

0237, Washington, DC 20250–0237; Fax: 

(202) 720–8938; or Internet: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Comments should 

reference the document number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register and will be 

available for public inspection in the 

Office of the Docket Clerk during regular 

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72684 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

business hours, or can be viewed at: 

http://www.regulations.gov. All 

comments submitted in response to this 

rule will be included in the record and 

will be made available to the public. 

Please be advised that the identity of the 

individuals or entities submitting the 

comments will be made public on the 

Internet at the address provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Teresa Hutchinson or Gary Olson, 

Northwest Marketing Field Office, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA; Telephone: (503) 326– 

2724, Fax: (503) 326–7440, or Email: 

Teresa.Hutchinson@ams.usda.gov or 

GaryD.Olson@ams.usda.gov. 

Small businesses may request 

information on complying with this 

regulation by contacting Laurel May, 

Marketing Order and Agreement 

Division, Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., STOP 0237, Washington, 

DC 20250–0237; Telephone: (202) 720– 

2491, Fax: (202) 720–8938, or Email: 

Laurel.May@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under Marketing Order No. 

923, as amended (7 CFR part 923), 

regulating the handling of sweet 

cherries grown in designated counties in 

Washington, hereinafter referred to as 

the ‘‘order.’’ The order is effective under 

the Agricultural Marketing Agreement 

Act of 1937, as amended (7 U.S.C. 601– 

674), hereinafter referred to as the 

‘‘Act.’’ 

The Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is issuing this rule in 

conformance with Executive Order 

12866. 

This rule has been reviewed under 

Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice 

Reform. Under the marketing order now 

in effect, Washington sweet cherry 

handlers are subject to assessments. 

Funds to administer the order are 

derived from such assessments. It is 

intended that the assessment rate as 

issued herein will be applicable to all 

assessable sweet cherries beginning 

April 1, 2012, and continue until 

amended, suspended, or terminated. 

The Act provides that administrative 

proceedings must be exhausted before 

parties may file suit in court. Under 

section 608c(15)(A) of the Act, any 

handler subject to an order may file 

with USDA a petition stating that the 

order, any provision of the order, or any 

obligation imposed in connection with 

the order is not in accordance with law 

and request a modification of the order 

or to be exempted therefrom. Such 

handler is afforded the opportunity for 

a hearing on the petition. After the 

hearing, USDA would rule on the 

petition. The Act provides that the 

district court of the United States in any 

district in which the handler is an 

inhabitant, or has his or her principal 

place of business, has jurisdiction to 

review USDA’s ruling on the petition, 

provided an action is filed not later than 

20 days after the date of the entry of the 

ruling. 

This rule decreases the assessment 

rate established for the Committee for 

the 2012–2013 and subsequent fiscal 

periods from $0.40 to $0.18 per ton of 

sweet cherries handled. 

The Washington sweet cherry 

marketing order provides authority for 

the Committee, with the approval of 

USDA, to formulate an annual budget of 

expenses and collect assessments from 

handlers to administer the program. The 

members of the Committee are 

producers and handlers of Washington 

sweet cherries. They are familiar with 

the Committee’s needs and with the 

costs for goods and services in their 

local area and are thus in a position to 

formulate an appropriate budget and 

assessment rate. The assessment rate is 

formulated and discussed in a public 

meeting. Thus, all directly affected 

persons have an opportunity to 

participate and provide input. 

For the 2007–2008 and subsequent 

fiscal periods, the Committee 

recommended, and USDA approved, an 

assessment rate that would continue in 

effect from fiscal period to fiscal period 

unless modified, suspended, or 

terminated by USDA upon 

recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

information available to USDA. 

The Committee met on May 15, 2012, 

and unanimously recommended 2012– 

2013 expenditures of $64,400 and an 

assessment rate of $0.18 per ton of sweet 

cherries. In comparison, last year’s 

budgeted expenditures were $72,200. 

The assessment rate of $0.18 is $0.22 

lower than the rate currently in effect. 

The Committee recommended the lower 

assessment rate for the purpose of 

decreasing the monetary reserve, which 

is approximately $107,074. Funds in the 

reserve must be kept within the 

maximum permitted by the order of 

approximately one fiscal period’s 

operational expenses (§ 923.42). 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2012–2013 fiscal period include $20,000 

for administration and data management 

fees; $35,000 for Committee expenses 

such as travel, accounting, and 

compliance; $5,000 for contingency; and 

$4,400 for office expenses—including 

bonds, insurance, telephone, office 

equipment and supplies. Budgeted 

expenses for these items in 2011–2012 

were $22,500, $38,000, $2,500, and 

$9,200, respectively. 

The assessment rate recommended by 

the Committee was derived by 

multiplying anticipated shipments of 

Washington sweet cherries by various 

assessment rates. Applying the $0.18 

per ton assessment rate to the 

Committee’s 120,000 ton crop estimate 

should provide $21,600 in assessment 

income. Thus, income derived from 

handler assessments and interest ($5) 

plus $42,795 from the Committee’s 

monetary reserve would be adequate to 

cover the recommended $64,400 budget 

for 2012–2013. Funds in the reserve 

were $107,074 as of March 31, 2012. 

The Committee estimates a reserve of 

$64,279 on March 31, 2013, which 

would be within the maximum 

permitted by the order of approximately 

one fiscal period’s operational expenses. 

The assessment rate established in 

this rule will continue in effect 

indefinitely unless modified, 

suspended, or terminated by USDA 

upon recommendation and information 

submitted by the Committee or other 

available information. 

Although this assessment rate is 

effective for an indefinite period, the 

Committee will continue to meet prior 

to or during each fiscal period to 

recommend a budget of expenses and 

consider recommendations for 

modification of the assessment rate. The 

dates and times of Committee meetings 

are available from the Committee or 

USDA. Committee meetings are open to 

the public and interested persons may 

express their views at these meetings. 

USDA will evaluate Committee 

recommendations and other available 

information to determine whether 

modification of the assessment rate is 

needed. Further rulemaking will be 

undertaken as necessary. The 

Committee’s 2012–2013 budget and 

those for subsequent fiscal periods will 

be reviewed and, as appropriate, 

approved by USDA. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

Pursuant to requirements set forth in 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) (5 

U.S.C. 601–612), the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) has 

considered the economic impact of this 

rule on small entities. Accordingly, 

AMS has prepared this initial regulatory 

flexibility analysis. 

The purpose of the RFA is to fit 

regulatory actions to the scale of 

business subject to such actions in order 

that small businesses will not be unduly 

or disproportionately burdened. 

Marketing orders issued pursuant to the 

Act, and the rules issued thereunder, are 

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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 72685 

unique in that they are brought about 

through group action of essentially 

small entities acting on their own 

behalf. 

There are 53 handlers of Washington 

sweet cherries subject to regulation 

under the order and approximately 

1,500 producers in the regulated 

production area. Small agricultural 

service firms are defined by the Small 

Business Administration (13 CFR 

121.201) as those having annual receipts 

of less than $7,000,000, and small 

agricultural producers are defined as 

those having annual receipts of less than 

$750,000. 

National Agricultural Statistics 

Service has prepared a preliminary 

report for the 2011 shipping season 

showing that the sweet cherry fresh 

market utilization of 165,000 tons sold 

for an average of $2,300 per ton. Based 

on the number of producers in the 

production area (1,500), the average 

producer revenue from the sale of sweet 

cherries in 2011 can therefore be 

estimated at approximately $253,000 

per year. In addition, the Committee 

reports that most of the industry’s 53 

handlers would have each averaged 

gross receipts of less than $7,500,000 

from the sale of fresh sweet cherries last 

season. Thus, the majority of producers 

and handlers of Washington sweet 

cherries may be classified as small 

entities. 

This rule decreases the assessment 

rate established for the Committee and 

collected from handlers for the 2012– 

2013 and subsequent fiscal periods from 

$0.40 to $0.18 per ton of sweet cherries. 

The Committee also unanimously 

recommended 2012–2013 expenditures 

of $64,400. The assessment rate of $0.18 

is $0.22 lower than the previous rate. 

The quantity of assessable sweet 

cherries for the 2012–2013 fiscal period 

is estimated at 120,000 tons. Thus, the 

$0.18 rate should provide $21,600 in 

assessment income. Income derived 

from handler assessments, along with 

interest income and funds from the 

Committee’s authorized reserve, will be 

adequate to cover budgeted expenses. 

The Committee recommended the 

assessment rate decrease for the purpose 

of decreasing the monetary reserve, 

which is approximately $107,074. With 

this recommended assessment rate and 

budget, the Committee may need to 

draw $42,795 from its monetary reserve, 

thus helping to decrease the reserve to 

a level that is less than approximately 

one fiscal period’s operating expenses, 

the maximum permitted by the order. 

The major expenditures 

recommended by the Committee for the 

2012–2013 fiscal period include $20,000 

for administration and data management 

fees; $35,000 for Committee expenses 

such as travel, accounting, and 

compliance; $5,000 for contingency; and 

$4,400 for office expenses—including 

bonds, insurance, telephone, office 

equipment and supplies. Budgeted 

expenses for these items in 2011–2012 

were $22,500, $38,000, $2,500, and 

$9,200, respectively. 

The Committee discussed alternatives 

to this rule. Leaving the assessment rate 

at the current $0.40 per ton was initially 

considered, but not recommended 

because of the Committee’s desire to 

decrease the level of the monetary 

reserve so that it is not more than 

approximately one fiscal period’s 

operational expenses. 

A review of historical information and 

preliminary information pertaining to 

the upcoming fiscal period indicates 

that the producer price for the 2012– 

2013 fiscal period could average $2,300 

per ton of sweet cherries. Therefore, the 

estimated assessment revenue for the 

2012–2013 fiscal period as a percentage 

of total producer revenue is 0.008 

percent. 

This action decreases the assessment 

obligation imposed on handlers. 

Assessments are applied uniformly on 

all handlers, and some of the costs may 

be passed on to producers. However, 

decreasing the assessment rate reduces 

the burden on handlers, and may reduce 

the burden on producers. In addition, 

the Committee’s meeting was widely 

publicized throughout the Washington 

sweet cherry industry and all interested 

persons were invited to attend the 

meeting and participate in Committee 

deliberations on all issues. Like all 

Committee meetings, the May 15, 2012, 

meeting was a public meeting and all 

entities, both large and small, were able 

to express views on this issue. Finally, 

interested persons are invited to submit 

comments on this interim rule, 

including the regulatory and 

informational impacts of this action on 

small businesses. 

In accordance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995, (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35), the order’s information 

collection requirements have been 

previously approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) and 

assigned OMB No. 0581–0189, Generic 

Fruit Crops. No changes in those 

requirements as a result of this action 

are necessary. Should any changes 

become necessary, they would be 

submitted to OMB for approval. 

This action imposes no additional 

reporting or recordkeeping requirements 

on either small or large Washington 

sweet cherry handlers. As with all 

Federal marketing order programs, 

reports and forms are periodically 

reviewed to reduce information 

requirements and duplication by 

industry and public sector agencies. 

AMS is committed to complying with 

the E-Government Act, to promote the 

use of the Internet and other 

information technologies to provide 

increased opportunities for citizen 

access to Government information and 

services, and for other purposes. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this rule. 

A small business guide on complying 

with fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop 

marketing agreements and orders may 

be viewed at: www.ams.usda.gov/ 

MarketingOrdersSmallBusinessGuide. 

Any questions about the compliance 

guide should be sent to Laurel May at 

the previously mentioned address in the 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

section. 

After consideration of all relevant 

material presented, including the 

information and recommendation 

submitted by the Committee and other 

available information, it is hereby found 

that this rule, as hereinafter set forth, 

will tend to effectuate the declared 

policy of the Act. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, it is also 

found and determined upon good cause 

that it is impracticable, unnecessary, 

and contrary to the public interest to 

give preliminary notice prior to putting 

this rule into effect, and that good cause 

exists for not postponing the effective 

date of this rule until 30 days after 

publication in the Federal Register 

because: (1) The 2012–2013 fiscal 

period began on April 1, 2012, and the 

marketing order requires that the rate of 

assessment for each fiscal period apply 

to all assessable sweet cherries handled 

during such fiscal period; (2) this action 

decreases the assessment rate for 

assessable sweet cherries beginning 

with the 2012–2013 fiscal period; (3) 

handlers are aware of this action, which 

was unanimously recommended by the 

Committee at a public meeting and is 

similar to other assessment rate actions 

issued in past years; and (4) this interim 

rule provides a 60-day comment period, 

and all comments timely received will 

be considered prior to finalization of 

this rule. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 923 

Cherries, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, 7 CFR part 923 is amended as 

follows: 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with 

72686 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 235 / Thursday, December 6, 2012 / Rules and Regulations 

PART 923—SWEET CHERRIES 

GROWN IN DESIGNATED COUNTIES 

IN WASHINGTON 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 923 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 601–674. 

■ 2. Section 923.236 is revised to read 

as follows: 

§ 923.236 Assessment rate. 

On and after April 1, 2012, an 

assessment rate of $0.18 per ton is 

established for the Washington Cherry 

Marketing Committee. 

Dated: November 30, 2012. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator, Agricultural Marketing 

Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–29436 Filed 12–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Parts 417 

[Docket No. FSIS–2012–0007] 

HACCP Plan Reassessment for NotReady-To-Eat Comminuted Poultry 

Products and Related Agency 

Verification Procedures 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Compliance with the HACCP 

system regulations and request for 

comments 

SUMMARY: 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 their 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 verifying that establishments that 

manufacture comminuted NRTE turkey 

or chicken product, as a final or 

intermediary product for further 

processing as NRTE product, have 

reassessed their 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 subsequentlyproduced like product adulterated. 

In addition, FSIS is expanding its 

Salmonella Verification Sampling 

Program for Raw Meat and Poultry 

product to include all forms of nonbreaded, non-battered comminuted 

NRTE poultry product that are not 

destined under company control 

programs for further processing into 

RTE products in official establishments. 

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. No sooner than 90 days after 

publication of this 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 following validation of 

an analytic method. 

FSIS invites comments on this notice. 

DATES: The Agency must receive 

comments by March 6, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

notice. Comments may be submitted by 

either 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: Send to 

Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, Patriots Plaza 3, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Mailstop 

3782 Room 8–163A, Washington, DC 

20250–3700. 

Hand- or courier-delivered submittals: 

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 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 to comments received, go 

to the FSIS Docket Room at Patriots 

Plaza 3, 355 E Street SW., Room 8–164, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700 between 

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

through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information: Contact Rachel Edelstein, 

Assistant Administrator, Office of Policy 

and Program Development, at (202) 

205–0495, or by fax at (202) 720–2025. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

FSIS administers a regulatory program 

under the Federal Meat Inspection Act 

(FMIA) (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the 

Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) 

(21 U.S.C. 453 et seq.) to protect the 

health and welfare of consumers by 

preventing the distribution in commerce 

of meat or poultry products that are 

adulterated or misbranded. In pursuit of 

its goal of reducing the risk of foodborne 

illness from meat and poultry products 

to the maximum extent possible, FSIS 

issued final regulations on July 25, 

1996, that mandated the development 

and implementation of Pathogen 

Reduction and Hazard Analysis and 

Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems 

by federally inspected establishments 

(61 FR 38806). These regulations require 

that federally inspected establishments 

take preventive and corrective measures 

at each stage of the food production 

process where food safety hazards are 

likely to occur. The HACCP regulations 

(9 CFR 417.2(a)) require establishments 

to conduct a hazard analysis to 

determine what food safety hazards are 

reasonably likely to occur in the 

production process of particular 

products and to identify the preventive 

measures that the establishment can 

apply to control those hazards. 

Section 417.2(a)(1) of the HACCP 

regulations states that a food safety 

hazard that is reasonably likely to occur 

is one for which a prudent 

establishment would establish control 

measures because the hazard 

historically has occurred, or because 

there is a reasonable possibility that it 

will occur in the particular type of 

product being processed, in the absence 

of those controls. Whenever a hazard 

analysis reveals that one or more 

hazards are reasonably likely to occur in 

the production process, the regulations 

require that the establishment develop 

and implement a written HACCP plan 

that includes specific control measures 

for each hazard identified (9 CFR 

417.2(b)(1) and (c)). 

Section 417.4(a)(3) of the regulations 

requires that every establishment 

reassess the adequacy of its HACCP plan 

at least annually and whenever any 

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