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

48112 

Vol. 79, No. 158 

Friday, August 15, 2014 

1Lawrence et al., 2008, Journal of Animal Science 

86:1434 

2Lawrence et al., 2001, Journal of Animal Science 

79:1683 

3Acheson et al., 2014, Journal of Animal Science 

92:1792 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Doc. No. AMS–LPS–14–0052] 

United States Standards for Grades of 

Carcass Beef 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice, request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) of the Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is seeking public 

comments on revising the United States 

Standards for Grades of Carcass Beef. 

USDA is requesting comments 

concerning, but not limited to, the beef 

yield grade standard and carcass 

maturity. The current standards do not 

adequately reflect the genetic and 

production changes that have taken 

place in the cattle population since 1965 

when a cutability or yield grade 

standard was first adopted. In 1997, the 

maturity requirements were changed to 

improve uniformity and consistency. 

Since that time, research has indicated 

that carcasses from fed steers and 

heifers less than 30 months of age, based 

on dentition, should be classified ‘‘A’’ 

maturity for grading purposes even 

though the skeletal maturity 

characteristics of ‘‘B’’ or older may be 

present. Industry and other groups have 

discussed the possibility of changing the 

grade standards for carcass beef with 

AMS. 

DATES: Comments on revising the 

standard are due no later than 

November 13, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to 

Beef Carcass Revisions, Standardization 

Branch, LPS Program, AMS, USDA, 

1400 Independence Ave., SW., STOP 

0258, Washington, DC 20250. 

Comments may also be sent by fax to: 

(202) 690–2746 or by email to: 

(beefcarcassrevisions@ams.usda.gov). 

For additional information, please 

contact Lawrence Yates at: 

Lawrence.Yates@ams.usda.gov, or (402) 

621–0836. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act 

of 1946, as amended, directs and 

authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture 

‘‘to develop and improve standards of 

quality, condition, quantity, grade, and 

packaging and recommend and 

demonstrate such standards in order to 

encourage uniformity and consistency 

in commercial practices.’’ AMS is 

committed to carrying out this authority 

in a manner that facilitates the 

marketing of agricultural commodities 

and makes copies of official standards 

available upon request. The United 

States Standards for Grades of Carcass 

Beef do not appear in the Code of 

Federal Regulations but are maintained 

by USDA. These standards are located 

on USDA’s Web site at http://

www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/LSSTDZ. 

on the right side of the Web page select 

Standards to locate the Beef Carcass 

Grade Standard. To change the United 

States Standards for Grades of Carcass 

Beef, AMS plans to utilize the 

procedures it published in the August 

13, 1997, Federal Register and that 

appear in part 36 of Title 7 of the Code 

of Federal Regulations (7 CFR part 36). 

Background: Federal beef grading is a 

voluntary fee for service program, 

provided under the Agricultural 

Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 

U.S.C. 1621 et seq.). A primary purpose 

of grades is to divide the population of 

cattle and beef into uniform groups (of 

similar quality, yield, value, etc.), in 

order to facilitate marketing. Grades 

provide a simple, effective means of 

describing a product that is easily 

understood by both buyers and sellers. 

By identifying separate and distinct 

segments of a commodity, grades enable 

buyers to obtain that particular portion 

of the entire range of a commodity that 

meets their individual needs. At the 

same time, grades are important in 

transmitting information to cattlemen to 

help ensure informed decisions are 

made. For example, the market 

preference for a particular grade of beef 

is communicated to cattle producers so 

they can adjust their production 

accordingly. 

When beef is voluntarily graded, the 

official grade consists of a quality grade 

and/or a yield grade. The quality grades 

are intended to identify differences in 

the palatability or eating satisfaction of 

cooked beef principally through the 

characteristics of marbling and maturity. 

The principal official USDA quality 

grades for young (maturity groups ‘‘A’’ 

and ‘‘B’’) cattle and carcasses are Prime, 

Choice, Select, and Standard. 

USDA recognizes that the beef 

standards must be relevant to be of 

greatest value to stakeholders. 

Recommendations for changes in the 

standards may be initiated by USDA or 

by interested parties. The beef yield 

grade standard and equation was 

developed 50 years ago, and the cattle 

industry has undergone considerable 

change during those years. At that time, 

carcasses weighed in the 500 to 600 

pound weight range. Today, carcasses 

average weight is in the 800 to 900 

pound range, a 50 percent increase. 

These carcasses are clearly beyond the 

scope of USDA’s current yield grade 

equation. This is illustrated by research1

that has shown the application of the 

USDA’s yield grade equation introduces 

a ribeye area bias, thereby skewing 

carcass values. It is imperative that the 

current yield grade standard and 

associated metrics be applicable to 

today’s carcass population. 

Significant changes (such as feeding 

regimes—grass fed versus grain fed, 

instrument grading, management, and 

export requirements) have taken place 

in the beef industry since the current 

grade standards were adopted. 

Research 2 revealed physiological 

maturity and its relation to 

chronological age, as estimated by 

dentition, results in a gender-dependent 

maturity misclassification. Further, 

carcasses from fed cattle under 30 

months of age resulted in equivalent 

tenderness and trained taste panel 

assessments between ‘‘A’’ and ‘‘B’’ 

maturity groups.3 Gender bias in 

maturity misclassification of carcasses 

from cattle under 30 months results in 

decreased carcass value even though 

tenderness and expert taste panel 

outcomes are the same. Grades of beef 

carcasses are intended to be related both 

in value and with consumer acceptance. 

Collectively, the above discussion 

indicates that the current standards may 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 158 / Friday, August 15, 2014 / Notices 48113 

be improved by reexamining beef 

carcass yield grade as well as the 

methodology for maturity assessment. 

AMS is soliciting comments from 

stakeholders about whether changes in 

the beef carcass yield grade standards 

and the methodology for maturity 

assessment should be made, and if so, 

what specific changes should be made. 

If, after analyzing the comments, AMS 

determines that changes are warranted, 

a notice will be published in the 

Federal Register proposing specific 

changes. Interested parties will have an 

opportunity to comment prior to a final 

decision adopting any changes. 

AMS is also soliciting comments on a 

review of the Department’s beef 

instrument-grading program that was 

conducted by the American Meat 

Science Association in response to a 

USDA Office of Inspector General 

Report No. 50601–0002–31, issued July 

2013. The beef grading instrument uses 

elements of the United States Standards 

for Grades of Carcass Beef. The report 

and review are available at http://

www.ams.usda.gov/

PublicationsInstrumentGradingSystems. 

Dated: August 11, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19309 Filed 8–14–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2014–0018] 

Codex Alimentarius Commission: 

Meeting of the Codex Committee on 

Food Hygiene (CCFH) 

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary 

for Food Safety, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under 

Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA), and 

the Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring 

a public meeting on October 23, 2014. 

The objective of the public meeting is to 

provide information and receive public 

comments on agenda items and draft 

United States (U.S.) positions that will 

be discussed at the 46th Session of the 

Codex Committee on Food Hygiene 

(CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius 

Commission (Codex), in Lima, Peru, 

November 17–21, 2014. The Under 

Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA 

recognize the importance of providing 

interested parties the opportunity to 

obtain background information on the 

46th Session of CCFH and to address 

items on the agenda. 

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled 

for October 23, 2014, from 1:00–4:00 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will 

take place at the Jamie L. Whitten 

Building, United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), 1400 Independence 

Avenue SW., Room 107–A, Washington, 

DC 20250. 

Documents related to the 46th Session 

of the CCFH will be accessible via the 

World Wide Web at the following 

address: http://

www.codexalimentarius.org/meetingsreports/en/. 

Jenny Scott, U.S. Delegate to the 46th 

Session of the CCFH, invites U.S. 

interested parties to submit their 

comments electronically to the 

following email address Jenny.Scott@

fda.hhs.gov. 

Call In Number: 

If you wish to participate in the 

public meeting for the 46th Session of 

the CCFH by conference call, please use 

the call in number listed below. 

Call in Number: 1–888–844–9904. 

The participant code will be listed on 

the following link closer to the meeting 

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

portal/fsis/topics/international-affairs/

us-codex-alimentarius/public-meetings. 

For Further Information About the 

46th Session of CCFH Contact: Jenny 

Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food 

Safety, Center for Food Safety and 

Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug 

Administration, 5100 Paint Branch 

Parkway, HFS–300, Room 3B–014, 

College Park, MD 20740–3835, Phone: 

(240) 402–2166, Fax: (202) 436–2632, 

Email: Jenny.Scott@fda.hhs.gov 

For Further Information About the 

Public Meeting Contact: Barbara McNiff, 

U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence 

Ave SW., Room 4861, Washington, DC, 

20250, Phone: (202) 690–4719, Fax: 

(202) 720–3157, Email: Barbara.McNiff@

fsis.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Codex was established in 1963 by two 

United Nations organizations, the Food 

and Agriculture Organization and the 

World Health Organization. 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 

and ensure that fair practices are used 

in the food trade. 

The CCFH is responsible for: 

(a) Drafting basic provisions on food 

hygiene applicable to all food; 

(b) Considering, amending if 

necessary, and endorsing provisions on 

hygiene prepared by Codex commodity 

committees and contained in Codex 

commodity standards; 

(c) Considering, amending if 

necessary, and endorsing provisions on 

hygiene prepared by Codex commodity 

committees and contained in Codex 

codes of practice unless, in specific 

cases, the Commission has decided 

otherwise; 

(d) Drafting provisions on hygiene 

applicable to specific food items or food 

groups, whether coming within the 

terms of reference of a Codex 

commodity committee or not; 

(e) Considering specific hygiene 

problems assigned to it by the 

Commission; 

(f) Suggesting and prioritizing areas 

where there is a need for 

microbiological risk assessment at the 

international level and developing 

questions to be addressed by the risk 

assessors; and 

(g) Considering microbiological risk 

management matters in relation to food 

hygiene, including food irradiation, and 

in relation to the risk assessment of 

FAO/WHO. 

The CCFH is hosted by the United 

States. 

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public 

Meeting 

The following items on the Agenda 

for the 46th Session of the CCFH will be 

discussed during the public meeting: 

• Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for 

Low-Moisture Foods 

• Draft Guidelines for Control of 

Specific Zoonotic Parasites in Meat: 

Trichinella spp. 

• Proposed Draft Guidelines for the 

Control of Non typhoidal Salmonella 

spp. In Beef and Pork Meat 

• Proposed Draft Guidelines on the 

Application of General Principles of 

Food Hygiene to the Control of 

Foodborne Parasites. 

• Proposed Draft Annex on statistical 

and mathematical considerations to 

the Principles and Guidelines for the 

Establishment and Application of 

Microbiological criteria Related to 

Foods 

• Discussion paper on the need to 

revise the Code of Hygienic Practice 

for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables 

• Proposals for new work 

Each issue listed will be fully 

described in documents distributed, or 

to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior 

to the Committee meeting. Members of 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES