8086 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 

early stage human embryos, up to and 

including the blastocyst stage, are 

capable of dividing without 

differentiating for a prolonged period in 

culture, and are known to develop into 

cells and tissues of the three primary 

germ layers.’’ 

This proposed change in no way 

alters the rigorous ethical standards set 

forth in the Guidelines. 

DATES: Written comments on this 

proposed change must be received by 

NIH on or before March 25, 2010 in 

order to be considered. 

ADDRESSES: Public comments may be 

may be entered at: http:// 

hescregapp.od.nih.gov/comments/ 

add.htm. 

Comments may also be mailed to: NIH 

Stem Cell Guidelines, MSC 7997, 9000 

Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 

20892–7997. Comments will be made 

publicly available. Personally 

identifiable information (except for 

organizational affiliations) will be 

removed prior to making comments 

publicly available. 

Dated: February 16, 2010. 

Francis S. Collins, 

Director, National Institutes of Health. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3527 Filed 2–19–10; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4140–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

[Docket No. FDA–2010–N–0085] 

Preventive Controls for Fresh Produce; 

Request for Comments 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notice; request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) is announcing the 

opening of a docket to obtain 

information about current practices and 

conditions for the production and 

packing of fresh produce. FDA is 

establishing this docket in order to 

provide an opportunity for interested 

parties to provide information and share 

views that will inform the development 

of safety standards for fresh produce at 

the farm and packing house and 

strategies and cooperative efforts to 

ensure compliance. 

DATES: Submit electronic or written 

comments by May 24, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Submit electronic 

comments to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Submit written 

comments to the Division of Dockets 

Management (HFA–305), Food and Drug 

Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 

1061, Rockville, MD 20852. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle A. Smith, Center for Food 

Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS– 

317), Food and Drug Administration, 

5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, 

MD 20740–3835, 301–436–2024. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

On March 19, 2009, President Barack 

Obama established a new Food Safety 

Working Group (FSWG), chaired by the 

Secretaries of the Department of Health 

and Human Services and the 

Department of Agriculture. In 

announcing creation of the FSWG, the 

President said the group would advise 

him on how to upgrade U.S. food safety 

laws for the 21st century, foster 

coordination of food safety efforts 

throughout the Government, and ensure 

laws are being adequately enforced to 

keep the American people safe from 

foodborne illness (Ref. 1). 

On July 1, 2009, the FSWG 

recommended a new public healthfocused approach to food safety based 

on three core principles: (1) Prioritizing 

prevention; (2) strengthening 

surveillance and enforcement; and (3) 

improving response and recovery (Ref. 

1). The FSWG announced steps to be 

taken by FDA and other Federal 

agencies to achieve these goals. 

With regard to fresh produce, the 

FSWG announced that FDA would issue 

‘‘commodity-specific draft guidance on 

preventive controls that industry can 

implement to reduce the risk of 

microbial contamination in the 

production and distribution of tomatoes, 

melons, and leafy greens’’ (Ref. 1). The 

FSWG also announced that FDA, over 

the next 2 years, would ‘‘seek public 

comment and work to require adoption 

of these approaches through regulation’’ 

(Ref. 1). 

On August 3, 2009, FDA made 

available draft guidances to industry for 

leafy greens, melons, and tomatoes 

(Refs. 3 through 5). FDA is now 

establishing a docket in order to provide 

an opportunity for interested parties to 

provide information and share views 

that will inform the development of: (1) 

Safety standards for fresh produce at the 

farm and packing house and (2) 

strategies and cooperative efforts to 

ensure compliance. 

II. Request for Comments and 

Information 

We are requesting comments that will 

inform the development of: (1) Safety 

standards for fresh produce at the farm 

and packing house and (2) strategies and 

cooperative efforts to ensure 

compliance. In particular, we welcome 

input on any of these general categories: 

• Role of the good agricultural 

practice guidelines entitled ‘‘Guide to 

Minimize Microbial Food Safety 

Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables’’ 

(GAPs Guide, Ref. 6); 

• Standards for domestic and foreign 

growers and packers; 

• Identification and prioritization of 

risk factors; 

• Environmental assessment of 

hazards and possible pathways of 

contamination; 

• The impact of scale of growing 

operations on the nature and degree of 

possible food safety hazards; 

• Methods to tailor preventive 

controls to particular hazards and 

conditions affecting an operation; 

• Possible approaches to tailoring 

preventive controls to the scale of an 

operation so that the controls achieve an 

appropriate level of food safety 

protection and are feasible for a wide 

range of large and small operations; 

• Coordination of produce food safety 

practices and sustainable and/or organic 

production methods; 

• Coordination of produce food safety 

practices and environmental and/or 

conservation goals or practices; 

• Coordination of produce food safety 

practices and Federal, State, local and 

tribal government statutes and 

regulations; 

• Microbial testing; 

• Post-harvest operations and the role 

of the current good manufacturing 

practices in 21 CFR part 110; 

• Records and other documentation 

that would be useful to industry and 

regulators in ensuring the safety of fresh 

produce; and 

• Strategies to enhance compliance. 

The agency will consider information 

submitted to the docket in developing 

safety standards for fresh produce. 

Comments previously submitted to the 

Division of Dockets Management for the 

following dockets will also be 

considered by FDA and do not need to 

be resubmitted: 

• ‘‘Draft Guidance for Industry: Guide 

to Minimize Microbial Food Safety 

Hazards of Tomatoes; Availability’’ (74 

FR 38438, August 3, 2009; Docket No. 

FDA–2009–D–0346); 

• ‘‘Draft Guidance for Industry: Guide 

to Minimize Microbial Food Safety 

Hazards of Melons’’ (74 FR 38437, 

August 3, 2009; Docket No. FDA–2009– 

D–0347); 

• ‘‘Draft Guidance for Industry: Guide 

to Minimize Microbial Food Safety 

Hazards of Leafy Greens; Availability’’ 

(74 FR 38439, August 3, 2009; Docket 

No. FDA–2009–D–0348); and 

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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 35 / Tuesday, February 23, 2010 / Notices 8087 

• ‘‘Guide to Minimize Microbial Food 

Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and 

Vegetables; Request for Comments and 

for Scientific Data and Information’’ (73 

FR 51306, September 2, 2008; Docket 

No. FDA–2008–N–0455). 

III. Comments 

Interested persons may submit to the 

Division of Dockets Management (see 

ADDRESSES) electronic or written 

comments regarding this docket. Submit 

a single copy of electronic comments or 

two paper copies of any mailed 

comments, except that individuals may 

submit one paper copy. Comments are 

to be identified with the docket number 

found in brackets in the heading of this 

document. Received comments may be 

seen in the Division of Dockets 

Management between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. 

IV. References 

FDA has placed the following 

references on display in FDA’s Division 

of Dockets Management (see 

ADDRESSES). You may see them between 

9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through 

Friday. (FDA has verified the Web site 

addresses, but FDA is not responsible 

for any subsequent changes to Web sites 

after this document publishes in the 

Federal Register.) 

1. Food Safety Working Group, ‘‘Food 

Safety Working Group: Key Findings’’ 

(July 1, 2009), Available at http:// 

www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.gov/ 

ContentKeyFindings/HomeKey

Findings.htm, Accessed and printed on 

January 11, 2010. 

2. Food Safety Working Group, 

‘‘President’s Food Safety Working 

Group: Delivering Results,’’ Available at 

http://www.foodsafetyworking

group.gov/FSWG_Fact_Sheet.pdf, 

Accessed and printed on January 11, 

2010. 

3. FDA, ‘‘Draft Guidance for Industry: 

Guide to Minimize Microbial Food 

Safety Hazards of Tomatoes; 

Availability’’ (74 FR 38438, August 3, 

2009). 

4. FDA, ‘‘Draft Guidance for Industry: 

Guide to Minimize Microbial Food 

Safety Hazards of Melons’’ (74 FR 38437, 

August 3, 2009). 

5. FDA, ‘‘Draft Guidance for Industry: 

Guide to Minimize Microbial Food 

Safety Hazards of Leafy Greens; 

Availability’’ (74 FR 38439, August 3, 

2009). 

6. FDA, ‘‘Guidance for Industry: Guide 

to Minimize Microbial Food Safety 

Hazards for Fresh Fruits and 

Vegetables,’’ October 26, 1998, Available 

at http://www.fda.gov/Food/Guidance

ComplianceRegulatoryInformation/

GuidanceDocuments/ProduceandPlan

Products/ucm064574.htm. 

Dated: February 17, 2010. 

Leslie Kux, 

Acting Assistant Commissioner for Policy. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3409 Filed 2–18–10; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 4160–01–S 

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND 

SECURITY 

Office of the Secretary 

[Docket No. DHS–2010–0009] 

DHS Data Privacy and Integrity 

Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Privacy Office, DHS. 

ACTION: Notice of Federal Advisory 

Committee Meeting. 

SUMMARY: The DHS Data Privacy and 

Integrity Advisory Committee will meet 

on March 18, 2010, in Washington, DC. 

The meeting will be open to the public. 

DATES: The DHS Data Privacy and 

Integrity Advisory Committee will meet 

on Thursday, March 18, 2010, from 8:30 

a.m. to 1 p.m. Please note that the 

meeting may end early if the Committee 

has completed its business. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the US Citizenship and Immigration 

Services Tomich Center, 111 

Massachusetts Ave, NW., (corner of 

New Jersey Avenue) Washington, DC 

20529. Written materials, requests to 

make oral presentations, and requests to 

have a copy of your materials 

distributed to each member of the 

Committee prior to the meeting should 

be sent to Martha K. Landesberg, 

Executive Director, DHS Data Privacy 

and Integrity Advisory Committee, by 

March 11, 2010. Persons who wish to 

submit comments and who are not able 

to attend or speak at the meeting may 

submit comments at any time. All 

submissions must include the Docket 

Number (DHS–2010–0009) and may be 

submitted by any one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• E-mail: PrivacyCommittee@dhs.gov. 

Include the Docket Number (DHS– 

2010–0009) in the subject line of the 

message. 

• Fax: (703) 483–2999. 

• Mail: Martha K. Landesberg, 

Executive Director, Data Privacy and 

Integrity Advisory Committee, 

Department of Homeland Security, 

Washington, DC 20528. 

Instructions: All submissions must 

include the words ‘‘Department of 

Homeland Security Data Privacy and 

Integrity Advisory Committee’’ and the 

Docket Number (DHS–2010–0009). 

Comments will be posted without 

alteration at http://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received by the DHS Data 

Privacy and Integrity Advisory 

Committee, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Martha K. Landesberg, Executive 

Director, DHS Data Privacy and Integrity 

Advisory Committee, Department of 

Homeland Security, Washington, DC 

20528, by telephone (703) 235–0780, by 

fax (703) 235–0442, or by e-mail to 

PrivacyCommittee@dhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of 

this meeting is given under the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5 

U.S.C. App. (Pub. L. 92–463). During the 

meeting, the Chief Privacy Officer will 

provide the DHS Data Privacy and 

Integrity Advisory Committee an update 

on the activities of the DHS Privacy 

Office. The Committee will also hear 

presentations on the Department’s cyber 

security efforts. In addition, the 

Committee’s subcommittees will discuss 

their ongoing work. The agenda will be 

posted in advance of the meeting on the 

Committee’s Web site at http:// 

www.dhs.gov/privacy. Please note that 

the meeting may end early if all 

business is completed. 

If you wish to attend the meeting, 

please plan to arrive at the Tomich 

Center by 8:15 a.m., to allow extra time 

to be processed through security, and 

bring a photo ID. The DHS Privacy 

Office encourages you to register for the 

meeting in advance by contacting 

Martha K. Landesberg, Executive 

Director, DHS Data Privacy and Integrity 

Advisory Committee, at 

PrivacyCommittee@dhs.gov. Advance 

registration is voluntary. The Privacy 

Act Statement below explains how DHS 

uses the registration information you 

may provide and how you may access 

or correct information retained by DHS, 

if any. At the discretion of the Chair, 

members of the public may make brief 

(i.e., no more than three minutes) oral 

presentations from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. 

If you would like to make an oral 

presentation at the meeting, we request 

that you register in advance or sign up 

on the day of the meeting. The names 

and affiliations, if any, of individuals 

who address the Committee are 

included in the public record of the 

meeting. If you wish to provide written 

materials to be distributed to each 

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