This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

10104 

Vol. 78, No. 30 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

7 CFR Part 1210 

[Document Number AMS–FV–11–0031] 

Watermelon Research and Promotion 

Plan; Importer Membership 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: This rule proposes to amend 

the Watermelon Research and 

Promotion Plan (Plan) importer 

membership requirements to serve on 

the National Watermelon Promotion 

Board (Board). The Board recommended 

to eliminate the requirement that an 

importer import more than 50 percent of 

the total volume handled and imported 

in order to qualify as an importer 

member. This change would allow for 

additional parties to qualify as an 

importer member. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

March 15, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments on 

the Internet at: http:// 

www.regulations.gov or to the 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA) 

Room 0632–S, Stop 0244, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–0244; facsimile: 

(202) 205–2800. All comments should 

reference the docket number and the 

date and page number of this issue of 

the Federal Register and will be made 

available for public inspection in the 

above office during regular business 

hours or it can be viewed at http:// 

www.regulations.gov. All comments 

received will be posted without change, 

including any personal information 

provided. Please be advised that the 

identity of the individuals or entities 

submitting comments will be made 

public on the Internet at the address 

provided above. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jeanette Palmer, Marketing Specialist, 

Promotion and Economics Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, AMS, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Stop 0244, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 

0632–S, Washington, DC 20250–0244; 

telephone: (888) 720–9917; facsimile: 

(202) 205–2800; or electronic mail: 

Jeanette.Palmer@ams.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This rule 

is issued under the Watermelon 

Research and Promotion Plan [7 CFR 

part 1210]. The Plan is authorized under 

the Watermelon Research and 

Promotion Act (Act) [7 U.S.C. 4901– 

4916]. 

Executive Order 12866 and Executive 

Order 13563 

Executive Orders 12866 and 13563 

direct agencies to assess all costs and 

benefits of available regulatory 

alternatives and, if regulation is 

necessary, to select regulatory 

approaches that maximize net benefits 

(including potential economic, 

environmental, public health and safety 

effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). Executive Order 13563 

emphasizes the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This rule 

has been designated as ‘‘non-significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866. Accordingly, 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) has waived the review process. 

Executive Order 12988 

In addition, this rule has been 

reviewed under Executive Order 12988, 

Civil Justice Reform. The rule is not 

intended to have retroactive effect. 

The Act allows producers, producerpackers, handlers, and importers to file 

a written petition with the Secretary of 

Agriculture (Secretary) if they believe 

that the Plan, any provision of the Plan, 

or any obligation imposed in connection 

with the Plan, is not established in 

accordance with the law. In any 

petition, the person may request a 

modification of the Plan or an 

exemption from the Plan. The petitioner 

will have the opportunity for a hearing 

on the petition. Afterwards, an 

Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) will 

issue a decision. If the petitioner 

disagrees with the ALJ’s ruling, the 

petitioner has 30 days to appeal to the 

Judicial Officer, who will issue a ruling 

on behalf of the Secretary. If the 

petitioner disagrees with the Secretary’s 

ruling, the petitioner may file, within 20 

days, an appeal in the U.S. District 

Court for the district where the 

petitioner resides or conducts business. 

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Act and 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act [5 U.S.C. 601–612], AMS 

has examined the economic impact of 

this rule on the small producers, 

handlers, and importers that would be 

affected by this rule. 

The Small Business Administration 

defines, in 13 CFR part 121, small 

agricultural producers as those having 

annual receipts of no more than 

$750,000 and small agricultural service 

firms (handlers and importers) as those 

having annual receipts of no more than 

$7 million. Under these definitions, the 

majority of the producers, handlers, and 

importers that would be affected by this 

rule would be considered small entities. 

Producers of less than 10 acres of 

watermelons are exempt from this 

program. Importers of less than 150,000 

pounds of watermelons per year are also 

exempt. 

USDA’s National Agricultural 

Statistics Service (NASS) data for the 

2011 crop year was about 312 

hundredweight (cwt.) of watermelons 

were produced per acre. The 2011 

grower price published by NASS was 

$14.00 per hundredweight. Thus, the 

value of watermelon production per 

acre in 2011 averaged about $4,368 (312 

cwt. × $14.00). At that average price, a 

producer would have to farm over 172 

acres to receive an annual income from 

watermelons of $750,000 ($750,000 

divided by $4,368 per acre equals 172). 

Accordingly, as previously noted, a 

majority of the watermelon producers 

would be classified as small businesses. 

Based on the Board’s data, using an 

average of freight on board (f.o.b.) price 

of $.164 per pound and the number of 

pounds handled in 2011, none of the 

watermelon handlers had receipts over 

the $7.5 million threshold. Therefore, 

the watermelon handlers would all be 

considered small businesses. A handler 

would have to ship over 45.7 million 

pounds of watermelons to be considered 

large (457,317,073 times $.164 f.o.b. 

equals $7,500,000). 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 10105 

According to the Board, there are 

approximately 950 producers, 230 

handlers, and 137 importers who are 

required to pay assessments under the 

program. 

Based on the watermelon import 

assessments received for the year 2011, 

the United States imported watermelons 

worth over $211 million dollars. The 

largest imports of watermelon came 

from Mexico which accounted for 89 

percent of the total in 2011. Other 

suppliers of imported watermelon are 

Guatemala at 8 percent and Costa Rica 

at 1 percent. The remaining 2 percent of 

imported watermelon came from 

Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Vietnam, 

Canada, Dominican Republic, and 

Israel. 

The Board’s audit records show 

imports for the fiscal years 2009, 2010, 

and 2011 at $754,760, $746,043, and 

$855,890 respectively. Based on this 

data, the three-year average of imports 

for watermelon totals $785,564 

(2,356,693 divided by 3). This 

represents approximately 30 percent of 

the total assessments paid to the Board. 

Currently, the Board membership 

distribution consists of 14 producers, 14 

handlers, 8 importers, and 1 public 

member. A final rule to increase the 

number of importers on the Board was 

published in the July 18, 2011, Federal 

Register [76 FR 42009]. 

The Watermelon Research and 

Promotion Improvement Act of 1993 

amended the Watermelon Research and 

Promotion Act by adding importer 

members to the Board among other 

things. At that time the industry 

recommended that, in order to qualify 

as an importer member on the Board, an 

individual that both handles and 

imports watermelons may vote for 

importer members and serve as an 

importer member if that person imports 

50 percent or more of the combined 

total volume of watermelons handled 

and imported by that person. A final 

rule was published in the Federal 

Register on February 28, 1995 [60 FR 

10795] containing this and other 

amendments to the program. 

At the time of this amendment there 

was a more clear division of roles 

among producers, handlers, and 

importers. In other words, those 

individuals that imported watermelons 

did not cross over into handling or 

producing watermelons as much as they 

do now. Since then, the industry has 

become more consolidated and of the 

137 importers required to pay 

assessments 42 also handled 

watermelons and would be eligible to 

serve as either handler or importer 

member. 

At its February 26, 2011, meeting, the 

Board voted unanimously, to modify the 

importer eligibility requirements to 

serve on the Board. The Board is having 

difficulty finding eligible importers to 

serve on the Board because of the 

requirement in the Plan that a person 

who both imports and handles 

watermelon will be counted as an 

importer if that person imports 50 

percent or more of the combined total 

volume of watermelons handled and 

imported by that person. The Board 

voted to eliminate the 50 percent 

requirement or more of the combined 

total volume of watermelons handled 

and imported by a person to allow more 

individuals to become eligible to serve 

on the Board as an importer. Individuals 

that both handle and import would be 

allowed to decide which part of the 

industry they would prefer to represent 

regardless of the volume handled or 

imported. The industry believes that 

this change would increase the importer 

representation on the Board by allowing 

more individuals to be eligible to serve. 

This action may also increase diversity 

representation on the Board. 

The Board considered a second 

alternative by changing the 50 percent 

or more of the combined total volume of 

watermelons handled and imported by 

the person to 25 percent or more of the 

combined total volume of watermelons 

handled and imported by the person. 

However, the Board did not choose this 

option because they wanted to allow 

more importers to be eligible for 

nomination on the Board and therefore, 

they eliminated the percentage 

requirement. By eliminating the 

percentage requirement for the importer 

member, this will allow for smaller 

importer businesses to become eligible 

to serve as an importer member on the 

Board. 

Section 1655(a) of the Act provides 

for referenda to be conducted to 

ascertain approval of changes to the 

Plan prior to going into effect. In order 

to implement the amendments to the 

Plan, the Secretary determines that the 

Plan has been approved by a majority of 

the producers, handlers, and importers 

of watermelon voting in the referendum. 

Accordingly, before these amendments 

are made to the Plan, a referendum will 

be conducted among eligible producers, 

handlers, and importers of watermelon. 

In accordance with the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

regulation [5 CFR part 1320] which 

implements the Paperwork Reduction 

Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. Chapter 35], have 

been assigned OMB number 0581–0093, 

which represents the information 

collection and recordkeeping 

requirements that are imposed by the 

Plan that have been approved 

previously, except that the background 

form, has been approved under OMB 

number 0505–0001. 

USDA has not identified any relevant 

Federal rules that duplicate, overlap, or 

conflict with this rule. 

We have performed this Initial 

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

regarding the impact of this amendment 

to the Plan on small entities, and we 

invite comments concerning potential 

effects of this amendment. 

Background 

Under the Plan, the Board administers 

a nationally coordinated program of 

research, development, advertising, and 

promotion designed to strengthen the 

watermelon’s position in the market 

place and to establish, maintain, and 

expand markets for watermelons. This 

program is financed by assessments on 

producers growing 10 acres or more of 

watermelons, handlers of watermelons, 

and importers of 150,000 pounds of 

watermelons or more per year. The Plan 

specifies that handlers are responsible 

for collecting and submitting both the 

producer and handler assessments to 

the Board, reporting their handling of 

watermelons, and maintaining records 

necessary to verify their reporting(s). 

Importers are responsible for payment of 

assessments to the Board on 

watermelons imported into the United 

States through the U.S. Customs Service 

and Border Protection. This action will 

not have any impact on the assessment 

rates paid by producers, handlers, and 

importers. 

Membership on the Board consists of 

two producers and two handlers for 

each of the seven districts established 

by the Plan, at least one importer, and 

one public member. The Board 

currently consists of 37 members: 14 

producers, 14 handlers, 8 importers, and 

1 public member. A final rule to 

increase the number of importers on the 

Board was published in the July 18, 

2011, Federal Register [76 FR 42009]. 

The Watermelon Research and 

Promotion Improvement Act of 1993 

amended the Watermelon Research and 

Promotion Act by adding importer 

members to the Board among other 

things. At that time the industry 

recommended that, in order to qualify 

as an importer member on the Board, an 

individual that both handles and 

imports watermelons may vote for 

importer members and serve as an 

importer member if that person imports 

50 percent or more of the combined 

total volume of watermelons handled 

and imported by that person. A final 

rule was published in the Federal 

Register on February 28, 1995 [60 FR 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
10106 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 

10795] containing this and other 

amendments to the program. At the time 

of this amendment there was a more 

clear division of roles among producers, 

handlers, and importers. In other words, 

those individuals that imported 

watermelons did not cross over into 

handling or producing watermelons as 

much as they do now. Since then, the 

industry has become more consolidated 

and of the 137 importers required to pay 

assessments 42 also handled 

watermelons and would be eligible to 

serve as either handler or importer 

member. 

At its February 26, 2011, meeting, the 

Board voted unanimously, to modify the 

importer eligibility requirements to 

serve on the Board. The Board is having 

difficulty finding eligible importers to 

serve on the Board because of the 

requirement in the Plan that a person 

who both imports and handles 

watermelon will be counted as an 

importer if that person imports 50 

percent or more of the combined total 

volume of watermelons handled and 

imported by that person. The Board 

voted to eliminate the 50 percent 

requirement or more of the combined 

total volume of watermelons handled 

and imported by a person to allow more 

individuals to become eligible to serve 

on the Board as an importer. Individuals 

that both handle and import would be 

allowed to decide which part of the 

industry they would prefer to represent 

regardless of the volume handled or 

imported. The industry believes that 

this change would increase the importer 

representation on the Board by allowing 

more individuals to be eligible to serve. 

This action may also increase diversity 

representation on the Board. 

Accordingly, the propose rule would 

amend sections 1210.321(d), 

1210.363(b), 1210.404(g), and 

1210.602(a) which reference importer 

eligibility requirements to be nominated 

to the Board and participation in a 

referendum. These sections would be 

revised to read as follows: a person who 

both imports and handles watermelon 

may vote for importer members and 

serve as an importer member if that 

person identifies that their vote will be 

considered as an importer. 

For changes to the Plan to become 

effective, the proposed amendments to 

the Plan must be approved by a majority 

of producers, handlers, and importers of 

watermelon voting in a referendum. 

Accordingly, a referendum will be 

conducted among eligible producers, 

handlers, and importers of watermelon. 

Specific dates for the referendum will 

be announced at a later date. 

A 30-day comment period is provided 

to allow interested persons to respond 

to this proposal. Thirty days is deemed 

appropriate so that the proposed 

amendments, if adopted, may be 

implemented to allow for the calendar 

year 2013 nomination meetings to take 

place before the appointments for new 

Board members are due. All written 

comments received in response to this 

rule by the date specified would be 

considered prior to finalizing this 

action. 

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 1210 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Advertising, Consumer 

information, Marketing agreements, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Watermelon promotion. 

For the reasons set forth in the 

preamble, Part 1210, Chapter XI of Title 

7 is proposed to be amended as follows: 

PART 1210—WATERMELON 

RESEARCH AND PROMOTION PLAN 

■ 1. The authority citation for 7 CFR 

part 1210 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 4901–4916 and 7 

U.S.C. 7401. 

■ 2. Revise § 1210.321 paragraph (d) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1210.321 Nomination and selection. 

* * * * * 

(d) Nominations for importers 

positions that become vacant may be 

made by mail ballot, nomination 

conventions, or by other means 

prescribed by the Secretary. The Board 

shall provide notice of such vacancies 

and the nomination process to all 

importers through press releases and 

any other available means as well as 

direct mailing to known importers. All 

importers may participate in the 

nomination process: Provided, That a 

person who both imports and handles 

watermelon may vote for importer 

members and serve as an importer 

member if that person identifies that 

their vote be considered as an importer. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Revise § 1210.363 paragraph (b) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1210.363 Suspension or termination. 

* * * * * 

(b) The Secretary may conduct a 

referendum at any time and shall hold 

a referendum on request of the Board or 

at least 10 percent of the combined total 

of the watermelon producers, handlers, 

and importers to determine if 

watermelon producers, handlers, and 

importers favor termination or 

suspension of this Plan. The Secretary 

shall suspend or terminate this Plan at 

the end of the marketing year whenever 

the Secretary determines that the 

suspension or termination is favored by 

a majority of the watermelon producers, 

handlers, and importers voting in such 

referendum who, during a 

representative period determined by the 

Secretary, have been engaged in the 

production, handling, or importing of 

watermelons and who produced, 

handled, or imported more than 50 

percent of the combined total of the 

volume of watermelons produced, 

handled, or imported by those 

producers, handlers, and importers 

voting in the referendum. For purposes 

of this section, the vote of a person who 

both produces and handles watermelons 

will be counted as a handler vote if the 

producer purchased watermelons from 

other producers, in a combined total 

volume that is equal to 25 percent or 

more of the producer’s own production; 

or the combined total volume of 

watermelon handled by the producer 

from the producer’s own production 

and purchases from other producer’s 

production is more than 50 percent of 

the producer’s own production. 

Provided, That a person who both 

imports and handles watermelon may 

vote for importer members and serve as 

an importer member if that person 

identifies that their vote be considered 

as an importer. Any such referendum 

shall be conducted by mail ballot. 

■ 4. Revise § 1210.404 paragraph (g) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1210.404 Importer member nomination 

and selection. 

* * * * * 

(g) Any individual who both imports 

and handles watermelons will be 

considered an importer if that person 

identifies themselves as an importer. 

■ 5. Revise § 1210.602 paragraph (a) to 

read as follows: 

§ 1210.602 Voting. 

(a) Each person who is an eligible 

producer, handler, or importer as 

defined in this subpart, at the time of 

the referendum and who also was a 

producer, handler, or importer during 

the representative period, shall be 

entitled to one vote in the referendum: 

Provided, That each producer in a 

landlord-tenant relationship or a 

divided ownership arrangement 

involving totally independent entities 

cooperating only to produce 

watermelons in which more than one of 

the parties is a producer, shall be 

entitled to one vote in the referendum 

covering only that producer’s share of 

the ownership: Provided further, That 

the vote of a person who both produces 

and handles watermelons will be 

counted as a handler vote if the 

producer purchased watermelons from 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 30 / Wednesday, February 13, 2013 / Proposed Rules 10107 

other producers, in a combined total 

volume that is equal to 25 percent or 

more of the producer’s own production; 

or the combined total volume of 

watermelon handled by the producer 

from the producer’s own production 

and purchased from other producer’s 

production is more than 50 percent of 

the producer’s own production: 

Provided further, That a person who 

both imports and handles watermelons 

may vote and serve as an importer if 

that person identifies that their vote be 

considered as an importer. 

* * * * * 

Dated: February 5, 2013. 

David R. Shipman, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2013–02975 Filed 2–12–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Food and Drug Administration 

21 CFR Parts 1, 16, 106, 110, 112, 114, 

117, 120, 123, 129, 179, and 211 

[Docket Nos. FDA–2011–N–0920 and FDA– 

2011–N–0921] 

Food and Drug Administration Food 

Safety Modernization Act: Proposed 

Rules To Establish Standards for the 

Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and 

Holding of Produce for Human 

Consumption and for Current Good 

Manufacturing Practice and Hazard 

Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive 

Controls for Human Food; Public 

Meeting 

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, 

HHS. 

ACTION: Notification of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Food and Drug 

Administration (FDA) is providing 

public meeting registration information 

for two FSMA related public meetings 

announced in the January 31, 2013, 

Federal Register. These public meetings 

will be held along with the February 28 

to March 1, 2013, Washington, DC 

public meeting to discuss the proposed 

rules to establish standards for the 

growing, harvesting, packing, and 

holding of produce for human 

consumption (the produce safety 

proposed rule) and for current good 

manufacturing practice and hazard 

analysis and risk-based preventive 

controls for human food (the preventive 

controls proposed rule). These proposed 

rules are the first of several proposed 

rules that would establish the 

foundation of, and central framework 

for, the modern food safety system 

envisioned by Congress in the FDA 

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). 

The purpose of the public meetings is to 

solicit oral stakeholder and public 

comments on the proposed rules and to 

inform the public about the rulemaking 

process (including how to submit 

comments, data, and other information 

to the rulemaking dockets), and to 

respond to questions about the proposed 

rules. 

DATES: See section II ‘‘How to 

Participate in the Public Meeting’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document for dates and times of the 

Chicago, IL and Portland, OR public 

meetings, closing dates for advance 

registration, and information on 

deadlines for submitting either 

electronic or written comments to FDA’s 

Division of Dockets Management. 

ADDRESSES: See section II ‘‘How to 

Participate in the Public Meeting’’ in the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions about registering for these 

meetings, to register by phone, or to 

submit a notice of participation by mail, 

fax, or email: Courtney Treece, Planning 

Professionals, Ltd., 1210 West 

McDermott Dr., Suite 111, Allen, TX 

75013, 704–258–4983, FAX: 469–854– 

6992, email: 

ctreece@planningprofessionals.com. 

For general questions about these 

meetings, to request an opportunity to 

make an oral presentation at one of the 

public meetings, to submit the full text, 

comprehensive outline, or summary of 

an oral presentation, or for special 

accommodations due to a disability, 

contact: Juanita Yates, Center for Food 

Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS– 

009), Food and Drug Administration, 

5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, 

MD 20740, 240–402–1731, email: 

Juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

FSMA (Pub. L. 111–353) was signed 

into law by President Obama on January 

4, 2011, to better protect public health 

by helping to ensure the safety and 

security of the food supply. FSMA 

amends the Federal Food, Drug, and 

Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) to 

establish the foundation of a 

modernized, prevention-based food 

safety system. Among other things, 

FSMA requires FDA to issue regulations 

requiring preventive controls for human 

and animal food and set standards for 

produce safety. 

FSMA was the first major legislative 

reform of FDA’s food safety authorities 

in more than 70 years, even though FDA 

has increased the focus of its food safety 

efforts on prevention over the past 

several years. For example, applying the 

concept of Hazard Analysis and Critical 

Control Point (HACCP) that was 

pioneered by industry in the late 1960s, 

FDA established HACCP-based 

regulations for seafood (21 CFR part 

123) in 1995 (60 FR 65096, December 

18, 1995) and for juice (21 CFR part 120) 

in 2001 (66 FR 6138, January 19, 2001). 

Similarly, in 1996, the U.S. Department 

of Agriculture’s Food Safety and 

Inspection Service instituted HACCPbased rules for meat and poultry (9 CFR 

part 417) (61 FR 38806, July 25, 1996). 

In the Federal Register of January 16, 

2013 (78 FR 3503 and 78 FR 3646), FDA 

announced the establishment of two 

dockets so that the public can review 

the produce safety proposed rule and 

the preventive controls proposed rule 

and submit comments to the Agency. 

These proposed rulemakings are the 

first of several key proposals in 

furtherance of FSMA’s food safety 

mandate. The produce safety proposed 

rule would establish science-based 

minimum standards for the safe 

growing, harvesting, packing, and 

holding of produce, meaning fruits and 

vegetables, grown for human 

consumption. The produce safety 

proposed rule would set forth 

procedures, processes, and practices 

that FDA expects would reduce 

foodborne illness associated with the 

consumption of produce. The produce 

safety proposed rule and related fact 

sheets are available on FDA’s FSMA 

Web page located at http://www.fda.gov/ 

Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/default.htm. 

The preventive controls proposed rule 

would apply to human food and require 

domestic and foreign facilities that are 

required to register under the FD&C Act 

to have written plans that identify 

hazards, specify the steps that will be 

put in place to minimize or prevent 

those hazards, monitor results, and act 

to correct problems that arise. The 

preventive controls proposed rule and 

related fact sheets are available on 

FDA’s FSMA Web page located at 

http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/ 

FSMA/default.htm. 

In the Federal Register of January 31, 

2013 (78 FR 6762), FDA announced the 

first public meeting in a series of three 

public meetings entitled ‘‘The Food 

Safety Modernization Act Public 

Meeting on Proposed Rules for Produce 

Safety and for Preventive Controls for 

Human Food’’ so that the food industry, 

consumers, foreign governments, and 

other stakeholders can evaluate and 

comment on the proposals. FDA also 

noted that the Agency intended to hold 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with PROPOSALS