Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 69897 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2023–0022] 

Notice of Request for Renewal of an 

Approved Information Collection: 

Salmonella Initiative Program 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing 

its intention to renew the approved 

information collection regarding the 

Salmonella Initiative Program (SIP). 

FSIS is making no changes to the 

current collection. The approval for this 

information collection will expire on 

February 29, 2024. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

December 11, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

Federal Register notice. Comments may 

be submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

website provides commenters the ability 

to type short comments directly into the 

comment field on the web page or to 

attach a file for lengthier comments. Go 

to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 

3758, Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

• Hand- or Courier-Delivered 

Submittals: Deliver to 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. 

Whitten Building, Room 350–E, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2023–0022. Comments received in 

response to this docket will be made 

available for public inspection and 

posted without change, including any 

personal information, to https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, call 

(202) 937–4272 to schedule a time to 

visit the FSIS Docket Room at 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–3700. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina 

Kouba, Office of Policy and Program 

Development, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 

3758, South Building, Washington, DC 

20250–3700; (202) 937–4272. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Salmonella Initiative Program. 

OMB Number: 0583–0154. 

Expiration Date: February 29, 2024. 

Type of Request: Request for renewal 

of an approved information collection. 

Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the 

authority to exercise the functions of the 

Secretary (7 CFR 2.18 and 2.53), as 

specified in the Federal Meat Inspection 

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

Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) 

(21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.), and the Egg 

Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 

U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). These statutes 

mandate that FSIS protect the public by 

verifying that meat, poultry, and egg 

products are safe, wholesome, and 

properly labeled and packaged. 

FSIS is requesting renewal of the 

approved information collection 

regarding the Salmonella Initiative 

Program (SIP). FSIS is making no 

changes to the current collection. The 

approval for this information collection 

will expire on February 29, 2024. 

Through SIP, FSIS offers incentives to 

meat and poultry slaughter 

establishments to control Salmonella in 

their operations. Under SIP, FSIS does 

this by granting waivers of certain 

regulatory requirements under the 

condition that establishments test for 

Salmonella, Campylobacter (if 

applicable), and an Aerobic Count for 

other indicator organisms and share all 

sample results with FSIS. In return for 

meeting the conditions of SIP, the 

Agency grants establishments 

appropriate waivers of certain 

regulatory requirements, based upon 

establishment proposals and 

documentation, under FSIS regulations 

at 9 CFR 303.1(h) and 381.3(b). These 

regulations specifically provide for the 

Administrator to waive for limited 

periods any provisions of the 

regulations to permit experimentation 

so that new procedures, equipment, or 

processing techniques may be tested to 

facilitate definite improvements. 

Establishments participating in SIP 

agree to the conditions of SIP regarding 

pathogen testing and sharing of test 

result data with FSIS. 

FSIS has made the following 

estimates based upon an information 

collection assessment: 

Respondents: Official slaughter 

establishments that are under a waiver. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

79. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses per Respondent: 325. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 17,628 hours. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Copies of this information collection 

assessment can be obtained from Gina 

Kouba, Office of Policy and Program 

Development, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 

3758, South Building, Washington, DC 

20250–3700; (202) 937–4272. 

Comments are invited on: (a) whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of FSIS’ functions, including whether 

the information will have practical 

utility; (b) the accuracy of FSIS’ estimate 

of the burden of the proposed collection 

of information, including the validity of 

the method and assumptions used; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information, 

including through the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 

other technological collection 

techniques, or other forms of 

information technology. Comments may 

be sent to both FSIS, at the addresses 

provided above, and the Desk Officer for 

Agriculture, Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB), 

Washington, DC 20253. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, FSIS will 

announce this Federal Register 

publication on-line through the FSIS 

web page located at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register. 

FSIS will also announce and provide 

a link to this Federal Register 

publication through the FSIS 

Constituent Update, which is used to 

provide information regarding FSIS 

policies, procedures, regulations, 

Federal Register notices, FSIS public 

meetings, and other types of information 

that could affect or would be of interest 

to our constituents and stakeholders. 

The Constituent Update is available on 

the FSIS web page. Through the web 

page, FSIS can provide information to a 

much broader, more diverse audience. 

In addition, FSIS offers an email 

subscription service which provides 

automatic and customized access to 

selected food safety news and 

information. This service is available at: 

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/subscribe. 

Options range from recalls to export 

information, regulations, directives, and 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
69898 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 194 / Tuesday, October 10, 2023 / Notices 

notices. Customers can add or delete 

subscriptions themselves and have the 

option to password protect their 

accounts. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and USDA civil rights 

regulations and policies, USDA, its 

Mission Areas, agencies, staff offices, 

employees, and institutions 

participating in or administering USDA 

programs are prohibited from 

discriminating based on race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, gender 

identity (including gender expression), 

sexual orientation, disability, age, 

marital status, family/parental status, 

income derived from a public assistance 

program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 

retaliation for prior civil rights activity, 

in any program or activity conducted or 

funded by USDA (not all bases apply to 

all programs). Remedies and complaint 

filing deadlines vary by program or 

incident. 

Program information may be made 

available in languages other than 

English. Persons with disabilities who 

require alternative means of 

communication to obtain program 

information (e.g., Braille, large print, 

audiotape, American Sign Language) 

should contact the responsible Mission 

Area, agency, or staff office; the USDA 

TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TTY); or the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877–8339. 

To file a program discrimination 

complaint, a complainant should 

complete a Form AD–3027, USDA 

Program Discrimination Complaint 

Form, which can be obtained online at 

https://www.usda.gov/forms/electronicforms, from any USDA office, by calling 

(866) 632–9992, or by writing a letter 

addressed to USDA. The letter must 

contain the complainant’s name, 

address, telephone number, and a 

written description of the alleged 

discriminatory action in sufficient detail 

to inform the Assistant Secretary for 

Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature 

and date of an alleged civil rights 

violation. The completed AD–3027 form 

or letter must be submitted to USDA by: 

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; 

(2) Fax: (833) 256–1665 or (202) 690– 

7442; or 

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider, employer, and lender. 

Theresa Nintemann, 

Deputy Administrator, FSIS. 

[FR Doc. 2023–22422 Filed 10–6–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2023–0023] 

Notice of Request for New Information 

Collection: Small and Very Small 

Establishment Outreach Survey 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) regulations, FSIS is announcing 

its intention to request a new 

information collection to solicit 

feedback from small and very small 

establishment owners. FSIS plans to use 

a multi-language survey to ascertain 

how FSIS can better service the needs 

of small and very small establishments 

and improve outreach to them. This is 

a new information collection with 417 

hours. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

December 11, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

Federal Register notice. Comments may 

be submitted by one of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

website provides commenters the ability 

to type short comments directly into the 

comment field on the web page or to 

attach a file for lengthier comments. Go 

to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 

3758, Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

• Hand- or Courier-Delivered 

Submittals: Deliver to 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. 

Whitten Building, Room 350–E, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2023–0023. Comments received in 

response to this docket will be made 

available for public inspection and 

posted without change, including any 

personal information, to https://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, call 

(202) 937–4272 to schedule a time to 

visit the FSIS Docket Room at 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–3700. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gina 

Kouba, Office of Policy and Program 

Development, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 

3758, South Building, Washington, DC 

20250–3700; (202) 937–4272. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: Small and Very Small 

Establishment Outreach Survey. 

OMB Number: 0583–NEW. 

Type of Request: Request for a new 

information collection. 

Abstract: FSIS has been delegated the 

authority to exercise the functions of the 

Secretary (7 CFR 2.18 and 2.53), as 

specified in the Federal Meat Inspection 

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

Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) 

(21 U.S.C. 451, et seq.), and the Egg 

Products Inspection Act (EPIA) (21 

U.S.C. 1031, et seq.). These statutes 

mandate that FSIS protect the public by 

verifying that meat, poultry, and egg 

products are safe, wholesome, and 

properly labeled and packaged. 

FSIS plans to use a multi-language 

survey to solicit feedback from small 

and very small establishment owners to 

ascertain how FSIS can better service 

the needs of small and very small 

establishments and improve outreach to 

them. This is a new information 

collection with 417 hours. 

This survey is one of many ways FSIS 

is working to bring equity—that is, 

consistent and systematic treatment of 

all individuals in a fair, just, and 

impartial manner, including individuals 

who belong to communities that often 

have been denied such treatment—to 

small and very small establishments. 

Results will inform the Agency on ways 

to improve engagement with, and 

outreach to, small and very small 

establishments, particularly those in 

underrepresented communities. 

FSIS has made the following 

estimates based upon an information 

collection assessment: 

Respondents: Small and Very Small 

establishment owners. 

Estimated No. of Respondents: 5,000. 

Estimated No. of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 417 hours. 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 


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