This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

5139

Vol. 62, No. 23

Tuesday, February 4, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

9 CFR Part 381

[Docket No. 94–016F]

RIN 0583–AC25

Poultry Inspection: Revision of

Finished Product Standards With

Respect to Fecal Contamination

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule; Request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending

the poultry products inspection

regulations to clarify and strengthen the

enforcement of FSIS’s zero-tolerance

policy regarding visible fecal material

on poultry carcasses. FSIS is amending

its regulations to codify an existing

standard that ensures poultry carcasses

contaminated with fecal material do not

enter the chilling tank. In order to

clarify the enforcement of this policy,

this rule removes ‘‘feces’’ as a

nonconformance element in the finished

product standards for poultry.

In addition, the Agency is seeking

comments on the relationship between

ingesta and the presence of microbial

pathogens on raw poultry.

DATES: This rule is effective on May 5,

1997. There is no due date for

comments requested on the relationship

between ingesta and microbial

pathogens on raw poultry.

ADDRESSES: Submit one original and

two copies of written comments to: FSIS

Docket Clerk, DOCKET #94–016F, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety

and Inspection Service, Room 3806

South Agriculture Building, 1400

Independence Ave., SW., Washington,

DC 20250–3700. All comments

submitted will be available for public

inspection in the Docket Clerk’s Office

between 8:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and

2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday

through Friday. To review the research

and other background information used

by FSIS in developing this document,

interested persons may visit the Docket

Clerk’s office during the times listed

above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Isabel Arrington, Staff Officer, Slaughter

Operations, Office of Field Operations;

(202) 720–7905.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

To enforce the ‘‘zero tolerance’’ policy

regarding visible fecal contamination on

poultry, FSIS program employees look

at every carcass to ensure it is not

contaminated by visible fecal

contamination. This visual check of all

carcasses occurs after evisceration but

prior to the separation of the viscera

from the carcass and prior to the final

wash and entry of the carcass into the

chilling tank. Should visible fecal

contamination be observed, existing

regulations permit establishments to

reprocess contaminated carcasses by a

number of approved methods, including

washing and trimming on or off the line.

Regardless of the method chosen, the

end result must be removal of all visible

specks of contamination prior to the

carcasses’ entering the chiller. This zero

tolerance policy for visible fecal

contamination is an important food

safety standard because fecal

contamination is a major vehicle for

spreading pathogenic microorganisms,

such as Salmonella, to raw poultry.

Under current rules, FSIS ensures

removal of all visible fecal

contamination subsequent to

postmortem inspection through off-line

reinspection, direct on-line observations

by an inspector, and application of

finished product standards (FPS). The

FPS are applied to samples of product

prior to its entering the chiller and after

product has left the chiller as a means

of measuring an establishment’s

performance in meeting organoleptic

(detectable by the unaided senses)

standards, including the removal of

visible fecal contamination.

Under an FPS program, the poultry

establishment checks carcasses entering

and leaving the chiller for

nonconformance to the FPS. If the

incidence of nonconformances

determined by the FPS test indicates

that the establishment’s process is out of

control, the establishment must take

corrective action. Any bird in the

sample taken found to be contaminated

with feces is set aside for rework or

condemnation. FSIS inspectors located

before the chiller also evaluate

performance by visually observing

carcasses, checking quality control data,

and sampling product. The

establishment and FSIS apply a

statistical method to determine if the

establishment’s processes are under

control and producing consistently

sound product. In the event an

establishment does not meet statistical

criteria, the establishment’s process is

determined to be out of control and

corrective action is required. The

application of FPS does not preclude

the inspector’s directing the

establishment to take corrective action

any time carcasses visibly contaminated

with fecal matter are observed.

On July 13, 1994, FSIS published a

proposed rule, ‘‘Enhanced Poultry

Inspection,’’ in the Federal Register (59

FR 35659) to clarify and strengthen

substantially the Agency’s zerotolerance policy for visible fecal

contamination. The proposed rule

would have implemented a single

system of postmortem inspection for all

poultry species. Establishment

personnel would have been required to

pre-sort birds before inspection to

exclude those with diseases and

condemnable conditions. In addition,

the inspection sequence would have

been changed to permit inspectors to

conduct on-line checks for

contamination. The proposal would

have required all reprocessed birds to be

returned to the main processing line for

inspection.

FSIS also proposed the mandatory use

of antimicrobial rinses in all

establishments, use of establishment

employees to sort poultry, revision of

the FPS, and addition of recordkeeping

and verification procedures. The

proposal included the removal of

‘‘feces’’ from the list of

nonconformances in the FPS and a

mandatory line speed reduction

triggered by any finding of visible fecal

contamination during an FPS review or

at other times when such contamination

was detected.

Since the proposed rule was

published, FSIS has adopted a
5140 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

1Blankenship LC, Cox NA, Craven SE, Mercuri

AJ, and Wilson RL. Comparison of the

Microbiological Quality of Inspection-Passed and

Fecal Contamination-Condemned Broiler Carcasses.

J. Food Science 1975; 40:1236–1238.

2Blankenship LC, Bailey JS, Cox NA, Musgrove

MT, Berrang ME, Wilson RL, Rose MJ, and Dua SK.

A Research Note: Broiler Carcass Reprocessing, A

Further Explanation. J. Food Prot. 1993; 56:983–

985.

comprehensive, preventive food safety

strategy to reduce the incidence and

prevalence of foodborne illness in the

United States. The centerpiece of this

strategy is the ‘‘Pathogen Reduction;

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control

Points (HACCP) Systems’’ final rule (61

FR 38805–38989, July 25, 1996). HACCP

is a system of preventive controls

designed to improve the safety of food

products.

The Pathogen Reduction/HACCP

regulations require each establishment

to conduct a hazard analysis and

develop a HACCP plan applicable to

every product it produces. Fecal

contamination is a reliable indicator of

the likely presence of microbial

pathogens, a food safety hazard which

all slaughtering establishments will

necessarily address in their HACCP

plans. Poultry processing

establishments must adopt HACCP

controls that they can demonstrate are

effective in reducing the occurrence of

microbial pathogens; those controls

include preventing the fecal

contamination of carcasses and thus

preventing fecally contaminated

carcasses from entering the chilling

tanks. They will be required to monitor,

verify, and record results which

demonstrate the effective operation of

those controls on a continuing basis.

Under the Pathogen Reduction/

HACCP rule, in addition to controls for

reducing microbial pathogens, such as

ensuring that all poultry carcasses are

free of visible fecal contamination

before entering the chiller, slaughtering

establishments will verify their process

controls by testing sampled carcasses for

generic Escherichia coli (Biotype I). In

addition, FSIS has established pathogen

reduction performance standards based

on Salmonella prevalence in raw

product. These standards, which FSIS

will enforce through its own Salmonella

testing program, complement the

process control performance criteria for

visible fecal contamination and E. coli

testing.

The Pathogen Reduction/HACCP rule

establishes a more comprehensive

framework for food safety protection

than did the 1994 proposal, and

therefore supersedes it. It couples

HACCP-based process control to prevent

visible fecal contamination (and other

hazards) with microbial testing and

pathogen reduction performance

standards to scientifically verify the

effectiveness of the HACCP plan. Some

of the concepts in the July 1994

proposal, such as antimicrobial

processes and the role of FSIS

inspectors, may be addressed by future

rulemakings if the concepts appear to

provide substantial food safety benefits

in a HACCP context.

The zero-tolerance standard for

visible fecal contamination, an indicator

of likely microbial contamination, is one

that must be achieved by processing

control and therefore is consistent with

the HACCP framework. The HACCP

regulations require all establishments to

identify all food safety hazards

reasonably likely to occur in a specific

process, and to identify critical control

points adequate to prevent them. Fecal

contamination is a food safety hazard

because of its direct link to

microbiological contamination and

foodborne illness. Preventing carcasses

with visible fecal contamination from

entering the chiller is critical for

preventing cross-contamination of other

carcasses. The final carcass wash before

the carcasses enter the chiller is a

critical control point for preventing

cross-contamination of other carcasses.

Critical control points to eliminate

visible fecal contamination are

predictable and essential components of

the HACCP plans for all slaughter

establishments. For establishments’

HACCP plans to be validated, they will

have to achieve the zero tolerance for

visible contamination at the point where

carcasses enter the chiller.

Though the zero-tolerance policy has

not been codified in the regulations

until now, it is implicit in some of the

regulations. For example, § 381.91(b),

provides that poultry accidentally

contaminated with digestive tract

contents need not be condemned if

promptly reprocessed under the

supervision of an inspector and found

not to be adulterated. The codification

of the zero-tolerance policy for visible

fecal contamination and removal of

‘‘feces’’ as a nonconformance element in

the finished product standards for

poultry provide a clear and

unambiguous standard that poultry

slaughtering establishments must meet

today and, eventually, incorporate into

their HACCP systems.

FSIS will continue to verify that

establishments are meeting the zerotolerance standard through visual

observations, data collection, and

sampling. However, consistent with the

policy, any indication of visible fecal

contamination will require

establishments to take immediate

corrective action after deviations occur,

rather than after a certain statistical

measure of control is exceeded over a

period of time.

The bulk of the comments on the July

1994 proposal addressed provisions that

are unrelated to this final rule. Of the

434 comments received, 64 addressed

the zero-tolerance policy on fecal

contamination. Forty-eight commenters

were clearly in favor of the policy; 16

expressed various reservations, such as:

(1) Fecal material was undefined; (2)

visible feces should be trimmed, not

washed; (3) since FSIS has a zero

tolerance policy for fecal contamination,

a rule change is not necessary; and (4)

a zero tolerance policy should also be

established for ingesta and other

intestinal tract contents.

In response to the commenters who

stated that fecal material and/or feces

should be defined, FSIS has developed

guidelines for inspectors to use in

identifying feces on carcasses. In these

guidelines, three factors—color,

consistency, and composition— are

essential in positively identifying fecal

contamination. In general, fecal material

color ranges from varying shades of

yellow to green, brown, and white; the

consistency of feces is usually semisolid to a paste; and the composition of

feces may include plant material.

Inspectors use the feces identification

guidelines to verify that establishments

prevent carcasses with visible fecal

contamination from entering the

chilling tanks.

Several commenters also felt that any

contamination on the carcass should be

trimmed, and that washing, including

reprocessing, should not be permitted as

an alternative to trimming. The

regulations (9 CFR 381.91(b)) permit

poultry contaminated during slaughter

with digestive tract contents, such as

feces, to be reprocessed in lieu of being

condemned. These regulations were

promulgated in 1978 and were based, in

part, on an Agricultural Research

Service (ARS) study, published in the

Journal of Food Science, which

concluded that effective washing of

contaminated poultry carcasses

produced carcasses with

microbiological levels essentially equal

to normally processed and inspected

carcasses.1 A subsequent ARS study

supported this finding.2

Several commenters stated that FSIS

has a zero tolerance policy for feces and,

therefore, a change to the regulations

was not needed. However, the apparent

incompatibility between FSIS’s zero

tolerance policy for fecal material on

individual poultry carcasses and the

existence of a process measure that
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 5141

3Hargis BM, Caldwell DJ, Brewer RL, Corrier DE,

DeLoach JR, An Evaluation of the Chicken Crop as

a Source of Salmonella Contamination for Broiler

Carcasses. Poult Sci 1995; 74:1548–52.

includes a tolerance for ‘‘feces’’ in the

finished product standards has

continued to cause confusion. To clarify

the zero tolerance policy, FSIS is

amending the poultry products

inspection regulations by removing

‘‘feces’’ as a nonconformance element

from the finished product standards.

Several commenters stated that there

should be a zero tolerance policy for

ingesta and other digestive tract

contents, in addition to feces. Ingesta

are processing defects generally

consisting of undigested feed remaining

in a bird’s crop, esophagus, and gizzard.

Ingesta contamination and attached

portions of the crop and esophagus are

processing defects counted as FPS

nonconformances. Ingesta

contamination of poultry was not

directly addressed in the July 1994

proposal.

A research report 3 recently identified

the crop as a potential source of

Salmonella contamination for broiler

carcasses. The report noted that crops

may be ruptured during processing,

suggesting that the crop may serve as a

source of carcass contamination if

exposure to pathogenic microbes occurs

during the last week before slaughter.

The fact that birds are especially likely

to pick up fecal droppings during the

feed withdrawal period prior to

slaughter could explain the presence of

Salmonella in the crops.

Comments and information on ingesta

contamination would be useful to the

Agency in its consideration of the need

for additional regulatory measures

regarding ingesta. Such information

would also be helpful to establishments

in identifying hazards and determining

critical control points in their HACCP

systems. FSIS would like to have more

information on how the presence of

ingesta on dressed poultry carcasses

relates to the presence of microbial

pathogens and, consequently, the food

safety profile of ready-to-cook raw

poultry. Specific information is

requested on (1) the capacity of current

technology to prevent ingesta

contamination, (2) the consumer

perspective on the presence of ingesta

on ready-to-cook raw poultry, (3) the

tolerance level and defect categories in

the current FPS program for ingesta,

crop, and esophagus, and (4) the

availability and cost of new technology

and its capacity to prevent ingesta

contamination.

The Final Rule

In summary, this final rule amends

the poultry products inspection

regulations by explicitly prohibiting

dressed poultry carcasses contaminated

with feces from entering the chiller. It

also removes ‘‘feces’’ from the list of

nonconformance elements in the

poultry finished product standards. Any

visible fecal contamination found by the

establishment during the finished

product standards check means that the

establishment has failed to meet the

standard and that immediate corrective

action is required, irrespective of the

overall FPS results. Under this final

rule, FSIS inspectors will continue their

current practice of verifying the

establishment’s process control through

visual observation of carcasses and offline checks of sampled birds.

Additionally, beginning on the

effective date of this rule and prior to

HACCP implementation, FSIS

inspectors will, during each shift in all

poultry slaughtering operations, check

at least two more 10-bird samples on

each evisceration line for visible fecal

contamination after the final wash,

before the carcasses enter the chiller.

Any amount of visible fecal

contamination found by FSIS inspectors

during these checks will be regarded as

a lack of process control requiring

immediate correction.

FSIS will continue to verify the

effectiveness of the establishment’s

corrective actions and, if the actions

prove ineffective, will prohibit birds on

affected lines from entering the chilling

tank directly until the establishment

demonstrates, and FSIS verifies, that the

zero-tolerance standard for visible fecal

contamination is being met. This

prohibition may result in slowing or

stopping the line until the problem is

solved. FSIS also will check carcasses

on the affected lines after they exit the

chilling tank.

After HACCP systems are

implemented in slaughtering

establishments, FSIS personnel will

determine the effectiveness of

preventive controls and corrective

actions for visible fecal contamination

as they verify HACCP system adequacy.

They will continue close oversight of

processor efforts to prevent visible fecal

contamination, sampling birds at the

same frequency as before HACCP

implementation. The presence of visible

fecal contamination on poultry

carcasses entering the chiller will mean

that controls to prevent such

contamination have failed. The finding

of fecal matter on carcasses entering the

chiller even after corrective actions have

been taken to prevent its recurrence will

constitute evidence of a HACCP system

failure. FSIS will consider a

documented pattern of repeated system

failures to be evidence that the

establishment’s HACCP plan is

inadequate. The Agency will take

immediate action to ensure proper

disposition of adulterated product,

including its condemnation.

Additionally, if appropriate, the Agency

will undertake proceedings to withdraw

inspection from the establishment.

FSIS plans to review the application

of this standard during the

implementation of HACCP in affected

establishments. The Agency would

certainly welcome input from interested

parties on the application of this

standard in a HACCP environment.

FSIS expects that its zero-fecalcontamination policy, together with the

Pathogen Reduction/HACCP rule, will

improve the safety of raw poultry

products and help bring about

measurable declines in foodborne

illness attributable to poultry

consumption.

Executive Order 12866 and Effect on

Small Entities

This final rule has been determined to

be significant and was reviewed by

OMB under Executive Order 12866.

This rule codifies as a standard the

existing FSIS zero-tolerance policy for

the presence of visible fecal

contamination on poultry carcasses

entering the chilling tank, and removes

‘‘feces’’ as a nonconformance element in

the FPS for poultry. The rule does not

require any facility changes nor does it

stipulate what steps establishments

must take to comply with the standard.

Furthermore, this rule is compatible

with the mandatory HACCP program for

meat and poultry establishments.

The rule will affect about 520 poultry

slaughtering establishments subject to

inspection under the Poultry Products

Inspection Act. Approximately 360 of

these are inspected by FSIS, about 300

operating under inspection systems

incorporating FPS; the other 60 or so—

most processing low-consumptionvolume species, such as ducks and

geese—operating under ‘‘traditional’’

systems. In the ‘‘traditional’’

establishments, inspectors check

outgoing product using lot acceptance

plans from which entries for ‘‘feces’’ are

being removed by Agency directive. The

final rule will also affect about 160

poultry slaughtering establishments

where States maintain inspection that is

‘‘at least equal to’’ Federal inspection.

Alternatives Considered

As discussed in the preamble to the

proposal, FSIS considered two
5142 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations

alternatives to the proposed regulatory

amendments that would have met the

objectives of strengthening poultry

products inspection, reducing the

occurrence of pathogens on raw

product, and enforcing a ‘‘zero

tolerance’’ for visible fecal

contamination of raw product. The first

of the alternatives would have required

detaching the viscera from the carcass

before post-mortem inspection and

presenting the organs and the carcass for

inspection at the same time, rather than

sequentially. A separate belt or tray

would have been provided to prevent

the viscera from contaminating the

carcass. However, preliminary estimates

indicated that costs to the industry of

equipment acquisition and installation

and downtime for construction would

have approached $1 billion.

The second alternative would have

involved retaining the current

postmortem inspection procedures

while positioning an additional

inspector at the end of the evisceration

line at a point after viscera removal to

examine each carcass for fecal

contamination. Under this alternative,

the Government could have incurred an

additional $16 million per annum in

personnel costs, which was

unacceptable to FSIS, and production

rates could have been slowed by 30 to

50 percent if fewer inspectors were

assigned to perform the required tasks.

The annual cost to the industry and

consumers of slowed linespeeds could

have been as high as $5.2 billion. In the

Agency’s judgment, either of these

alternatives would have posed

unacceptable costs.

The alternative proposed by the

Agency included a single postmortem

inspection system for all kinds and

classes of poultry, a requirement for the

establishment to present for inspection

birds that had been pre-sorted to

exclude those with diseases and

condemnable conditions, a change in

the inspection sequence to include online checks for contamination, the

return of all reprocessed birds to the

main processing line for reinspection,

and mandatory antimicrobial treatment

of all dressed poultry. In addition, some

establishments would have had to

install adjustable inspection stands and

enhanced lighting. A completely revised

FPS, without a nonconformance

element for feces, would have been

applied to all poultry. An FSIS

inspector would have been required to

stop or slow the line upon finding any

fecally contaminated bird. The Agency

estimated the cost of the proposal to

industry at about $7 million. Cost

estimates supplied by industry

commenters indicated costs would

substantially exceed the Agency’s

estimate.

Since the proposal was published, the

Agency has adopted a comprehensive

food safety strategy based on mandatory

HACCP systems for meat and poultry

establishments. The Pathogen

Reduction/HACCP rule implementing

this policy supersedes the July 1994

proposal. Accordingly, FSIS has limited

this final rule to the codification of the

zero tolerance policy for visible fecal

contamination and to the removal of the

‘‘feces’’ nonconformance element from

the poultry FPS.

Costs

As mentioned, visible fecal

contamination of poultry carcasses

currently is addressed at postmortem

inspection by off-line reprocessing of

accidentally contaminated poultry,

through pre-chill FPS checks, and at

other times that visible fecal

contamination is detected. FSIS

estimates that the frequency of

corrective actions required because

establishments fail an FPS test due to

visible fecal contamination

nonconformances is, at most, 1 time a

year per establishment. Normally, the

presence of visible fecal contamination

found during an FPS review is at a level

such that it will cause an FPS failure

and trigger immediate corrective action.

A typical establishment may fail a prechill FPS test once a month or less

because nonconformances other than

visible fecal contamination, such as the

presence of feathers or other dressing

defects, have been observed. Such an

establishment may fail a post-chill FPS

test about six times a year, usually

because extraneous matter is found on

the carcass. Some establishments

operate for 2 or 3 years without failing

an FPS test.

The Agency will have to shift the

allocation of Federal poultry inspection

resources during the period after this

rule becomes effective. Upon the

effective date of this rule, FSIS

inspectors will be sampling additional

birds at pre-chill to examine them for

visible fecal contamination, a task that

will require as many as 10 staff-years to

perform. This cost can be absorbed

within FSIS’s current resources.

As mentioned, this final rule removes

the nonconformance element for ‘‘feces’’

from the current FPS for poultry and

codifies the policy prohibiting poultry

carcasses contaminated with visible

feces from entering the chiller tank. As

stated elsewhere in this preamble, this

rule establishes a standard that is

compatible with the Agency’s Pathogen

Reduction/HACCP regulations. It will

take effect, however, before mandatory

HACCP plans are implemented in most

federally inspected poultry products

establishments.

When this final rule becomes

effective, the detection of visible fecal

contamination during the pre-chill FPS

or at any other time that visible fecal

contamination is detected on the

carcasses before the carcasses enter the

chiller will trigger corrective actions to

prevent recurrence of the problem. The

Agency foresees that initially, when this

final rule goes into effect, there may be

an increase in the frequency of

corrective actions. Establishments may

incur costs attributed to slowing or

temporary stoppage of production lines,

equipment adjustments, product

rework, and the placing of additional

personnel on the processing line, at a

somewhat higher rate than previously.

These costs are likely to result from

two primary causes. First, following the

effective date, establishments will be

placing increased emphasis on

preventing carcasses with visible fecal

contamination from entering chiller

tanks. The increased vigilance of

establishment personnel initially may

cause some production slowdowns.

Second, FSIS inspectors will be

sampling birds at an increased rate to

enforce the zero-tolerance policy. It is

possible that a prevalence level of fecal

contamination that had not been

detected previously in FPS tests will

now be shown to occur, and that

processing lines may be slowed or

stopped more often for corrective

actions to be taken.

FSIS estimates that the industry-wide

cost of stopping or slowing the

processing line when fecal

contamination is found on dressed

poultry could be as high as $15 million

during the first year this final rule is in

effect. This estimate is derived from

data submitted by commenters on

estimated efficiency losses—including

losses due to stopping or slowing the

processing lines—that the proposed rule

might have caused. An assumption of

the commenters, which FSIS does not

share, was that the efficiency reduction

costs would recur annually.

FSIS sees any such cost increases as

short-term. Once establishments adjust

to the new inspection procedures and

adopt more stringent operating

standards, the need for corrective action

should be reduced, and there will be

greater assurance that product entering

chillers is free of visible fecal

contamination.

Benefits

FSIS expects the net benefits to

society from this rule will be in the form

of fewer outbreaks of foodborne disease
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 23 / Tuesday, February 4, 1997 / Rules and Regulations 5143

attributable to poultry products. The

rule will help ensure that raw poultry

entering chiller tanks is free of

contamination that may harbor

pathogens and, thus, that there will be

less cross-contamination in the chiller

tanks. FSIS expects that this reduced

cross-contamination will mean that raw

poultry shipped in commerce will have

fewer pathogens and that the risk of

illness due to improper handling of raw

product after it leaves the inspected

establishment will be reduced.

The Administrator, FSIS, has

determined that this final rule will not

have a significant impact on a

substantial number of small entities.

The small entities affected by this rule

are the approximately 220 small poultry

slaughtering establishments that meet

the Small Business Administration size

standard of 500 or fewer employees.

This is a significant number of small

entities but, for reasons given above,

costs to establishments, whether they be

small or large entities, should not be

significantly affected by this rule. Thus,

the rule will not have a significant

impact on a substantial number of small

entities.

Executive Order 12988

This final rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule (1) preempts

all State and local laws and regulations

that are inconsistent with this rule; (2)

has no retroactive effect; and (3) does

not require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court

challenging this rule.

Paperwork Requirements

The July 13, 1994, proposed rule

required paperwork and recordkeeping

activities that would have provided

FSIS with information to ensure that

establishments were in compliance with

the proposed regulations. As noted

above, however, FSIS is withdrawing

the provisions of the proposal that

would have required such paperwork

and recordkeeping.

List of Subjects in 9 CFR Part 381

Poultry inspection, Poultry and

poultry products.

For the reasons discussed in the

preamble, FSIS is amending part 381 of

the poultry products inspection

regulations as set forth below:

PART 381—POULTRY PRODUCTS

INSPECTION REGULATIONS

1. The authority citation for part 381

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 138f, 450; 21 U.S.C.

451–470; 7 CFR 2.18, 2.53.

Subpart I—Operating Procedures

2. Section 381.65 is amended by

adding a new paragraph (e) to read as

follows:

§ 381.65 Operations and procedures,

generally.

* * * * *

(e) Poultry carcasses contaminated

with visible fecal material shall be

prevented from entering the chilling

tank.

* * * * *

Subpart K—Post Mortem Inspection;

Disposition of Carcasses and Parts

§ 381.76 [Amended]

3. Section 381.76(b)(3)(vi), Table 1—

Definitions of Nonconformances, is

amended in paragraph A–1 by removing

the word ‘‘feces,’’ by removing the end

note from paragraph A–2 regarding

feces, by removing paragraph A–8,

‘‘Feces ≥1⁄8,’’ and by renumbering

paragraphs A–9 through A–20 as A–8

through A–19.

* * * * *

Done at Washington, DC, on Janaury 30,

1997.

Thomas J. Billy,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–2736 Filed 1–30–97; 3:30 pm]

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

14 CFR Part 39

[Docket No. 95–NM–258–AD; Amendment

39–9913; AD 97–03–07]

RIN 2120–AA64

Airworthiness Directives; Raytheon

Model Hawker 800 and 1000 and Model

DH/BH/HS/BAe 125 Series Airplanes

(Including Major Variants C29A, U125,

and U125A Series Airplanes)

AGENCY: Federal Aviation

Administration, DOT.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This amendment supersedes

an existing airworthiness directive (AD),

applicable to certain Raytheon Model

BAe 125–1A through –1000A series

airplanes and Model Hawker 800 and

1000 airplanes, that currently requires

repetitive inspections to detect fatigue

cracking of the sidestay jack pivots of

the main landing gear (MLG), and

replacement of the sidestay jack pivot

assemblies with new assemblies. This

amendment adds a requirement to

replace the sidestay jack pivot

assemblies with new, improved

assemblies; when accomplished, this

replacement would terminate the

inspection requirements of the AD. This

amendment also expands the

applicability of the existing AD to

include additional airplanes. The

actions specified by this AD are

intended to prevent fatigue fracturing of

the sidestay jack pivots of the MLG,

which could result in the inability of the

MLG to deploy and a consequent

wheels-up landing.

DATES: Effective March 11, 1997.

The incorporation by reference of

certain publications listed in the

regulations is approved by the Director

of the Federal Register as of March 11,

1997.

The incorporation by reference of

Raytheon Corporate Jets Service Bulletin

SB 32–233, dated June 24, 1994, listed

in the regulations, was approved

previously by the Director of the Federal

Register as of February 3, 1995 (60 FR

330, January 4, 1995).

ADDRESSES: The service information

referenced in this AD may be obtained

from Raytheon Aircraft Company,

Manager Service Engineering, Hawker

Customer Support Department, P.O. Box

85, Wichita, Kansas 67201–0085. This

information may be examined at the

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA),

Transport Airplane Directorate, Rules

Docket, 1601 Lind Avenue, SW.,

Renton, Washington; or at the Office of

the Federal Register, 800 North Capitol

Street, NW., Suite 700, Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tim

Backman, Aerospace Engineer,

Standardization Branch, ANM–113,

FAA, Transport Airplane Directorate,

1601 Lind Avenue, SW., Renton,

Washington 98055–4056; telephone

(206) 227–2797; fax (206) 227–1149.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A

proposal to amend part 39 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations (14 CFR part 39)

by superseding AD 94–26–12,

amendment 39–9107 (60 FR 330,

January 4, 1995), which is applicable to

certain Raytheon Model BAe 125–1A

through –1000A series airplanes and

Model Hawker 800 and 1000 airplanes,

was published in the Federal Register

on October 18, 1996 (61 FR 54359). The

action proposed to expand the

applicability of the existing AD to

include additional airplanes. It also

proposed to require installation of new,

improved sidestay jack pivot

assemblies, which would constitute

terminating action for the inspection

requirements of this AD.

Interested persons have been afforded

an opportunity to participate in the

making of this amendment. No