59304 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules

unused transferred annual leave

restored to the emergency leave donor

under paragraph (h) of this section may

be restored by—

(1) Crediting the restored annual leave

to the emergency leave donor’s annual

leave account in the current leave year;

or

(2) Crediting the restored annual leave

to the emergency leave donor’s annual

leave account effective as of the first day

of the first leave year beginning after the

date of election.

§ 630.1106 Termination of disaster or

emergency.

The disaster or emergency affecting an

emergency leave recipient shall

terminate—

(a) When OPM determines that the

disaster or emergency has terminated;

(b) When the emergency leave

recipient’s Federal service terminates;

(c) At the end of the biweekly pay

period in which the emergency leave

recipient, or his or her personal

representative, notifies the employing

agency that he or she is no longer

affected by such disaster or emergency;

(d) At the end of the biweekly pay

period in which the employing agency

determines, after written notice from the

agency and an opportunity for the

emergency leave recipient, or his or her

personal representative, to answer orally

or in writing, that the emergency leave

recipient is no longer affected by such

disaster or emergency; or

(e) At the end of the biweekly pay

period in which the emergency leave

recipient’s employing agency receives

notice that OPM has approved an

application for disability retirement for

the emergency leave recipient under the

Civil Service Retirement System or the

Federal Employees’ Retirement System.

§§ 630.1304, 630.1308, and 630.1309

[Amended]

Section Remove Add

630.1304(c) ............................................................................ § 630.1109(b)(1) .................................................................... § 630.1309(b)(1).

630.1308(b) ............................................................................ § 630.1107 ............................................................................. § 630.1307.

630.1309(b)(1) and (d) ........................................................... § 630.1104(c) ......................................................................... § 630.1304(c).

630.1309(d) ............................................................................ § 630.1103(b) ......................................................................... § 630.1303(b).

[FR Doc. 97–28970 Filed 10–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6325–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 304, 308, 310, 320, 327,

381, 416, and 417

[Docket No. 97–051N]

Reopening of Comment Period on the

Generic HACCP Models and Guidance

Materials

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service.

ACTION: Proposed rule; reopening of

comment period.

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing

the reopening of the comment period to

solicit additional public comment on

the 13 generic Hazard Analysis and

Critical Control Point (HACCP) models,

the Guidebook for the Preparation of

HACCP Plans, and Hazards and

Controls Guide for Meat and Poultry

Products. The comment period is being

reopened so that ongoing public

meetings on plant communication can

include further discussion on the

usefulness of the generic models and

guidance materials in preparing for

HACCP implementation.

DATES: Written comments on the generic

models and guidance materials must be

submitted on or before February 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The models, Guidebook,

and Guide may be viewed in the FSIS

Docket Reading Room, Room 102 Cotton

Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20250–3700 and at

Government Depository Libraries

throughout the country. Comments on

the models and other documents should

be directed to Ms. Diane Moore, FSIS

Docket Clerk, at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Patricia F. Stolfa, Assistant Deputy

Administrator, Regulations &

Inspection, Office of Policy, Program

Development, and Evaluation, Food

Safety and Inspection Service, at (202)

205–0699, FAX (202) 401–1760.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July

25, 1996, FSIS published a final rule,

‘‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis

and Critical Control Point (HACCP)

Systems’’ (61 FR 38806). This rule

introduces sweeping changes to the

meat and poultry inspection system and

directly targets pathogenic organisms on

those products that can cause foodborne

illness. In the preamble to the proposed

rule, FSIS announced it would develop

generic models to facilitate preparation

of mandated HACCP plans, especially

by ‘‘small’’ and ‘‘very small’’

establishments.

FSIS announced the availability of the

models and guidance materials on June

12, 1997, and solicited public comment

on those documents. (62 FR 32053) The

models included Generic HACCP Model

for Raw, Ground Meat and Poultry

Products; Generic HACCP Model for

Raw, Not Ground Meat and Poultry

Products; Generic HACCP Model for

Poultry Slaughter; Generic HACCP

Model for Mechanically Separated

(Species)/Mechanically Deboned

Poultry; Generic HACCP Model for

Thermally Processed Commercially

Sterile Meat and Poultry Products;

Generic HACCP Model for Irradiation;

Generic HACCP Model for Meat and

Poultry Products with Secondary

Inhibitors, Not Shelf-Stable; Generic

HACCP Model for Heat Treated, ShelfStable Meat and Poultry Products;

Generic HACCP Model for Not ShelfStable Heat Treated, Not Fully Cooked

Meat and Poultry Products; Generic

HACCP Model for Fully Cooked, Not

Shelf-Stable Meat and Poultry Products;

Generic HACCP Model for Beef

Slaughter; Generic HACCP Model for

Pork Slaughter; and Generic HACCP

Model for Not Heat Treated, ShelfStable Meat and Poultry Products. The

initial comment period expired on

August 11, 1997.

FSIS is reopening the comment period

to allow plant owners and operators to

further discuss the generic models and

other documents during the second

round of meetings held as part of the

Agency’s Plant Communications

Initiative. Seven meetings, including a

teleconference, are scheduled to be held

across the country from August 18

through December 6, 1997. FSIS is

interested in learning about the types of

technical assistance that would be

helpful to small plant managers in

development of their HACCP systems.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 212 / Monday, November 3, 1997 / Proposed Rules 59305

Done in Washington, DC, on: October 24,

1997.

Thomas J. Billy,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–29034 Filed 10–31–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 310 and 381

[Docket No. 97–004P]

RIN 0583–AC32

Generic E. coli Testing for Sheep,

Goats, Equine, Ducks, Geese and

Guineas

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing

to require establishments slaughtering

sheep, goats, horses, mules, and other

equines, and establishments

slaughtering ducks, geese, and guineas

to sample and test carcasses for generic

E. coli. This proposal extends the

sampling and testing requirements

already applied to establishments that

slaughter cattle, swine, chickens, and

turkeys. Regular microbial testing by

slaughter establishments is necessary to

verify the adequacy of the

establishment’s process controls for the

prevention and removal of fecal

contamination and associated bacteria.

DATES: Comments on the proposed

regulations must be received on or

before January 2, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

two copies of comments to: FSIS Docket

Clerk, DOCKET No. 97–004P, Room

3806, 1400 Independence Ave., SW,

Washington, DC 20250–3700.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms.

Patricia Stolfa, Assistant Deputy

Administrator, Office of Policy, Program

Development, and Evaluation, FSIS,

Room 402 Annex Building, Washington,

DC 20250-3700; (202) 205–0699.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On July 25, 1996, FSIS published a

final rule, ‘‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard

Analysis and Critical Control Point

(HACCP) Systems,’’ (61 FR 38806). The

new regulations (1) require that each

establishment develop, implement, and

maintain written sanitation standard

operating procedures (Sanitation SOP’s);

(2) require regular microbial testing for

generic E. coli by cattle, swine, chicken,

and turkey establishments to verify the

adequacy of the each establishment’s

process control for the prevention and

removal of fecal contamination and

associated bacteria; (3) establish

pathogen reduction performance

standards for Salmonella that slaughter

establishments and establishments

producing raw ground products must

meet; and (4) require that all meat and

poultry establishments develop and

implement a system of preventive

controls designed to improve the safety

of their products, known as HACCP

(Hazard Analysis and Critical Control

Points).

At present, all inspected

establishments that slaughter cattle,

swine, chickens or turkeys must sample

and test carcasses for generic E. coli.

These establishments must develop

sampling plans and sample at specified

frequencies, locations, and sites. They

must maintain records of results and

evaluate the results using either the

m/M criteria developed in FSIS’

baseline studies or, if m/M criteria are

not available, statistical process control

techniques. Establishments defined as

‘‘very low volume’’ may sample at an

alternative frequency. Also,

establishments operating under HACCP

may develop alternative sampling

frequencies if certain requirements are

met. The Pathogen Reduction/HACCP

final rule and the ‘‘Pathogen Reduction/

HACCP; Technical Amendments and

Corrections’’ rule (62 FR 26211) provide

detailed information about the need for

these requirements.

FSIS now is proposing to extend these

sampling and testing requirements to

sheep, goats, horses, mules and other

equines, defined as livestock in 9 CFR

301.2(qq), and to ducks, geese and

guineas, defined as poultry in 9 CFR

381.1(b)(40). All establishments

slaughtering sheep, goats, horses, mules

or other equines would be required to

meet the sampling and testing

requirements in 9 CFR 310.25.

Similarly, establishments slaughtering

ducks, geese and guineas would be

required to meet the sampling and

testing requirements in 9 CFR 381.94.

These establishments would only be

required to test sheep, goats, equines,

ducks, geese, or guineas if they

primarily slaughter these types of

livestock or poultry. FSIS considers the

livestock or poultry an establishment

slaughters in the largest number to be

that establishment’s primary type of

livestock or poultry slaughtered.

Sampling Frequencies and Definitions

For Very Low Volume Establishments

For the Pathogen Reduction/HACCP

final rule, FSIS used a methodology to

select sampling frequencies so that in

the subgroup of establishments

accounting for 99 percent of total

production for each type of livestock or

poultry, the 5 percent of establishments

with the highest production volume

would each conduct a minimum of 13

E. coli tests, one complete test

‘‘window’’, each day. Under these

frequencies, 90 percent of all cattle, 94

percent of all swine, 99 percent of all

chickens, and 99 percent of all turkeys

would be slaughtered in establishments

conducting a minimum of one E. coli

test per day. Additionally, FSIS

concluded that all establishments,

except those defined as very low

volume establishments, must conduct

sampling at a frequency of at least once

per week to provide a minimum,

adequate basis for process control

verification.

FSIS developed alternative sample

frequencies for establishments defined

as ‘‘very low volume.’’ If there are

published m/M criteria for the type of

livestock or poultry primarily

slaughtered, the establishment must

sample that type of livestock or poultry

at a minimum frequency of once per

week starting the first full week of

operation after June 1 until a series of

13 tests has met those m/M criteria. If

there are no m/M criteria for the type of

livestock or poultry primarily

slaughtered, a very low volume

establishment must collect at least one

sample per week, starting the first full

week of operation after June 1 of each

year, and continue sampling at a

minimum of once each week the

establishment operates until June 1 of

the following year or until 13 samples

have been collected, whichever comes

first. This provision will be eliminated

once m/M criteria are developed for the

primary type of livestock or poultry

slaughtered.

FSIS permits very low volume

establishments to test at this frequency,

in part, because of their relatively

simple and stable production

environments. Also, FSIS assumed that

the total risk of exposure to enteric

pathogens from products produced at

such establishments would be small and

roughly proportional to the amount of

products produced. FSIS requires these

establishments to begin testing in June

because it is most important for these

establishments to conduct testing during

the summer months, when there is a

seasonal peak in the occurrence of

foodborne diseases attributable to the

major bacterial pathogens.

The final rule noted that very low

volume cattle and swine establishments

account for only 1.5 percent and 1.3

percent of overall production,