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Notices Federal Register

76210

Vol. 65, No. 235

Wednesday, December 6, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00–047N]

FSIS: The Next Steps

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS) will hold a

public meeting on December 13, 2000,

to discuss the Agency’s plans to

continue to improve the quality and

effectiveness of its programs and to

work with establishments in the meat

and poultry industry to improve their

performance under the Pathogen

Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP) regulations.

FSIS believes that, since the HACCPbased regulatory approach has now been

implemented in meat and poultry

establishments of all sizes, it is time to

plan for these improvements. At the

meeting, FSIS will provide information

and receive comments from the public

on several major areas in which

improvements can and should be made.

FSIS will carefully consider the input

from all interested parties at this

meeting in formulating a multi-year

strategy for such program

improvements.

DATES: The meeting will be held from

9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on December 13,

2000. Written comments must be

received on or before January 5, 2001.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at

the Washington Monarch Hotel, 2401 M

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20037;

telephone (202) 429–2400. Submit

written comments to the FSIS Docket

Clerk, Room 102, Cotton Annex

Building, 300 12th Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–3700. Interested

persons are requested to submit an

original and two copies of comments

concerning this subject. Comments

should be sent to the Docket Clerk at the

address shown above and should refer

to Docket No. 00–047N. Copies of all

comments submitted in response to this

notice will be available for public

inspection in the FSIS Docket Room

between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To

obtain general information about the

meeting arrangements, contact Ms. Sally

Fernandez at (202) 690–6524 or fax at

(202) 690–6519. For more technical

program information, contact Loren

Lange, Special Assistant to the Deputy

Administrator, Office of Policy, Program

Development, and Evaluation, FSIS, at

(202) 690–4039 or fax (202) 205–0058.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

regulatory requirements mandated by

the Pathogen Reduction/HACCP final

rule (61 FR 33806 et seq.) have now

been implemented by meat and poultry

establishments of all sizes. Although

some of the establishments have

excellent HACCP programs, it is clear

that other establishments have less

effective programs, and that some

owners and managers may not fully

understand their responsibilities under

the Sanitation Standard Operating

Procedures regulations (9 CFR 416.11–

416.17) and HACCP program

requirements (9 CFR 417).

It is also clear that FSIS activities can

be improved. Many more FSIS

personnel need training, more

experience, and better feedback in

HACCP concepts and in the application

of FSIS HACCP regulations. FSIS

personnel also need additional guidance

material that they can use to better assist

small and very small establishments. In

addition, FSIS must complete regulatory

actions that fill in gaps in the HACCP

framework and the farm-to-table food

safety continuum. FSIS needs to

establish the necessary infrastructure to

fulfill its responsibilities as a 21st

century public health regulatory agency.

The public meeting is being held to

discuss the Agency’s current thinking

on, and public reaction to, themes that

will guide the Agency’s strategies and

activities for making system

improvements. At the public meeting,

presentations will be made on HACCP

experience and accomplishments to

date and the Agency’s thinking about

the concepts that are likely to guide its

future actions. After the presentations,

there will be opportunity for further

discussion and comment by interested

parties.

Additional Public Notification

FSIS has considered the potential

civil rights impact of this notice on

minorities, women, and persons with

disabilities. FSIS anticipates that this

notice will not have a negative or

disproportionate impact on minorities,

women, or persons with disabilities.

However, notices are designed to

provide information and receive public

comment on issues that may lead to new

or revised Agency regulations or

instructions. Public involvement in all

segments of rulemaking and policy

development is important.

Consequently, in an effort to better

ensure that minorities, women, and

persons with disabilities are aware of

this notice and are informed about the

mechanism for providing their

comments, FSIS will announce it and

provide copies of this Federal Register

publication in the FSIS Constituent

Update.

FSIS provides a weekly Constituent

Update, which is communicated via fax

to more than 300 organizations and

individuals. In addition, the update is

available on-line through the FSIS web

page located at http://

www.fsis.usda.gov. The update is used

to provide information regarding FSIS

policies, procedures, information

regarding FSIS policies, procedures,

regulations, Federal Register notices,

FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other

types of information that could affect or

would be of interest to our constituents/

stakeholders. The constituent fax list

consists of industry, trade, and farm

groups, allied health professionals,

scientific professionals, and other

persons who have requested to be

included. Through these various

channels, FSIS is able to provide

information to a much broader, more

diverse audience. For more information

and to be added to the constituent fax

list, fax your request to the

Congressional and Public Affairs Office,

at (202) 720–5704.

Done in Washington, DC, on November 30,

2000.

Thomas J. Billy,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–31069 Filed 12–5–00; 8:45 am]

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