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

92607 

Vol. 89, No. 226 

Friday, November 22, 2024 

1Proposed Regulatory Framework to Salmonella 

Illnesses Attributable to Poultry. Available at: 

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/inspection/inspectionprograms/inspection-poultry-products/reducingsalmonella-poultry/proposed. 

2Quantitative Risk Assessment for Salmonella in 

Raw Chicken and Chicken Products and 

Quantitative Risk Assessment for Salmonella in 

Raw Turkey and Turkey Products available at: 

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/science-data/riskassessments/poultry-risk-assessment-filessalmonella-framework. 

3Salmonella in Poultry: Research and Science 

Roundtable. Available at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/events-meetings/ 

salmonella-poultry-research-and-scienceroundtable. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Part 381 

[Docket No. FSIS–2023–0028] 

RIN 0583–AD96 

Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry 

Products 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA). 

ACTION: Notification of public meetings. 

SUMMARY: FSIS is hosting two virtual 

public meetings to give stakeholders an 

opportunity to present their views on 

and discuss the Salmonella Framework 

for Raw Poultry Products proposed rule 

and proposed determination. The first 

meeting will focus on the proposed final 

product standards under Component 

Three of the proposed Framework. The 

second meeting will focus on 

Component Two’s proposed regulatory 

amendments to enhance establishment 

process control monitoring and will also 

address additional aspects of the 

proposed Salmonella Framework raised 

by stakeholders. FSIS is holding these 

public meetings to solicit stakeholder 

views on the proposed Salmonella 

Framework and to facilitate dialogue 

among stakeholders and the Agency. 

DATES: The virtual public meetings will 

be held on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, 

from 1 p.m.–4 p.m. Eastern Standard 

Time (EST) and Thursday, December 5, 

2024, from 1 p.m.–4 p.m. EST. 

ADDRESSES: The meetings will be virtual 

and will be viewed via the Teams link 

provided by email when you register for 

the meetings. Attendees must be preregistered for the meetings. See the preregistration instructions under 

‘‘Registration and Meeting Materials.’’ 

Written comments on the Salmonella 

Framework for Raw Poultry Products 

Proposed Rule and Proposed 

Determination may be submitted by one 

of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

website provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this web page or 

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– 

2023–0028. 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Julie 

Lastra, Director Internal Affairs by 

telephone at (202) 731–4584 or email at 

Julie.Lastra@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

FSIS is the public health agency in 

USDA whose mission is to ensure that 

meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, 

wholesome, and properly labeled and 

packaged. In October 2022, FSIS 

published a Salmonella Framework 

document, a precursor to a proposed 

rule and determination, which shared 

the agency’s thinking on an alternative 

approach to reducing Salmonella 

contamination in raw poultry and 

related illnesses.1 The Framework 

document was informed by months of 

information-gathering and discussions 

with a wide range of stakeholders, 

researchers, and scientists. On August 7, 

2024, FSIS published the Salmonella 

Framework for Raw Poultry Products 

proposed rule and proposed 

determination (89 FR 64678), which, if 

finalized, would constitute a new 

strategy to control Salmonella in poultry 

products. The proposed rule and 

determination consist of three 

components. Component One focuses 

on a non-regulatory approach for 

mitigating the risk of introducing 

Salmonella into the processing 

establishment. 

Component Two of the proposal 

would revise the regulations in 9 CFR 

381.65(g) and (h) that require that all 

poultry slaughter establishments 

develop, implement, and maintain 

written procedures to prevent 

contamination by enteric pathogens 

throughout the entire slaughter and 

dressing operation and maintain records 

documenting those procedures. FSIS is 

proposing to amend these regulations to 

establish new requirements pertaining 

to how establishments monitor and 

document whether their processes for 

preventing microbial contamination are 

in control. The proposed revisions are 

intended to clarify existing regulatory 

requirements related to process control 

monitoring in 9 CFR 381.65(g) and (h). 

Under this proposal, establishments 

would be required to incorporate 

statistical process control (SPC) 

monitoring principles into their 

microbial monitoring programs (MMPs). 

Component Three of the proposed 

Framework would establish final 

product standards that would define 

whether certain raw poultry products 

contaminated with a certain Salmonella 

level and particular serotypes are 

adulterated as defined in the Poultry 

Products Inspection Act (PPIA) (21 

U.S.C. 451 et seq.). The Salmonella level 

and serotypes in the proposed final 

product standards were informed by 

two peer-reviewed quantitative risk 

assessments developed by FSIS—one for 

Salmonella in chicken and one for 

Salmonella in turkey 2—and a thorough 

review of multiple FSIS efforts initiated 

to inform the proposal, including 

scientific information provided at a 

February 2022 research and science 

roundtable,3 stakeholder input received 

at a November 2022 virtual public 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
92608 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 226 / Friday, November 22, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

4Public Meeting on Reducing Salmonella in 

Poultry available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news-events/events-meetings/public-meetingreducing-salmonella-poultry. 

5NACMR final report: Response to Questions 

Posed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service: 

Enhancing Salmonella Control in Poultry Products 

(March 13, 2023). Available at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/advisory-committees/ 

national-advisory-committee-microbiologicalcriteria-foods-nacmcf/2021. 

6Risk Profile for Pathogenic Salmonella in 

Poultry available at: https://www.regulations.gov/ 

docket/FSIS-2023-0028. 

7FSIS Constituent Update—October 11, 2024; 

FSIS Extends Comment Period on Proposed 

Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products. 

Available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/newsevents/news-press-releases/constituent-updateoctober-11-2024. 

meeting,4 a 2023 National Advisory 

Committee on Microbiological Criteria 

for Food (NACMCF) report,5 and an 

externally peer-reviewed 2023 risk 

profile.6 The proposed final product 

standards would apply to raw chicken 

carcasses, chicken parts, comminuted 

chicken, and comminuted turkey. As 

stated in the proposal, FSIS has 

tentatively determined that these 

products are adulterated if they contain 

any type of Salmonella at or above 10 

colony forming units/per milliliter or 

gram (10 cfu/mL(g)) in analytical 

portion (i.e., mL of rinsate or gram of 

product) and contain any detectable 

level of at least one of the Salmonella 

serotypes of public health significance 

identified for that commodity. The 

proposed Salmonella serotypes of 

public health significance identified for 

raw chicken carcasses, chicken parts, 

and comminuted chicken are 

Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and I 

4,[5],12:i:-, and for raw comminuted 

turkey are Hadar, Typhimurium, and 

Muenchen. 

In the proposal, FSIS requested 

comments on various aspects of all three 

Components in the proposed 

Salmonella Framework. The comment 

period was originally scheduled to close 

on October 7, 2024, but was extended 

until January 17, 2025.7

Public Meetings 

FSIS is announcing that it will hold 

two virtual public meetings during the 

open comment period. The first meeting 

will be held on Tuesday, December 3, 

2024, from 1 p.m.–4 p.m. EST, and will 

focus on the final product standards 

under Component Three. The second 

will be held on Thursday, December 5, 

2024, from 1 p.m.–4 p.m. EST, and will 

focus on the enhanced process control 

monitoring provisions under 

Component Two and any additional 

issues raised by stakeholders on the 

proposed Framework. The purpose of 

the meetings is to give stakeholders an 

opportunity to present their views on 

certain aspects of the proposed 

Salmonella Framework and to facilitate 

discussion among stakeholders and the 

agency. An agenda will be published 

online before the public meetings. FSIS 

will finalize the agenda on or before the 

meeting dates and post it on the FSIS 

website for the December 3, 2024 

meeting at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news-events/events-meetings/productstandards-and-salmonella-frameworkraw-poultry-products and the December 

5, 2024 meeting at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/eventsmeetings/process-control-monitoringand-salmonella-framework-raw-poultry. 

Registration and Meeting Materials 

There is no fee to register for the 

meetings, but pre-registration is 

mandatory for participants attending. 

All attendees must register online by 

visiting the event page for the December 

3, 2024 meeting at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/eventsmeetings/product-standards-andsalmonella-framework-raw-poultryproducts and the December 5, 2024 

meeting at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news-events/events-meetings/processcontrol-monitoring-and-salmonellaframework-raw-poultry. After 

registering, they will receive an email 

acknowledging their registration. 

Stakeholders interested in presenting 

their views on a particular topic must 

notify FSIS when they register and must 

submit a brief description of the 

information they would like to present. 

Stakeholders interested in presenting 

must register by November 26, 2024. 

FSIS will review the stakeholder 

submissions and extend invitations for 

selected stakeholders to speak at the 

meetings. The Agency’s goal is to have 

presentations from a wide variety of 

stakeholders, including industry, 

consumer groups, and academia. FSIS 

will provide time for the stakeholders in 

the larger audience to provide input and 

ask the presenting stakeholders 

questions. Attendees that do not plan to 

speak at the meetings may register at 

any time up to the day of the meeting. 

Transcripts 

As soon as the meeting transcripts are 

available, they will be accessible on the 

FSIS website for the December 3, 2024 

meeting at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news-events/events-meetings/productstandards-and-salmonella-frameworkraw-poultry-products and the December 

5, 2024 meeting at: https://

www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/eventsmeetings/process-control-monitoringand-salmonella-framework-raw-poultry. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

In accordance with Federal civil 

rights law and U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (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; or 

(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. 

Paul Kiecker, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27280 Filed 11–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 


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