15154 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 61 / Monday, March 31, 1997 / Notices

INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES—Continued

[Effective from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998]

Household size

Federal Poverty Guidelines Reduced Price Meals—185%

Annual Month Week Annual Month Week

2 ........................................................................................ 10,610 885 205 19,629 1,636 378

3 ........................................................................................ 13,330 1,111 257 24,661 2,056 475

4 ........................................................................................ 16,050 1,338 309 29,693 2,475 572

5 ........................................................................................ 18,770 1,565 361 34,725 2,894 668

6 ........................................................................................ 21,490 1,791 414 39,757 3,314 765

7 ........................................................................................ 24,210 2,018 466 44,789 3,733 862

8 ........................................................................................ 26,930 2,245 518 49,821 4,152 959

For each add’l family member add ................................... +2,720 +227 +53 +5,032 +420 +97

ALASKA

1 ........................................................................................ 9,870 823 190 18,260 1,522 352

2 ........................................................................................ 13,270 1,106 256 24,550 2,046 473

3 ........................................................................................ 16,670 1,390 321 30,840 2,570 594

4 ........................................................................................ 20,070 1,673 386 37,130 3,095 715

5 ........................................................................................ 23,470 1,956 452 43,420 3,619 835

6 ........................................................................................ 26,870 2,240 517 49,710 4,143 956

7 ........................................................................................ 30,270 2,523 583 56,000 4,667 1,077

8 ........................................................................................ 33,670 2,806 648 62,290 5,191 1,198

For each add’l family member add ................................... +3,400 +284 +66 +6,290 +525 +121

HAWAII

1 ........................................................................................ 9,070 756 175 16,780 1,399 323

2 ........................................................................................ 12,200 1,017 235 22,570 1,881 435

3 ........................................................................................ 15,330 1,278 295 28,361 2,364 546

4 ........................................................................................ 18,460 1,539 355 34,151 2,846 657

5 ........................................................................................ 21,590 1,800 416 39,942 3,329 769

6 ........................................................................................ 24,720 2,060 476 45,732 3,811 880

7 ........................................................................................ 27,850 2,321 536 51,523 4,294 991

8 ........................................................................................ 30,980 2,582 596 57,313 4,777 1,103

For each add’l family member add ................................... +3,130 +261 +61 +5,791 +483 +112

Dated: March 21, 1997.

William E. Ludwig,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–8096 Filed 3–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 97–002N]

Solicitations for Bids on Proposals

Relating to FSIS’s Farm to Table

Strategy

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS) has

announced in the Commerce Business

Daily a series of solicitations for bids

concerning animal production practices

as they relate to food safety. Four of

these solicitations consist of

demonstrating voluntarily implemented

pre-slaughter practices that reduce

contaminants in or on food animals

presented for slaughter and enhance the

ability of slaughter establishments to

meet pathogen reduction performance

standards and institute sound risk-based

HACCP plans for incoming animals. The

interest areas are pork, poultry, non-fed

beef and sheep. A fifth project is to learn

what training methodologies have been

effective in improving food animal

production safety practices. A sixth

project is to support a survey of small

producers to determine producer needs

as slaughter establishments develop

pathogen reduction HACCP systems.

ADDRESSES: Solicitation packages may

be requested from Julie Adams, Head,

Acquisition Agreements Section, Room

2161, South Agriculture Building, FSIS,

USDA, Washington, DC 20250; FAX

(202) 690–1814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Refer to the Commerce Business Daily,

dated 2/27/97, page 4.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

In the final rule, ‘‘Pathogen

Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP) Systems’’ (61 FR

38806), published on July 25, 1996,

FSIS discussed its farm-to-table food

safety strategy (61 FR 38810). This

strategy focuses on the control of food

safety hazards throughout the

continuum of animal production,

slaughter and processing, distribution,

and sale of meat and poultry products.

FSIS has historically focused on the

manufacturing of meat and poultry

products through its inspection

program; however, the Agency’s public

health mandate requires that it also

consider the pre- and post-processing

hazards as part of a comprehensive

strategy to prevent foodborne illness.

The farm-to-table food safety strategy

is founded on three principles:

• Hazards that could result in

foodborne illness arise at each stage of

the farm-to-table continuum: animal

production and slaughter, and the

processing, transportation, storage, and

retail, restaurant, or food service sale of

meat and poultry products. Each stage

presents hazards of pathogen and other

contamination and each provides

opportunities for minimizing the effect

of those hazards.

• Those in control of each segment of

the farm-to-table continuum bear

responsibility for identifying and

preventing or reducing food safety

hazards that are under their operational

control.
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 61 / Monday, March 31, 1997 / Notices 15155

• The Agency’s public health

mandate requires that it address

foodborne illness hazards within each

segment of the food production chain

and implement or encourage preventive

strategies that improve the whole

system.

As part of this farm-to-table strategy,

FSIS is interested in supporting a series

of pilot demonstration projects which

may assist food animal producers,

markets, the slaughter and processing

industry, and the Agency in meeting

food safety challenges in a preventive

HACCP framework. These projects are

intended to develop and foster

voluntary food safety measures that can

reasonably be taken on the farm,

through marketing channels, and during

preslaughter preparation to decrease

public health hazards in animals

presented for slaughter.

Therefore, the Agency has announced

in the Commerce Business Daily a series

of solicitations for bid on proposals to

gain information concerning animal

production practices as they pertain to

food safety. Briefly, these solicitations

are as follows:

Proposals 1–4—Pathogen Reduction in

Four Species

FSIS is interested in funding pilot

projects that use risk assessment

strategies to demonstrate the

application, feasibility, and

effectiveness of current technologies for

controlling contaminants and that

emphasize pre-slaughter pathogen

reduction. Multi-disciplinary teams in

multiple geographical locations are

required. Projects must demonstrate

multi-geographical and multi-seasonal

applicability.

There are four project/species areas of

interest: pork, poultry, non-fed beef, and

sheep. For poultry, there is information

available on intervention methods used

to reduce pathogens in/on poultry

during production and transportation to

slaughter. A possible approach would

be to demonstrate whether or not multifaceted (two or more) risk reduction

practices carried out pre-slaughter could

reliably reduce carcass contamination.

With regard to pork, non-fed beef, and

sheep, the Agency is interested in

learning the relationship of current

production practices to the incidence of

pathogens in slaughter facilities. Using

animal identification techniques to

improve information-sharing between

production and slaughter/processing

entities is required for non-fed beef and

encouraged for pork and sheep.

Proposal 5—Training for Food Animal

Producers

FSIS is also interested in learning

which training methodologies will work

best to maximize the effectiveness of

future food safety initiatives directed at

food animal producers, particularly

small producers. The purpose of these

programs is to improve the ability of

food animal producers to maintain

sustainable operations as they address

requirements of slaughter

establishments implementing

preventive HACCP systems and other

food safety responsibilities.

Proposal 6—Survey of Small Producer

HACCP Needs

FSIS is interested in supporting a

survey of small producers and small and

very small slaughter establishments.

The purpose of the survey is to

determine the needs of producers who

supply slaughter establishments as these

establishments consider developing

pathogen reduction and HACCP

systems. Proposals should address

multiple geographic locations with a

focus on disadvantaged areas and

various slaughter classes. The

evaluation must include access to and

use of veterinary services, knowledge

and implementation of commodity food

safety/quality assurance programs, and

recordkeeping practices for animal drug

use.

Done at Washington, DC, on March 24,

1997.

Thomas J. Billy,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 97–7996 Filed 3–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–DR–P

Natural Resources Conservation

Service

Changes in the State Technical Guides

in Oregon

AGENCY: Natural Resources

Conservation Service (formerly the Soil

Conservation Service), USDA.

ACTION: Notice of change.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 343 of

Subtitle E of the Federal Agricultural

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996

(FAIRA) that requires the Secretary of

Agriculture to provide public notice and

comment under Section 553 of Title,

United States Code, with regard to any

future technical guides that are used to

carry out Subtitles A, B, and C of Title

XII of the Food Security Action of 1985

(16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.), the Natural

Resources Conservation Service, United

States Department of Agriculture, gives

notice of revisions to all conservation

practices in Section IV of the State

technical guides in Oregon. The

distribution of these revisions and an

updated index of conservation practices

standards and specifications will be via

Oregon Bulletin OR 450–7–2 dated

March 14, 1997.

These revisions to conservation

practices in Section IV of State technical

guides are subject to these provisions

since one or more used or could be used

as part of a conservation management

system to comply with the Highly

Erodible Land Conservation or Wetland

Conservation requirements.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Roy M. Carlson, Jr., Leader—Technology

Development, USDA–NRCS, 101 SW

Main, Suite 1300, Portland, OR 97204–

3221. FAX (503) 414–3277 or Internet:

rcarlson@or.nrcs.usda.gov.

A copy of the new index and any of

the revised items can be obtained from

Roy Carlson. These items will also be

available at each of the NRCS field

offices in Oregon beginning March 31,

1997. Comments can be sent to Roy

Carlson at the NRCS state office in

Portland, Oregon.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In Oregon,

‘‘technical guides’’ refers to the Field

Office Technical Guide maintained at

each NRCS field Office in Oregon. The

previous revisions to conservation

practices in technical guides in Oregon

were issued in June 1994. The former

Oregon ‘‘Index of Conservation Practice

Standards and Specifications’’ was

dated June 1994. The revised

conservation practices and revised

index will be dated March 1997 and

include all of the conservation practices

and standards and conservation practice

specifications. Revisions include word

changes, reformatting sections of

practice standards to be consistent with

new national guidelines, name changes,

renumbering, additions, deletions and

redating.

Dated: March 25, 1997.

Leonard Jordan,

Asst. State Conservationist, Natural

Resources Conservation Service.

[FR Doc. 97–8023 Filed 3–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–16–M

Rural Business-Cooperative Service

Notice of Request for Extension of a

Currently Approved Information

Collection

AGENCY: Rural Business-Cooperative

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Proposed collection; Comments

requested.