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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 245 (Friday, December 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 104077-104079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30484]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2024-0024]

National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for 
Foods; Membership Nominations

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice; soliciting nominations.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the provisions of the rules and regulations of the 
USDA and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the USDA is 
soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory 
Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF)and announcing 
potential charges for the 2025-2027 term. USDA seeks to appoint 30 
members. Advisory Committee members serve a two-year term beginning 
September 2025 through September 2027. Members may be reappointed for 
one additional consecutive term at the discretion of the Secretary of 
Agriculture.

DATES: All nomination packages must be received by February 18, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Nomination packages should be sent by email to 
[email protected], or mailed to: The Honorable Thomas Vilsack, Secretary, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 1128 
South Building, Attn: Kristal Southern, Designated Federal Officer, 
FSIS\OPHS\National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for 
Foods, Washington, DC 20250.
    Docket: For access to documents, call (202) 205-5046 to schedule a 
time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kristal Southern, Designated Federal 
Officer, by email to [email protected] or by telephone at 202-937-4162.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: USDA is soliciting nominations for 
membership to the NACMCF. USDA seeks to appoint 30 members.
    To obtain a scientific perspective that considers all stakeholders, 
USDA is seeking NACMCF nominees with scientific expertise in 
microbiology, risk assessment, public health, food science, and other 
relevant disciplines. USDA is seeking nominations for NACMCF from 
persons in academia, industry, and State governments, as well as all 
other interested persons with the required expertise.
    All nominees will undergo a USDA background check. Advisory 
committee

[[Page 104078]]

members who are not Federal government employees will be appointed to 
serve as non-compensated special government employees (SGE). SGEs will 
be subject to appropriate conflict of interest statutes and standards 
of ethical conduct. Members can serve on only one USDA Advisory 
Committee at a time. Applicants that are federally registered lobbyists 
will not be considered for USDA's NACMCF.
    Committee members serve 2-year terms that can be reappointed for 
one additional term. Former members are eligible for repeat service 
after one term of non-service.
    Nominations for membership on the NACMCF must be addressed to the 
Secretary of Agriculture and a complete nomination package must 
include: a cover letter addressing the nomination, a resume or 
curriculum vitae, and a completed USDA Advisory Committee Membership 
Background Information form AD-755 (available online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-755.pdf).
    The resume or curriculum vitae must be limited to five one-sided 
pages and should include educational background, expertise, and a list 
of select publications, if available. Any submissions with more than 
the prescribed five one-sided pages in length will have only the first 
five pages reviewed. A person may self-nominate, or a nomination can be 
made on behalf of someone else.

Background

    The NACMCF provides impartial scientific advice and recommendations 
to the USDA and other government agencies on microbiological and public 
health issues relative to the safety of the U.S. food supply.
    The NACMCF is a discretionary advisory committee that was 
established in 1988, by the Secretary of Agriculture, and after 
consulting with the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, in response to the recommendations of two external 
organizations. The National Academy of Sciences recommended an 
interagency approach to microbiological criteria, since various 
federal, State, and local agencies are responsible for food safety. 
Also, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations 
made a similar recommendation in the Rural Development, Agriculture, 
and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988. The 
charter for the NACMCF is available for viewing at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/advisory-committees/national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf. The food safety 
programs of the USDA FSIS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
are strengthened through NACMCF recommendations. The programs of other 
Federal agencies concerned with food safety, including the Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Commerce, National 
Marine Fisheries Service, and the Department of Defense, Veterinary 
Services also benefit from NACMCF work. FSIS anticipates that the 2025-
2027 term Committee will work on charges related to one or more of the 
following topics: Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat meat and 
poultry products from FSIS, and food safety strategies for aged raw 
milk cheeses, from FDA.
    The Committee reports to the Secretary of Agriculture through the 
Under Secretary for Food Safety, the Committee's Chair, and to the 
Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Assistant Secretary 
for Health or their representative, the Committee's Vice-Chair. 
Currently, Dr. Jos[eacute] Emilio Esteban, Under Secretary for Food 
Safety, USDA, is the Committee Chair; Dr. Donald Prater, Principal 
Associate Commissioner for Human Foods, FDA, is the Vice-Chair; and Dr. 
Kristal Southern, FSIS, is the Director of the NACMCF Secretariat and 
Designated Federal Officer.
    Appointments to the Committee will be made by the Secretary of 
Agriculture and take into account the needs of the diverse groups 
served by the USDA.
    The full Committee expects to meet at least once a year, virtually 
or in person, and the meetings will be announced in advance in the 
Federal Register. NACMCF holds subcommittee meetings in order to 
accomplish the work of the Committee; all subcommittee work is reviewed 
and approved during a public meeting of the full Committee, as 
announced in the Federal Register. Subcommittees may invite technical 
experts to present information for consideration by the subcommittee. 
All data and records available to the full Committee are expected to be 
available to the public after the full Committee has reviewed and 
approved the work of the subcommittee.
    Advisory committee members are expected to attend all scheduled 
meetings during their 2-year term to ensure the smooth functioning of 
the advisory committee. Members must be prepared to work outside of 
scheduled Committee and subcommittee meetings and may be required to 
assist in document preparation. Committee members serve on a voluntary 
basis; however, travel expenses and per diem reimbursements are 
available when in person meetings occur.

Regarding Nominees Who Are Selected

    All SGE and Federal government employee nominees who are selected 
must complete the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) 450 Confidential 
Financial Disclosure Report before rendering any advice or before their 
first meeting. All Committee members will be reviewed pursuant to 18 
U.S.C. 208 for conflicts of interest relating to specific NACMCF work 
charges, and financial disclosure updates will be required annually. 
Members subject to financial disclosure must report any changes in 
financial holdings requiring additional disclosure. OGE 450 forms are 
available online at: https://www.oge.gov/web/oge.nsf/ethicsofficials_financial-disc.

Documents and Comments

    NACMCF documents and comments posted on the FSIS website are 
electronic conversions from a variety of source formats. In some cases, 
document conversion may result in character translation or formatting 
errors. The original document is the official, legal copy. To meet the 
electronic and information technology accessibility standards in 
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, NACMCF may add alternate text 
descriptors for non-text elements (graphs, charts, tables, multimedia, 
etc.). These modifications only affect the internet copies of the 
documents. Copyrighted documents will not be posted on FSIS' website 
but will be available for inspection in the FSIS Docket Room.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important.Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal 
Register publication on-line through the FSIS web page located at: 
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register.
    FSIS will also announce and provide a link to it through the FSIS 
Constituent Update, which is used to provide information regarding FSIS 
policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS 
public meetings, and other types of information that could affect or 
would be of interest to our constituents and stakeholders. The 
Constituent Update is available on the FSIS web page. Through the web 
page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, more 
diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email subscription 
service which provides automatic and customized access to selected food 
safety news and information. This service is available at:

[[Page 104079]]

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/subscribe. Options range from recalls to 
export information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can 
add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to password 
protect their accounts.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and 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 Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, 
which can be obtained online at https://www.usda.gov/forms/electronic-forms, 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: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. Equal 
opportunity practices in accordance with USDA's policies will be 
followed in all member appointments to the committee. To ensure that 
the recommendations of the committee consider the needs of the diverse 
groups served by USDA, membership shall include, to the extent 
practicable, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent the 
many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, 
abilities, cultures, and beliefs of the American people, including 
underserved communities.

    Dated: December 13, 2024.
Cikena Reid,
USDA Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-30484 Filed 12-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P
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