[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50130-50132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19219]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2021-N-0929]


Food and Drug Administration New Era of Smarter Food Safety 
Summit on E-Commerce; Public Meeting; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing a 
virtual public meeting entitled ``FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety 
Summit on E-Commerce: Ensuring the Safety of Foods Ordered Online and 
Delivered Directly to Consumers.'' The purpose of the public meeting is 
to engage with stakeholders and invite input on various topics 
pertaining to the implementation of Core Element 3.1 of the New Era of 
Smarter Food Safety Blueprint. We intend to use information resulting 
from the public meeting to determine what action(s), if any, should be 
taken to help ensure the safe production and delivery of human and 
animal foods sold through new e-commerce business models.

DATES: The public meeting will be held over 3 days on October 19, 2021, 
from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time; October 20, 2021, from 11:30 
a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Eastern Time, and October 21, 2021, from 11:30 a.m. 
to 3:45 p.m. Eastern Time. Submit either electronic or written comments 
on this public meeting by November 20, 2021. See ``Participating in the 
Public Meeting'' in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document for registration and other information regarding meeting 
participation.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held virtually. For more 
information on the public meeting, see: https://www.fda.gov/food/workshops-meetings-webinars-food-and-dietary-supplements/new-era-smarter-food-safety-summit-e-commerce-ensuring-safety-foods-ordered-online-and-delivered.
    You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely 
filed comments will not be considered. Electronic comments must be 
submitted on or before November 20, 2021. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of November 20, 2021. Comments 
received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) 
will be considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery 
service acceptance receipt is on or before that date.

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
    <bullet> If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and ``Instructions'').

[[Page 50131]]

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
    <bullet> Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    <bullet> For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets 
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2021-N-0929 for ``FDA New Era of Smarter Food Safety Summit on E-
Commerce.'' Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see 
ADDRESSES), will be placed in the docket and, except for those 
submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. 
and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 240-402-7500.
    <bullet> Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' We will review 
this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in our 
consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed 
confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for 
public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both 
copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name 
and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide 
this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your 
comments and you must identify this information as ``confidential.'' 
Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not be disclosed except 
in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. 
For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, 
see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: 
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, 
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852, 240-402-7500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Juanita Yates, Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition, (HFS-009), Food and Drug Administration, 5001 
Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-1731, 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1f756a7e71766b7e31667e6b7a6c5f797b7e3177776c31787069"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b312e3a35322f3a75223a2f3e281b3d3f3a75333328753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In April 2019, we announced the New Era of Smarter Food Safety 
initiative and in July 2020, we released the New Era of Smarter Food 
Safety Blueprint (see https://www.fda.gov/food/new-era-smarter-food-safety/new-era-smarter-food-safety-blueprint) (Blueprint). The 
Blueprint outlines the effort to modernize approaches to food safety as 
we respond to unique demands on our food system and work to ensure the 
safety and security of our food supply. This virtual public meeting 
(Summit) will focus on Core Element 3.1: Ensure Safety of Food Produced 
or Delivered Using New Business Models. Specifically, we invite 
discussion and input on human and animal foods sold through Business to 
Consumer (B2C) e-commerce. B2C e-commerce is the manufacturing, 
packaging, labeling, storage, and delivery of human and animal foods 
sold directly to consumers, through commercial transactions conducted 
electronically on the internet.
    The Summit is an opportunity for us to share our current 
understanding of human and animal foods sold through new business 
models and hear from the public. The Summit will enhance our knowledge 
of possible food safety risks related to these new business models and 
help us identify what additional courses of action, if any, are needed 
to address potential food safety vulnerabilities.
    We invite industry, consumers, consumer and public health 
organizations, academia, Federal, State, local, and tribal governments, 
foreign governments, and other interested parties to join the 
discussion and provide their perspectives on these issues.

II. Topics for Discussion at the Public Meeting

    The Summit will address a variety of topics related to human and 
animal foods sold through B2C e-commerce, including:
    <bullet> Types of B2C e-commerce models (e.g., produce and meal kit 
subscription services, ghost kitchens, dark stores);
    <bullet> Safety risks associated with foods sold through B2C e-
commerce;
    <bullet> Standards of care used by industry to control these safety 
risks;
    <bullet> Types of delivery models (e.g., third-party delivery, 
autonomous delivery models);
    <bullet> Regulatory approaches to food sold through B2C e-commerce, 
including challenges and gaps that need to be addressed; and
    <bullet> Labeling of foods sold through B2C e-commerce.
    During the Summit, experts from FDA, industry, academia, consumer 
and public health organizations, domestic and foreign governments will 
be asked to address these topics. Each day, there will also be an 
opportunity for registered participants to ask questions and engage 
with these experts, as well as to offer open public comment for those 
who select this option when registering (see Part III, ``Participating 
in the Public Meeting'').
    Before the meeting date, we will post the agenda and additional 
background materials on the internet at: https://www.fda.gov/food/workshops-meetings-webinars-food-and-dietary-supplements/new-era-smarter-food-safety-summit-e-commerce-ensuring-safety-foods-ordered-online-and-delivered. Registered participants will be notified when 
these materials are posted. There will be an opportunity for interested 
stakeholders to submit written comments following the meeting.

III. Participating in the Public Meeting

    Registration: To register for the public meeting, please visit the 
following website to register: https://www.fda.gov/food/workshops-meetings-webinars-food-and-dietary-supplements/new-era-smarter-food-safety-summit-e-commerce-ensuring-safety-foods-ordered-online-and-delivered. Please provide complete contact information for each 
attendee, including name, title, affiliation, address, email, and 
telephone.
    This is a virtual public meeting. Registration is free and will be 
open through the day of the meeting. Persons interested in attending 
this public meeting must register at: https://www.fda.gov/food/workshops-meetings-webinars-food-and-dietary-supplements/new-era-smarter-food-safety-summit-e-commerce-ensuring-safety-foods-ordered-online-and-delivered. Upon registering, they will receive a 
confirmation email with a link for the public meeting. Approximately

[[Page 50132]]

24 to 48 hours before the event, registrants will receive an email with 
the meeting link and a formal calendar invitation.
    Request to Provide Open Public Comment: During online registration, 
you may indicate if you wish to make open public comments during the 
public meeting and which topic(s) you would like to address. All 
requests to make public comments must be received by October 8, 2021 at 
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. We will do our best to accommodate requests to 
make public comments. We are seeking to have a broad representation of 
ideas and issues presented at the meeting. Individuals and 
organizations with common interests are urged to consolidate or 
coordinate their comments. FDA will determine the amount of time 
allotted to each commenter, the meeting day, the approximate time open 
public comments are to be provided and notify all registrants who 
requested to make public comments.
    Streaming Webcast of the Public Meeting: This public meeting will 
be broadcast via YouTube.
    Transcripts: Please be advised that as soon as a transcript of the 
public meeting is available, it will be accessible at https://www.regulations.gov. It may be viewed at the Dockets Management Staff 
(HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, 
Rockville, MD 20850. A link to the transcript will also be available on 
the internet at: https://www.fda.gov/food/workshops-meetings-webinars-food-and-dietary-supplements/new-era-smarter-food-safety-summit-e-commerce-ensuring-safety-foods-ordered-online-and-delivered.

    Dated: August 31, 2021.
Lauren K. Roth,
Acting Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2021-19219 Filed 9-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P


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