This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

20508

Vol. 61, No. 89

Tuesday, May 7, 1996

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

[Docket No. 96–022–1]

National Animal Damage Control

Advisory Committee; Meeting

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

SUMMARY: We are giving notice of a

meeting of the National Animal Damage

Control Advisory Committee.

PLACE, DATES, AND TIME OF MEETING: The

meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn,

3836 East Mulberry, Fort Collins, CO,

(970) 484–4660. The Committee will

meet on May 22, 1996, from 8 a.m. to

5 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

William Clay, Director, Operational

Support Staff, ADC, APHIS, Suite 6B02,

4700 River Road Unit 87, Riverdale, MD

20737–1234, (301) 734–7921.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

National Animal Damage Control

Advisory Committee (Committee)

advises the Secretary of Agriculture

concerning policies, program issues,

and research needed to conduct the

Animal Damage Control (ADC) program.

The Committee also serves as a public

forum enabling those affected by the

ADC program to have a voice in the

program’s policies.

The meeting will focus on research

and research priorities and will be open

to the public. However, due to time

constraints, the public will not be

allowed to participate in the

Committee’s discussions. Written

statements concerning meeting topics

may be filed with the Committee before

or after the meeting by sending them to

Mr. William Clay at the address listed

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT, or may be filed at the meeting.

Please refer to Docket No. 96–022–1

when submitting your statements.

This notice of meeting is given

pursuant to section 10 of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463).

Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of

May 1996.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant

Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 96–11354 Filed 5–6–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

Economic Research Service

Notice of Intent To Extend a Currently

Approved Information Collection

ACTION: Notice and request for

comments.

SUMMARY: In accordance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this

notice announces the Economic

Research Service’s (ERS) intention to

extend a currently approved

information collection in support of the

annual ERS report on cotton ginning

charges, harvesting practices, and

selected marketing costs.

DATES: Comments on this notice must be

received by no later than July 11, 1996.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR COMMENTS:

Contact Fred Hoff, Associate Director,

Information Services Division,

Economic Research Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1301 New

York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC

20005–4788, (202) 219–0511.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title: Cotton Ginning Charges,

Harvesting Practices and Selected

Marketing Costs.

OMB Number: 0536–0001.

Expiration Date of Approval: August

31, 1996.

Type of Request: Intent to extend

currently approved information

collection.

Abstract: Information on cotton

ginning charges and harvesting practices

has been collected annually from U.S.

cotton gins by the United States

Department of Agriculture (USDA) since

1957. This information is used by the

USDA and cotton industry participants

as a primary source of data for planning

and analysis, and is not available in any

form elsewhere. Results are shown for

each cotton growing state detailing

charges paid by producers for ginning

services, the proportion of the crop

harvested by different harvesting

technologies, and the average volume of

seed cotton needed to yield a standard

480-pound net-weight bale. Also,

information is provided on the methods

of temporary seed cotton storage used in

each state. All required information is

collected from cotton gins on a simple

one-page questionnaire with a postagepaid return envelope enclosed.

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting

burden for this collection of information

is estimated to average 10 minutes per

response.

Respondents: Private owned or

cooperative cotton ginning facilities

located in 14 states.

Estimated Number of Respondents:

1,300.

Estimated Number of Responses per

Respondent: 1.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on

Respondents: 217 hours.

Copies of this information collection

can be obtained from Edward H. Glade,

Jr., Commercial Agriculture Division,

ERS, (202) 219–1286.

Comments

Comments are invited on: (a) whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who are to respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology. Comments may be sent to:

Fred Hoff, Associate Director,

Information Services Division,

Economic Research Service, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, 1301 New

York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC

20005–4788, (202) 219–0511.

All responses to this notice will be

summarized and included in the request

for OMB approval.

All comments will also become a

matter of public record.
Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 7, 1996 / Notices 20509

Signed at Washington, DC., April 18, 1996.

Susan Offutt,

Administrator, Economic Research Service.

[FR Doc. 96–11298 Filed 5–6–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–18–M

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 96–012N]

Interstate Shipment of State-inspected

Meat and Poultry Products

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for public

comments.

SUMMARY: The 1996 Farm Bill requires

the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to

Congress, by July 3, 1996,

recommendations concerning the steps

necessary to achieve interstate shipment

of State-inspected meat and poultry

products. Under the Federal Meat

Inspection Act (FMIA) and the Poultry

Products Inspection Act (PPIA),

products inspected under State

programs ‘‘at least equal to’’ the Federal

inspection program may be distributed

only within State boundaries. FSIS is

requesting comment from the public on

which issues need to be addressed in

responding to the Congressional

directive to make recommendations

concerning the interstate shipment of

State-inspected products. Possible

issues include, but are not limited to:

the safety, wholesomeness, and labeling

of State-inspected products; recall

responsibilities; the administration of

State programs; the funding of Federal

oversight of State inspection programs;

the funding of Federal assistance to

State inspection programs; jurisdictional

complications; eligibility of such

products for export; and economic

effects. The Agency plans to use these

comments in formulating its

recommendations to Congress

concerning State-inspected meat and

poultry products.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before June 6, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

two copies of written comments to

Policy, Evaluation and Planning Staff,

Attn: FSIS Docket Clerk, DOCKET No.

96–012N, Room 4352 South Building,

Food Safety and Inspection Service,

U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Washington, DC 20250.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Patrick Clerkin, Office of the

Administrator, Food Safety and

Inspection Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250;

Code (202) 205–0700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1996 Farm Bill Provision

Section 918(b) of the Federal

Agriculture Improvement and Reform

Act of 1996 (PL 104–127; known as the

1996 Farm Bill), which was signed into

law April 4, 1996, requires that, not

later than 90 days after enactment of the

Farm Bill, or by July 3, 1996, the

Secretary of Agriculture submit a report

to Congress concerning the steps

necessary to achieve interstate shipment

of meat and poultry products inspected

under State programs that are ‘‘at least

equal to’’ the Federal inspection

programs. Under the current Federal

meat and poultry inspection laws, such

products may be distributed solely

within the States in which they are

prepared.

Background

Under the Federal Meat Inspection

Act (FMIA; 21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and

the Poultry Products Inspection Act

(PPIA; 21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), FSIS is

responsible for ensuring that meat, meat

food, and poultry products distributed

in interstate and foreign commerce are

safe, wholesome, not adulterated, and

properly marked, labeled, and packaged.

FSIS currently conducts antemortem

and postmortem inspection of livestock

and poultry at slaughtering

establishments, inspects furtherprocessed meat and poultry products,

inspects the sanitary conditions of

facilities where meat and poultry

products are produced, and certifies

U.S. products for export to foreign

countries. FSIS investigates violations of

the inspection laws and violative

products are controlled through

detentions, civil seizures and voluntary

recalls.

FSIS inspection is supported by

laboratory services in the fields of

chemistry, microbiology, serology, and

pathology. An important laboratorysupported function is the National

Residue Program, which is designed to

help prevent the distribution in

commerce of products containing illegal

concentrations of drugs, pesticides, and

other chemicals. FSIS also carries out

microbiological surveys to determine

pathogen levels in raw meat and poultry

and special microbiological studies and

surveillance of raw and processed

products. An example of this is the

testing of raw ground beef for the

presence of E. coli O157:H7.

FSIS operates a compliance program

aimed at ensuring that meat and poultry

products in commerce are not

adulterated or misbranded. Through this

program, the Agency exercises

regulatory authority over businesses that

transport, store, or distribute meat and

poultry products in interstate commerce

after those products leave federally

inspected establishments. The Agency

also registers meat or poultry brokers,

renderers, manufacturers, or

wholesalers, or others dealing in meat or

poultry products that are not intended

for human consumption.

FSIS also maintains a comprehensive

import inspection system. That system

involves two major activities, the first

being oversight to ensure that exporting

countries have in place appropriate

controls over their meat and poultry

inspection systems. Such countries (1)

must undergo a rigorous review process

before they can become eligible to

export meat and poultry to the United

States and (2) must receive periodic

reviews by FSIS to maintain such

eligibility. Only plants operating under

FSIS approved national inspection

programs may qualify to export meat

and poultry products into the United

States. Meat and poultry products

inspected under regional or provincial

(i.e., state) inspection programs in

foreign countries are not eligible for

export to the United States.

The second part of our import control

program is reinspection at the port of

entry, on a sample basis, of meat and

poultry products as they enter the

United States. Reinspection is a check to

make sure that the foreign country’s

inspection system is working. Seventyfour import inspection personnel carry

out import reinspection at

approximately 160 official import

establishments.

The program for determining the

eligibility of a foreign country to export

to the United States is based on a

systems approach. FSIS focuses on a

country’s overall inspection system as a

means of ensuring consumer protection.

For instance, the Agency examines

whether the country has the legal

authority to impose requirements

equivalent to those of the United States

in areas such as sanitation and

antemortem and postmortem inspection.

We examine the organizational structure

and staffing of its inspection program.

We also conduct on-site reviews of the

country’s inspection operations to

evaluate the effectiveness of all aspects

of the country’s program.

Once a country becomes eligible, FSIS

conducts on-site reviews of its

inspection system—usually one or more

times a year. The frequency of the

reviews is determined by a country’s

performance history, including previous

plant reviews as well as product

reinspection at United States ports-ofentry. If a country does not continue to

operate an inspection system that