Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Notices 48191 

Stromberg, Oklahoma Department of 

Agriculture, Food, and Forestry, 

Oklahoma City, OK. 

The Committee will review materials 

and provide comments and 

recommendations concerning FSIS’s 

approach for verifying equivalence of 

foreign inspection systems. This system 

consists of (1) determining equivalence 

of laws, regulations, and government 

controls, (2) audits of foreign inspection 

systems, and (3) port-of-entry (POE) 

reinspection of imported product. 

Under the Federal Meat Inspection 

Act and the Poultry Products Inspection 

Act, equivalence is the foundation for 

imports and has become a condition of 

trade between two countries. 

Equivalence recognizes that an 

exporting country can provide an 

appropriate level of food safety and 

public health protection, even if their 

sanitary measures are different from 

those applied by the U.S. Once a 

country is determined to have a system 

equivalent to the U.S., that country is 

then responsible for maintaining the 

entire system’s equivalence while 

exporting to the U.S. FSIS verifies that 

the country maintains equivalence 

through audits of foreign inspection 

systems. These audits include on-site 

visits by FSIS personnel of certified 

establishments and approved 

laboratories, and FSIS review of 

government controls. The final audit 

reports of these countries are posted on 

the FSIS Web site. 

Finally, the last part of verifying the 

continuing equivalence of foreign 

systems is through re-inspection of 

products at the U.S. border. Every 

shipment of meat, poultry, or egg 

products that enters the U.S. must be 

presented to an FSIS inspector at one of 

the approximately 140 official FSIS 

import establishments strategically 

located at major ocean ports of entry 

and land border crossings. It is here that 

the initial checks for proper 

documentation, transportation damage, 

and proper labeling are conducted. In 

addition to the initial re-inspection of 

product entering the U.S., FSIS 

performs random re-inspection on 

approximately 10 percent of the 

shipments of meat, poultry, and egg 

products. These re-inspection tasks 

include, for example, product 

examinations, microbiological analysis 

for pathogens, and/or a test for chemical 

residues. Acceptable products or the 

documents are marked as ‘‘Inspected 

and Passed’’ and the product is released 

into commerce. Non-compliant products 

are rejected, marked as ‘‘Refused Entry,’’

and either destroyed or exported from 

the U.S. More intensive re-inspection is 

automatically applied to future 

shipments of product from the foreign 

establishment that produced the 

product that failed re-inspection. 

If a country does not implement an 

FSIS requirement or equivalent sanitary 

measure, or fails an audit, or POE reinspection identifies serious problems, 

FSIS can, and has in the past, suspend 

imports from that country or individual 

plants within the country, or suspend 

specific products from the country. 

All interested parties are welcome to 

attend the meetings and to submit 

written comments and suggestions 

concerning issues the Committee will 

review and discuss. The comments and 

the official transcript of the meeting, 

when they become available, will be 

kept in the FSIS Docket Room, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, 1400 

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 

2534, South Building, Washington, DC 

20250, and posted on the Agency’s 

NACMPI Web site, http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/about_fsis/nacmpi/ 

index.asp. 

Members of the public will be 

required to register before entering the 

meeting. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, in an effort to 

ensure that the public and in particular 

minorities, women, and persons with 

disabilities, are aware of this notice, 

FSIS will announce it on-line through 

the FSIS Web page located at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/ 

2008_Notices_Index/. 

FSIS also will make copies of this 

Federal Register publication available 

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 Update is 

communicated via Listserv, a free e-mail 

subscription service consisting of 

industry, trade, and farm groups, 

consumer interest groups, allied health 

professionals, scientific professionals, 

and other individuals who have 

requested to be included. The Update 

also is available on the FSIS Web page. 

Through Listserv and the Web page, 

FSIS is able to provide information to a 

much broader, more diverse audience. 

In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail 

subscription service which provides 

automatic and customized access to 

selected food safety news and 

information. This service is available at 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news_and_events/email_subscription/. 

Options range from recalls, export 

information, regulations, directives, and 

notices. Customers can add or delete 

subscriptions themselves, and have the 

option to password protect their 

accounts. 

Done at Washington, DC, on August 12, 

2008. 

Alfred V. Almanza, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–19041 Filed 8–13–08; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS 2008–0024] 

Nominations for Membership on the 

National Advisory Committee on 

Microbiological Criteria for Foods 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service (FSIS), USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces that 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) is soliciting nominations for 

membership on the National Advisory 

Committee on Microbiological Criteria 

for Foods (NACMCF). Nominations for 

membership are being sought from 

individuals with scientific expertise in 

the fields of epidemiology, food 

technology, microbiology (food, clinical, 

and predictive), risk assessment, 

infectious disease, biostatistics, and 

other related sciences. Persons from the 

Federal government, State governments, 

industry, consumer groups, and 

academia, as well as all other interested 

persons, are invited to submit 

nominations. Members who are not 

federal government employees will be 

appointed to serve as non-compensated 

special government employees (SGEs). 

SGEs will be subject to appropriate 

conflict of interest statutes and 

standards of ethical conduct. 

The nominee’s typed resume or 

curriculum vitae must be limited to five 

one-sided pages and should include 

educational background, expertise, and 

a select list of publications. For 

submissions received that are more than 

five one-sided pages in length, only the 

first five pages will be considered. 

DATES: The nominee’s typed resume or 

curriculum vitae must be received by 

September 17, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: Nominations can be sent by 

mail, fax, or e-mail to Ms. Karen 

Thomas-Sharp, Advisory Committee 

Specialist, USDA, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, Room 333 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
48192 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Notices 

Aerospace Center, 1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–

3700, fax number: 202–690–6634, email address: Karen.ThomasSharp@fsis.usda.gov. Please note, if 

using an overnight courier use this 

address: USDA, FSIS, OPHS, Aerospace 

Center, 901 D Street, SW., Room 378, 

Washington, DC 20024. 

FSIS invites interested persons to 

submit comments on this notice. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Federal eRulemaking Portal: This 

Web site provides the ability to type 

short comments directly into the 

comment field on this Web page or 

attach a file for lengthier comments. 

FSIS prefers to receive comments 

through the Federal eRulemaking portal. 

Go to http://www.regulations.gov and, 

in the ‘‘Search for Open Regulations’’

box, select ‘‘Food Safety and Inspection 

Service’’ from the agency drop-down 

menu, then click on ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

Docket ID column, select the FDMS 

Docket Number FSIS–2008–0024 to 

submit or view public comments and to 

view supporting and related materials 

available electronically. After the close 

of the comment period, the docket can 

be viewed using the ‘‘Advanced Search’’

function in Regulations.gov. 

Mail, including floppy disks or CD–

ROMs, and hand- or courier-delivered 

items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, FSIS Docket 

Room, 1400 Independence Avenue, 

SW., Room 2534, Washington, DC 

20250. 

All submissions received must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number FSIS–2008–0024. 

All comments submitted in response 

to this notice, as well as research and 

background information used by FSIS in 

developing this document, will be 

posted to the regulations.gov Web site. 

The background information and 

comments also will be available for 

public inspection in the FSIS Docket 

Room at the address listed above 

between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Karen Thomas-Sharp, Advisory 

Committee Specialist, at the above 

address or by telephone at 202–690–

6620 or by fax at 202–690–6634. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The NACMCF was established in 

March 1988, in response to a 

recommendation in a 1985 report of the 

National Academy of Sciences 

Committee on Food Protection, 

Subcommittee on Microbiological 

Criteria, ‘‘An Evaluation of the Role of 

Microbiological Criteria for Foods.’’ The 

current charter for the NACMCF and 

other information about the Committee 

are available for viewing on the 

NACMCF homepage at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/ 

NACMCF/index.asp. 

The Committee provides scientific 

advice and recommendations to the 

Secretary of Agriculture and the 

Secretary of Health and Human Services 

concerning the development of 

microbiological criteria by which the 

safety and wholesomeness of food can 

be assessed. For example, the 

Committee assists in the development of 

criteria for microorganisms that indicate 

whether food has been processed using 

good manufacturing practices. 

Appointments to the Committee will 

be made by the Secretary of Agriculture 

after consultation with the Secretary of 

Health and Human Services to ensure 

that recommendations made by the 

Committee take into account the needs 

of the diverse groups served by the 

Department. Membership shall include, 

to the extent practicable, individuals 

with demonstrated ability to represent 

minorities, women, and persons with 

disabilities. 

Given the complexity of issues, the 

full Committee expects to meet at least 

once yearly, and the meetings will be 

announced in the Federal Register. The 

subcommittees will meet as deemed 

necessary by the chairperson and will 

be held as working group meetings in an 

open public forum. The subcommittee 

meetings will not be announced in the 

Federal Register. FSIS will announce 

the agenda and subcommittee working 

group meetings through the Constituent 

Update, available on-line at http:// 

www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/ 

2008_Constituent_Update/index.asp. 

NACMCF holds subcommittee working 

group meetings in order to accomplish 

the work of NACMCF; all work 

accomplished by the subcommittees is 

reviewed and approved by the full 

Committee during a public meeting of 

the full Committee, as announced in the 

Federal Register. The subcommittee 

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 at 

the time the full Committee reviews and 

approves the work of the subcommittee. 

Appointment to the Advisory 

Committee is for a two-year term, 

renewable for a total of three 

consecutive terms. Members are 

expected to attend all meetings inperson as this is necessary for the 

functioning of this advisory committee. 

But we realize that unexpected events or 

extenuating circumstances (e.g., a 

personal or family emergency) may 

result in a member’s inability to attend 

a meeting in-person, and that 

attendance through teleconferencing 

may be necessary. Since this has been 

a less than optimal means to contribute 

to the work of the committee, members 

should make efforts to attend all 

meetings to the extent that this is 

possible. In-person attendance is 

expected but is not a requirement. 

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 

reimbursement and per diem are 

available. 

Regarding Nominees Who Are Selected 

All nominees who are selected must 

submit a USDA Advisory Committee 

Membership Background Information 

form AD–755, available on-line at: 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/FSISForms/ 

AD-755.pdf. 

As new appointees, SGEs must 

complete the Office of Government 

Ethics (OGE) 450 Confidential Financial 

Disclosure Report, before rendering any 

advice, or prior to their first meeting. 

All members will be reviewed for 

conflict of interest pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 

208 in relation to specific NACMCF 

work charges. Financial disclosure 

updates will be required annually. 

Members must report any changes in 

financial holdings requiring additional 

disclosure. OGE 450 forms are available 

on-line at: http://www.usoge.gov/pages/ 

forms_pubs_otherdocs/fpo_files/forms/ 

fr450fill_04.pdf. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, in an effort to 

ensure that minorities, women, and 

persons with disabilities are aware of 

this notice, FSIS will announce it online through the FSIS Web page located 

at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/ 

2008_Notices_Index/. 

FSIS also will make copies of this 

Federal Register publication available 

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 constituents and 

stakeholders. The Update is 

communicated via Listserv, a free 

electronic mail subscription service for 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 160 / Monday, August 18, 2008 / Notices 48193 

industry, trade and farm groups, 

consumer interest groups, allied health 

professionals and other individuals who 

have asked to be included. The Update 

is also available on the FSIS Web page. 

Through the Listserv and Web page, 

FSIS is able to provide information to a 

much broader and more diverse 

audience. 

In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail 

subscription service which provides 

automatic and customized access to 

selected food safety news and 

information. This service is available at 

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ 

news_and_events/email_subscription/. 

Options range from recalls to export 

information to regulations, directives 

and notices. Customers can add or 

delete subscriptions themselves and 

have the option to password protect 

their account. 

Done at Washington, DC, on August 12, 

2008. 

Alfred V. Almanza, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–19043 Filed 8–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting 

of the New Jersey Advisory Committee 

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to 

the provisions of the rules and 

regulations of the U.S. Commission on 

Civil Rights and the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act, that a day-long briefing 

meeting before a subcommittee of the 

Pennsylvania State Advisory Committee 

of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 

will convene at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, 

September 8, 2008, at the Monroe 

County Administrative Center, 1 Quaker 

Plaza, Room 203, Stroudsburg, 

Pennsylvania 19360. 

The purpose of this meeting is to 

receive presentations from experts on 

civil rights matters in Monroe County, 

PA. 

Members of the public are entitled to 

submit written comments; the 

comments must be received in the 

Eastern Regional Office by September 

22, 2008. The address is 624 Ninth 

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20425. 

Persons wishing to e-mail their 

comments, or who desire additional 

information should contact Alfreda 

Greene, Secretary, 202–376–7533, TTY 

202–376–8116 or by e-mail: 

agreene@usccr.gov. 

Hearing impaired persons who will 

attend the meeting and require the 

service of a sign language interpreter 

should contact the Regional Office at 

least ten (10) working days before the 

scheduled date of the meeting. 

Records generated from this meeting 

may be inspected and reproduced at the 

Eastern Regional Office, as they become 

available, both before and after the 

meeting. Persons interested in the work 

of this advisory committee are advised 

to go to the Commission’s Web site, 

http://www.usccr.gov, or to contact the 

Eastern Regional Office at the above email or street address. 

The meeting will be conducted 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the Commission and 

the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

Dated in Washington, DC, August 12, 2008. 

Christopher Byrnes, 

Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit. 

[FR Doc. E8–18979 Filed 8–15–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

chapter 35). 

Agency: U.S. Census Bureau. 

Title: Current Industrial Reports 

Program. 

OMB Control Number: 0607–0476. 

Form Number(s): Various. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Burden Hours: 28,131. 

Number of Respondents: 19,728. 

Average Hours Per Response: 42 

minutes. 

Needs and Uses: The U.S. Census 

Bureau conducts a series of monthly, 

quarterly, and annual surveys as part of 

the Current Industrial Reports (CIR) 

Program. The CIR surveys request 

primarily the quantity and value of 

shipments of particular products and 

occasionally data on production and 

inventories; unfilled orders, receipts, 

stocks, and consumption; and 

comparative data on domestic 

production, exports, and imports of the 

products they cover. 

Previously, the CIR surveys were 

divided into three separate waves and 

submitted separately for OMB review. 

Due to the reduced number of surveys 

in the CIR Program, the CIR surveys are 

being combined into one wave. During 

the economic census years, in the years 

ending in 2 and 7 all voluntary annual 

surveys are made mandatory. 

Primary users of these data are 

government and regulatory agencies, 

business firms, trade associations, and 

private research and consulting 

organizations. The Federal Reserve 

Board (FRB) uses CIR data in its 

monthly index of industrial production 

as well as its annual revision to the 

index. The Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA) and the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) use the CIR data in the 

estimate of components of gross 

domestic product (GDP) and the 

estimate of output for productivity 

analysis, respectively. Many 

government agencies, such as the 

Department of Agriculture, Food and 

Drug Administration, Department of 

Energy, Federal Aviation 

Administration, BEA, and International 

Trade Administration use the data for 

industrial analysis, projections, and 

monitoring import penetration. Private 

business firms and organizations use the 

data for trend projections, market 

analysis, product planning, and other 

economic and business-oriented 

analysis. Since the CIR program is the 

sole, consistent source of information 

regarding specific manufactured 

products in the intercensal years, the 

absence thereof would severely hinder 

the Federal Government’s ability to 

measure and monitor important 

segments of the domestic economy, as 

well as the effect of import penetration. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: Monthly, quarterly, and 

annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary 

and mandatory, depending on the 

survey. 

Legal Authority: Title 13, United 

States Code, Sections 61, 81, 131, 182, 

224, and 225. 

OMB Desk Officer: Brian HarrisKojetin, (202) 395–7314. 

Copies of the above information 

collection proposal can be obtained by 

calling or writing Diana Hynek, 

Departmental Paperwork Clearance 

Officer, (202) 482–0266, Department of 

Commerce, Room 6625, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 

dhynek@doc.gov). 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to Brian Harris-Kojetin, OMB 

Desk Officer either by fax (202–395–

7245) or e-mail (bharrisk@omb.eop.gov). 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES