This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

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Rules and Regulations Federal Register

50701 

Vol. 73, No. 168 

Thursday, August 28, 2008 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

9 CFR Parts 317 and 381 

[Docket No. FSIS–2008–0027] 

RIN 0583–AD38 

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling 

of Muscle Cuts of Beef (Including 

Veal), Lamb, Chicken, Goat, and Pork; 

Ground Beef, Ground Lamb, Ground 

Chicken, Ground Goat, and Ground 

Pork 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Interim final rule with request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: FSIS is conforming its 

regulations to the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS) regulations, 

entitled, ‘‘Mandatory Country of Origin 

Labeling of Beef, Pork, Lamb, Chicken, 

Goat Meat, Perishable Agricultural 

Commodities, Peanuts, Pecans, Ginseng, 

and Macademia Nuts.’’ Therefore, FSIS 

is amending its regulations to require 

that a country of origin statement on the 

label of any meat or poultry product that 

is a covered commodity, as defined in 

AMS’ interim final regulations (73 FR 

45106), and is to be sold by a retailer, 

as also defined in AMS’ interim final 

regulation, must comply with AMS’ 

interim final regulations. FSIS is also 

amending its regulations to provide that 

the addition of country of origin 

statements on labels of meat or poultry 

product covered commodities that are to 

be sold by covered retailers and that 

comply with the country of origin 

labeling requirements will be 

considered to be generically approved. 

FSIS is not amending its regulations or 

labeling policies for meat or poultry 

products that are non-covered 

commodities. The effective date of 

AMS’ interim final rule for country of 

origin labeling is September 30, 2008. 

Therefore, in order to meet the deadline, 

FSIS is issuing this interim final rule. 

DATES: Effective Date: This interim final 

rule is effective September 30, 2008. 

Applicability date: The requirements 

of this rule do not apply to meat or 

poultry product covered commodities 

produced or packaged before September 

30, 2008. 

Comment date: Comments must be 

submitted on or before September 29, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested 

persons to submit comments on this 

rule. Comments may be submitted by 

one 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’’ and ‘‘Rules’’ from the agency 

drop-down menu and then click on 

‘‘Submit.’’ In the Docket ID column, 

select the FDMS Docket Number 2008– 

0027 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 (USDA), 

FSIS, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Room 2534 South Building, 

Washington, DC 20250. 

All submissions received must 

include the Agency name and docket 

number FSIS–2008–0027. 

All comments submitted in response 

to this rule will be posted to Agency’s 

Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/

Regulations_&_Policies/2008_Interim_

&_Final_Rules_Index/index.asp. 

Individuals who do not wish FSIS to 

post their personal contact 

information—mailing address, e-mail 

address, telephone number—on the 

Internet may leave this information off 

of their comments. Comments will also 

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: 

Charles Gioglio, Director, Labeling and 

Program Delivery Division, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250– 

3700; (202) 205–0010. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Farm 

Security and Rural Investment Act of 

2002, (Section 10816 of Pub. L. 107– 

171) and the Food, Conservation and 

Energy Act of 2008 (Section 11002 of 

Public Law 110–234) amended the 

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 

U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) to require retailers 

to notify their customers of the country 

of origin of covered commodities. Under 

the law, covered commodities include 

muscle cuts of beef (including veal), 

lamb, chicken, goat, and pork; ground 

beef, ground lamb, ground chicken, 

ground goat, ground pork, as well as 

other non-meat covered commodities. 

The law defines ‘‘retailer’’ as having the 

meaning given that term in section 1(b) 

of the Perishable Agricultural 

Commodities Act of 1930 (PACA) (7 

U.S.C. 499 et seq.). In addition, the law 

states that any person engaged in the 

business of supplying a covered 

commodity to a retailer shall provide 

information to the retailer indicating the 

country of origin of the covered 

commodity. The law exempts covered 

commodities from mandatory country of 

origin labeling if they are an ingredient 

in a processed food item. The law also 

prescribes specific criteria that must be 

met for a covered commodity to bear a 

‘‘United States country of origin’’ 

declaration. Furthermore, the law 

specifies that the notice of country of 

origin for ground beef, ground lamb, 

ground pork, ground goat, and ground 

chicken shall include a list of all the 

countries of origin contained therein or 

reasonably contained therein. 

The Agricultural, Rural Development, 

Food and Drug Administration, and 

Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 

2006 (Pub. L. 109–97) delayed the 

applicability of mandatory country of 

origin labeling for all covered 

commodities except wild and farmraised fish and shell fish until 

September 30, 2008. 

AMS’ interim final regulations on 

country of origin labeling were 

published in the Federal Register on 

August 1, 2008 (73 FR 45106). The 

interim final regulations define the meat 

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50702 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

and poultry products that are covered 

commodities (7 CFR part 65, subpart A). 

The definitions are consistent with and 

include references to FSIS’ regulations 

and labeling guidelines. AMS’ interim 

final regulations also define a 

‘‘processed food item’’ as a retail item 

derived from a covered commodity that 

has undergone specific processing 

resulting in a change in the character of 

the covered commodity, or that has been 

combined with at least one other 

covered commodity or other substantive 

food component (7 CFR 65.220). 

Examples of ‘‘processed food items’’

excluded from mandatory country of 

origin labeling requirements include 

meatloaf, meatballs, fabricated steak, 

breaded veal cutlets, corned beef, 

sausage, breaded chicken tenders, and 

teriyaki flavored pork loin (73 FR 

45107). 

In addition, the interim final 

regulations define the statement, 

‘‘United States country of origin,’’ for 

beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and goat (7 

CFR 65.260). According to the 

definition, the statement means the 

product is (1) from animals born, raised, 

and slaughtered in the United States; (2) 

from animals born and raised in Alaska 

or Hawaii and transported for not more 

than 60 days through Canada to the 

United States and slaughtered in the 

United States; or (3) from animals 

present in the United States on or before 

July 15, 2008, that remained 

continuously in the United States once 

in the United States (7 CFR 65.260). 

Country of origin regulations in 7 CFR 

65.300 include requirements for labeling 

covered commodities of United States 

origin (7 CFR 65.300(d)), requirements 

for labeling muscle cut covered 

commodities of multiple countries of 

origin that include the United States (7 

CFR 65.300(e)), requirements for 

labeling imported covered commodities 

(7 CFR 65.300(f)), and requirements for 

labeling ground beef, ground pork, 

ground lamb, ground goat, and ground 

chicken (7 CFR 65.300(h)). 

7 CFR 65.400 provides country of 

origin marking requirements and allows 

country of origin declarations to be in 

the form of a placard, sign, label sticker, 

band, twist tie, pin tag, or other format 

that allows consumers to identify the 

country of origin. Finally, 7 CFR 65.500 

provides recordkeeping requirements, 

including the requirement that any 

person engaged in the business of 

supplying a covered commodity to a 

retailer must make available information 

to the buyer about the countries of 

origin of the covered commodity. 

In the preamble to its interim final 

rule, AMS stated that it is reasonable to 

allow time for covered commodities that 

are already in the chain of commerce 

and for which no origin information is 

known or been provided to clear the 

system. Therefore, the requirements in 

AMS’ interim final rule do not apply to 

covered commodities produced or 

packed before September 30, 2008 (73 

FR 45107). 

Changes to Federal Meat and Poultry 

Products Regulations 

To conform its regulations to AMS’

interim final regulations, FSIS is 

amending 9 CFR 317.8(b) and 381.129 to 

require that a country of origin 

statement on the label of a meat or 

poultry product that is a ‘‘covered 

commodity’’ as defined in 7 CFR Part 

65, Subpart A, that is to be sold by a 

‘‘retailer,’’ as defined in 7 CFR 65.240, 

comply with the country of origin 

notification and markings requirements 

in 7 CFR 65.300 and 65.400. 

FSIS is also amending its generic 

approval labeling regulations (9 CFR 

317.5 and 381.133) to specify that the 

addition of country of origin statements 

on the labels of meat or poultry product 

covered commodities that are to be sold 

by retailers and that comply with 

country of origin labeling requirements 

will be considered to be generically 

approved. FSIS is providing that such 

country of origin statements will be 

generically approved to facilitate 

implementation of country of origin 

labeling and to meet the September 30, 

2008, implementation date. Under the 

Federal meat and poultry products 

inspection regulations, country of origin 

statements on non-covered meat or 

poultry products generally are not 

generically approved labeling. 

The Federal meat and poultry product 

inspection regulations require country 

of origin statements on the immediate 

containers of imported products (9 CFR 

327.14 and 381.205). These regulations 

require that the country of origin 

statement be immediately under the 

name or descriptive designation of the 

product. AMS’ interim final regulations 

do not affect these requirements. 

Because FSIS is conforming its 

regulations to AMS’ regulations, FSIS’

interim final regulations do not apply to 

meat or poultry product covered 

commodities produced or packaged 

before September 30, 2008. 

Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, the 

Administrator has found and 

determined that it is impractical, 

unnecessary, and contrary to the public 

interest to provide an opportunity to 

comment prior to putting this rule into 

effect. This action is authorized under 

the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the 

Poultry Products Inspection Act and is 

consistent with the Agriculture 

Marketing Act. Because of the short time 

between the passage of Public Law 110–

234 and the effective date of AMS’

country of origin labeling provisions, it 

is impracticable to provide for notice 

and comment prior to putting this rule 

into effect. Because it is important that 

AMS and FSIS have consistent 

regulations on September 30, 2008, it 

would be contrary to the public interest 

not to make this interim final rule 

effective simultaneously with AMS’

interim rule. Interested persons have 30 

days from the date of publication of this 

interim final rule to comment on it. 

Executive Order 12988 

This interim final rule has been 

reviewed under the Executive Order 

12988, Civil Justice Reform. Under this 

interim final rule: (1) All State and local 

laws and regulations that are 

inconsistent with this rule will be 

preempted; (2) no retroactive effect will 

be given to this rule; and (3) no 

retroactive proceedings will be required 

before parties may file suit in court 

challenging this rule. 

Executive Order 12866 and the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

This interim final rule has been 

reviewed under Executive Order 12866. 

The rule has been determined to be not 

significant for the purposes of Executive 

Order 12866 and, therefore, has not 

been reviewed by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). All 

costs and benefits associated with this 

rule are accounted for in AMS’ interim 

final rule economic analysis (see 73 FR 

45126). 

Effect on Small Entities 

AMS’ interim final rule includes an 

interim final regulatory flexibility 

analysis (73 FR 45140). AMS believes 

that its interim final regulations will 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small entities. 

FSIS’ conforming regulations will not 

have any additional impact on small 

entities. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

AMS’ interim final rule includes an 

estimate of the annual recordkeeping 

burden associated with country of origin 

labeling requirements (73 FR 45143). 

FSIS’ interim final rule has been 

reviewed under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act and imposes no 

additional paperwork or recordkeeping 

requirements. 

Government Paperwork Elimination 

Act (GPEA) 

FSIS is committed to compliance with 

the GPEA, which requires Government 

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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 168 / Thursday, August 28, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 50703 

agencies, in general, to provide the 

public the option of communicating 

electronically with the government to 

the maximum extent possible. The 

Agency will ensure that all forms used 

by the establishments are made 

available electronically. 

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 final rule, FSIS will announce it 

online through the FSIS Web page 

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

Regulations_&_Policies/2008_Interim_&

_Final_Rules_Index/index.asp. FSIS 

will also 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 industry, trade groups, consumer 

interest groups, 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 email 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 

accounts. 

List of Subjects 

9 CFR Part 317 

Food labeling, Meat inspection. 

9 CFR Part 381 

Food labeling, Poultry and poultry 

products. 

■ For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, FSIS is amending 9 CFR 

Chapter III as follows: 

PART 317—LABELING, MARKING 

DEVICES, AND CONTAINERS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 317 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 21 U.S.C. 601–695; 7 CFR 2.18, 

2.53. 

■ 2. Section 317.5(b) is amended as 

follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (b)(1) after 

‘‘geographical origin claims’’ add the 

following parenthetical phrase: ‘‘(except 

as provided by paragraph (b)(9)(xxv) of 

this section),’’

■ b. In paragraph (b)(2) after 

‘‘geographical origin claims’’ add the 

following parenthetical phrase: ‘‘(except 

as provided by paragraph (b)(9)(xxv) of 

this section),’’

■ c. A new paragraph (b)(9)(xxv) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 317.5 Generically approved labeling. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(9) * * * 

(xxv) A country of origin statement on 

any product label described in 

§ 317.8(b)(40) that complies with the 

requirements in that paragraph. 

■ 3. In § 317.8, a new paragraph (b)(40) 

is added to read as follows: 

§ 317.8 False or misleading labeling or 

practices generally; specific prohibitions 

and requirements for labels and containers. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(40) A country of origin statement on 

the label of any meat ‘‘covered 

commodity’’ as defined in 7 CFR Part 

65, Subpart A, that is to be sold by a 

‘‘retailer,’’ as defined in 7 CFR 65.240, 

must comply with the requirements in 

7 CFR 65.300 and 65.400. 

PART 381—POULTRY PRODUCTS 

INSPECTION REGULATIONS 

■ 4. The authority citation for part 381 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 138f, 450; 21 U.S.C. 

451–470; 7 CFR 2.18, 2.53. 

■ 5. In § 381.129, a new paragraph (f) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 381.129 False or misleading labeling or 

containers. 

* * * * * 

(f) A country of origin statement on 

the label of any poultry product 

‘‘covered commodity’’ as defined in 7 

CFR Part 65, Subpart A, that is to be 

sold by a ‘‘retailer,’’ as defined in 7 CFR 

65.240, must comply with the 

requirements in 7 CFR 65.300 and 

65.400. 

■ 6. § 381.133(b) is amended as follows: 

■ a. In paragraph (b)(1) after 

‘‘geographical origin claims’’ add the 

following parenthetical phrase: ‘‘(except 

as provided by paragraph (b)(9)(xxviii) 

of this section),’’

■ b. In paragraph (b)(2) after 

‘‘geographical origin claims’’ add the 

following parenthetical phrase: ‘‘(except 

as provided by paragraph (b)(9)(xxviii) 

of this section),’’

■ c. A new paragraph (b)(9)(xxviii) is 

added to read as follows: 

§ 381.133 Generically approved labeling. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(9) * * * 

(xxviii) A country of origin statement 

on any product label described in 

§ 381.129(f) that complies with the 

requirements in that paragraph. 

Done in Washington, DC, on August 22, 

2008. 

Alfred V. Almanza, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–19882 Filed 8–27–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Federal Aviation Administration 

14 CFR Part 39 

[Docket No. FAA–2008–0523; Directorate 

Identifier 2008–NM–049–AD; Amendment 

39–15648; AD 2008–17–10] 

RIN 2120–AA64 

Airworthiness Directives; Boeing 

Model 707 Airplanes, and Model 720 

and 720B Series Airplanes 

AGENCY: Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA), DOT. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: We are adopting a new 

airworthiness directive (AD) for certain 

Boeing Model 707 airplanes, and Model 

720 and 720B series airplanes. This AD 

requires repetitive detailed inspections 

to detect cracks and corrosion on any 

existing repairs and at certain body 

stations of the visible surfaces of the 

wing to body terminal fittings including 

the web, flanges, and ribs; and 

applicable related investigative and 

corrective actions. This AD results from 

reports of cracks found in the wing to 

body terminal fittings during routine 

inspections. We are issuing this AD to 

prevent cracks and corrosion in the 

body terminal fittings, which could 

cause loss of support for the wing and 

could adversely affect the structural 

integrity of the airplane. 

DATES: This AD is effective October 2, 

2008. 

The Director of the Federal Register 

approved the incorporation by reference 

of a certain publication listed in this AD 

as of October 2, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: For service information 

identified in this AD, contact Boeing 

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