22082 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 76 / Monday, April 21, 2014 / Notices 

equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Done at Washington, DC, on April 15, 

2014. 

Alfred V. Almanza, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2014–08961 Filed 4–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2013–0038] 

Best Practices Guidance for 

Controlling Listeria monocytogenes in 

Retail Delicatessens 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for public comments. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

the availability of the ‘‘FSIS Best 

Practices Guidance for Controlling 

Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) in Retail 

Delicatessens.’’ The best-practices 

guidance discusses steps that retailers 

can take to prevent listeriosis associated 

with the consumption of certain readyto-eat (RTE) foods that are prepared or 

sliced in retail delicatessens (delis) and 

consumed in the home, such as deli 

meats and deli salads. FSIS encourages 

retailers to review the guidance and 

evaluate the effectiveness of their retail 

practices and intervention strategies in 

reducing the risk of listeriosis to 

consumers from RTE meat and poultry 

deli products. The Agency will consider 

all comments submitted and will revise 

the best-practices guidance as necessary. 

DATES: Comments on the best-practices 

guidance should be submitted on or 

before June 20, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: A downloadable version of 

the compliance guide is available to 

view and print at http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/

topics/regulatory-compliance/

compliance-guides-index. No hard 

copies of the best-practices guidance 

have been published. 

FSIS invites interested persons to 

submit comments on the best-practices 

guidance. Comments on the bestpractices guidance may be submitted by 

either 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. Go 

to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the on-line instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

• Mail, including CD–ROMs, etc.: 

Send to Docket Room Manager, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety 

and Inspection Service, Patriots Plaza 3, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Mailstop 3782, Room 8–163B, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 

• Hand-or courier-delivered 

submittals: Send to Docket Room 

Manager, U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, Patriots Plaza 3, 355 E Street 

SW., Room 8–163B, Washington, DC 

20250–3700. 

Instructions: All items submitted by 

mail or electronic mail must include the 

Agency name and docket number FSIS– 

2013–0038. Comments received in 

response to this notice will be made 

available for public inspection and 

posted without change, including any 

personal information, to http://

www.regulations.gov. 

Docket: For access to background 

documents or comments received, go to 

the FSIS Docket Room at Patriots Plaza 

3, 355 E Street SW., Room 8–164, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700 between 

8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel Edelstein, Assistant 

Administrator, Office of Policy and 

Program Development; Telephone: (202) 

205–0495, or by Fax: (202) 720–2025. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Lm is a bacterium that is found in 

moist environments, soil, and decaying 

vegetation and can persist along the 

food continuum. Transfer of the 

bacterium from the environment (e.g., 

deli cases, slicers, and utensils), 

employees, or contaminated food 

products is a particular hazard of 

concern in RTE foods, including meat 

and poultry products, because they 

generally receive no further processing 

for food safety before consumption. 

Listeriosis is a serious infection usually 

caused by eating food contaminated 

with Lm. 

To help minimize the public health 

burden of listeriosis, FSIS and the U.S. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

conducted an interagency risk 

assessment to better understand the risk 

of foodborne illness associated with 

eating certain RTE foods prepared in 

retail delis and developed 

recommendations for changes in current 

practices that may improve the safety of 

those products. On May 13, 2013, FSIS 

and FDA made their findings available 

to the public in the draft ‘‘Interagency 

Risk Assessment—Listeria 

monocytogenes in Retail Delicatessens’’ 

(Interagency Retail Lm Risk Assessment) 

(78 FR 27939; May 13, 2013). FSIS and 

FDA finalized the risk assessment in 

September 2013, and the updated 

document is available on FSIS’s Web 

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

portal/fsis/topics/science/riskassessments. 

The key findings of the Interagency 

Retail Lm Risk Assessment include the 

following: 

• Storage temperature. If all 

refrigerated RTE foods are stored at 41 

degrees Fahrenheit (5 °C) or below, as 

the 2013 FDA Food Code (3– 

501.16(A)(2)) recommends, at least nine 

percent of predicted listeriosis illnesses 

caused by contaminated deli products 

prepared or sliced in the retail deli 

could be prevented. 

• Growth inhibitors. If all deli 

products that support Lm growth were 

reformulated to include a growth 

inhibitor, 96 percent of predicted 

listeriosis illnesses caused by RTE 

products prepared or sliced in the retail 

deli could be prevented. 

• Control Cross-contamination. The 

predicted risk of listeriosis dramatically 

increases in retail delis as a result of 

cross-contamination. Slicers, in 

particular, are key sources of crosscontamination in retail delis. 

Eliminating all points of crosscontamination in the deli (including 

slicers) would decrease the predicted 

risk of illness from the consumption of 

RTE products prepared or sliced in the 

retail deli by approximately 34 percent. 

• Control Contamination at its 

Source. Increased levels of Lm from 

incoming products and the environment 

(including potential niches), directly 

increase the predicted risk of illness. 

Therefore, elimination of environmental 

niches in the deli area will reduce the 

predicted risk of listeriosis from the 

consumption of RTE products prepared 

or sliced in the retail deli. Additionally, 

if levels of Lm on RTE foods (including 

foods that do not support the growth of 

Lm) that the retail deli receives from 

processing establishments were reduced 

by half, approximately 22 percent of the 

predicted listeriosis illnesses caused by 

contaminated deli products could be 

prevented. 

• Continue Sanitation. Sanitation 

practices that eliminate Lm from foodcontact surfaces reduce the predicted 

Lm levels in the deli area. Employees 

not wearing gloves while serving 

customers increases the predicted risk 

of listeriosis from the consumption of 

RTE products prepared or sliced in the 

retail deli by approximately five 

percent. 

Using these key findings along with 

available scientific knowledge, the 2013 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 76 / Monday, April 21, 2014 / Notices 22083 

FDA Food Code, and lessons learned 

from controlling Lm in FSIS-inspected 

meat and poultry processing 

establishments, FSIS developed the 

‘‘FSIS Best Practices Guidance for 

Controlling Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) 

in Retail Delicatessens,’’ which provides 

practical recommendations that retailers 

can use to control Lm contamination 

and outgrowth in the deli. Retailers can 

use the best-practices guidance to help 

ensure that RTE meat and poultry 

products in the deli area are handled 

under sanitary conditions and are not 

adulterated under the Federal Meat 

Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or 

the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 

U.S.C. 451 et seq.) (see 21 U.S.C. 623(d) 

and 464(e)). While these practices are 

specifically designed to control Lm, they 

also may help control other foodborne 

pathogens that may be introduced into 

the retail deli environment and other 

facilities where consumers take 

possession of food. 

The best practices are grouped in four 

sections: (1) Product and product 

handling, (2) cleaning and sanitizing, (3) 

facility and equipment controls, and (4) 

employee practices. Practices identified 

by the Interagency Retail Lm Risk 

Assessment that can significantly 

decrease the predicted risk of foodborne 

illness are highlighted in each section. 

The other practices that are based on 

scientific knowledge or lessons learned 

by FSIS are also included to help 

retailers increase Listeria control in the 

deli area. A self-assessment tool is 

provided for deli operators to help them 

identify the best practices they are using 

and to assess the need to adopt others. 

By following the best practices in the 

guidance and the 2013 FDA Food Code, 

retailers can help ensure that RTE 

products are not adulterated with Lm, 

and that the potential for listeriosis is 

decreased. 

FSIS has posted the best-practices 

guidance on its Web page (http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/

29d51258-0651-469b-99b8-e986bae

e8a54/Controlling-LMDelicatessens.pdf?MOD=AJPERES) and 

is requesting comments on the 

guidance. It is important to note that the 

best-practices guidance does not replace 

the 2013 FDA Food Code or FSIS 

regulations. The best-practices guidance 

sets out recommendations rather than 

requirements. The Agency will consider 

all comments submitted and will revise 

the best-practices guidance as necessary. 

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) prohibits discrimination in all 

its programs and activities on the basis 

of race, color, national origin, gender, 

religion, age, disability, political beliefs, 

sexual orientation, and marital or family 

status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to 

all programs.) 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of 

program information (Braille, large 

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact 

USDA’s Target Center at (202) 720–2600 

(voice and TTY). 

To file a written complaint of 

discrimination, write USDA, Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call 

(202) 720–5964 (voice and TTY). USDA 

is an equal opportunity provider and 

employer. 

Additional Public Notification 

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

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

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 

industry, trade groups, consumer 

interest groups, health professionals and 

other individuals who have asked to be 

included. The Update is available on the 

FSIS Web page. Through the Listserv 

and the 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/subscribe. 

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. 

Done in Washington, DC on: April 1, 2014. 

Alfred V. Almanza, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. 2014–08955 Filed 4–18–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food Safety and Inspection Service 

[Docket No. FSIS–2013–0029] 

Availability of FSIS Compliance 

Guidelines for Allergens and 

Ingredients of Public Health Concern: 

Identification, Prevention and Control, 

and Declaration Through Labeling 

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection 

Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

opportunity for comment. 

SUMMARY: The Food Safety and 

Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing 

the availability of guidance on allergens 

and other ingredients of public health 

concern that provides recommendations 

for identifying hazards when 

conducting a hazard analysis and to 

prevent and control hazards through 

hazard analysis and critical control 

point (HACCP) plans or Sanitation 

standard operating procedures (SOPs) or 

other prerequisite programs with respect 

to these substances. The emphasis of the 

guidelines is on meat and poultry 

products. The guidelines represent the 

best practice recommendations of FSIS, 

based on scientific and practical 

considerations. By following these 

guidelines, establishments are likely to 

ensure that product labels declare all 

ingredients, as required in the 

regulations, and that the product does 

not contain undeclared allergens or 

other undeclared ingredients. 

DATES: The Agency must receive 

comments by June 20, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: A downloadable version of 

the compliance guide is available to 

view and print at http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_

Policies/Compliance_Guides_Index/

index.asp. No hard copies of the 

compliance guide have been published. 

FSIS invites interested persons to 

submit comments on this notice. 

Comments may be submitted by either 

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. Go to http://

www.regulations.gov/. Follow the online instructions at that site for 

submitting comments. 

Mail, including CD–ROMs: Send to 

Docket Room Manager, U.S. Department 

of Agriculture, Food Safety and 

Inspection Service, Patriots Plaza 3, 

1400 Independence Avenue SW., 

Mailstop 3782, Room 8–163B, 

Washington, DC 20250–3700. 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES