United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Food Safety and 

Inspection Service

Volume 14, Issue 14

April 6, 2012

Constituent Update

Protecting Public Health Through Food Safety and Food Defense 

Inside this Issue

Codex Public Meeting............................................................................2

USDA Seeks Public Comments ........................................................ 2 

Food Safety Tips During Spring Festivities ..................................2

Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations for Membership ..... 3

FSIS E. coli Testing Updates ............................................................ 3

FSIS to Launch Label Submission and 

Approval System

The Labeling and Program Delivery Division is completing its 

development of the Label Submission and Approval System. The 

launch of this system will have a significant impact on the speed 

and accuracy of label review, as well as the ability to develop 

data-specific reports based on labeling information. 

While the system will not check labels automatically for errors, it 

will scan for some common errors in the label submission process 

including illegible labels, missing information on the transmittal 

form and missing support documentation. This will help to 

improve the label submission process. 

The system will also include a feature that will help submitters 

determine whether a label can be generically approved or if it 

must be submitted to FSIS for approval. To use the system, users 

will need to have level 2 e-Authentication. Look for additional 

information in future issues of the Constituent Update.

FSIS Offers Webinars for Generic 

Labeling Approval Processes 

The agency will soon implement a generic labeling system that 

will allow establishments to label a broader range of products 

without first submitting the label to FSIS for approval.

FSIS will host webinars on this topic on April 24 and May 22 

at 2 p.m. ET. To access the webinar, go to https://connect16.

uc.att.com/usda/meet/?ExEventID=85277207 and follow the 

on-screen instructions. For questions, contact Kristin Goodwin at 

(301) 504-0878 or kristin.goodwin@fsis.usda.gov.
2

Export Requirement 

Updates

FSIS Constituent Update is 

prepared by the Congressional and 

Public Affairs Office.

Office of Public Affairs 

and Consumer Education

Assistant Administrator

Carol Blake

Executive Staff

Brian Mabry, Acting CPA Director

Greg DiNapoli, Deputy Director

Editor 

Ndidi A. Mojay

Assistant Editor

Alexandra Tarrant

Editor-at-Large

Joan Lindenberger

The Library of Export 

Requirements has been 

updated to reflect changes in 

export requirements for the 

following countries: 

Mexico

Complete information can 

be found at www.fsis.usda.

gov/Regulations_&_Policies/

Export_Information/index.

asp. 

Codex Public Meeting on Residues of 

Veterinary Drugs in Food 

FSIS and the FDA will hold a public meeting to receive public 

comments and draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 20th 

Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs 

in Foods (CCRVDF), which will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

The public meeting will be held on April 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. 

ET in the Jamie L. Whitten Bldg., USDA, 1400 Independence 

Ave., S.W., Rm. 107-A, Washington, D.C. 20250. Documents 

and agenda items related to the 20th Session of the CCRVDF is 

available on the Codex website at www.codexalimentarius.org.

For more information or to submit written comments about 

the 20th Session of the CCRVDF, contact Kevin Greenlees 

at (240) 276-8214 or kevin.greenlees@fda.hhs.gov. For more 

information about the public meeting, contact Kenneth Lowery at 

(202) 690-4042 or kenneth.lowery@fsis.usda.gov.

FSIS Issues Tips to Stay Food Safe 

During Spring Festivities

Spring celebrations call for traditional menu items that families 

may not prepare often during the year. 

FSIS is providing food safety tips to reduce the risk of foodborne 

illness when using unfamiliar cooking and serving methods at 

www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_040212_01/index.asp.

In addition, FSIS released a new video this week on its YouTube 

channel, www.youtube.com/usdafoodsafety, which demonstrates 

safe food handling for this time of year.

USDA Seeks Comments on Proposed 

Rule for Poultry Slaughter Inspection

The deadline to submit public comments for the Modernization of 

Poultry Slaughter Inspection Proposed Rule is April 26. 

Comments can be submitted through the Federal eRulemaking

Portal at www.regulations.gov or by mail to USDA, FSIS, OPPD, 

RIMD, Docket Clearance Unit, Patriots Plaza III, Room 8-16, 

0DLOVWRS355 E St., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250. 

All submissions must include the agency name and docket number 

FSIS-2011-0012. 
3

NACMCF Seeks Nominations 

for Members

USDA is seeking applications and nominations for membership 

to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria 

for Foods. Membership is encouraged for 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 academia, industry, consumer groups, state and 

federal government, as well as all other interested persons with 

such expertise, 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. 

 

For consideration, submit a resume and USDA Advisory 

Committee Membership Background Information form AD-755. 

The resume or curriculum vitae must be limited to five, one-sided 

pages and should include educational background, expertise 

and a list of select publications. For submissions received that 

are more than five, one-sided pages in length, only the first five 

pages will be reviewed. USDA Advisory Committee Membership 

Background Information form AD-755 is available at www.ocio.

usda.gov/forms/doc/AD-755.pdf.

Nomination packages can be mailed to Secretary Tom Vilsack, 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., 

Washington, D.C. 20250, Attn: National Advisory Committee on 

Microbiological Criteria for Foods. Nominations must be received 

by April 23. Self nominations are also welcome. 

For additional information, contact Karen Thomas-Sharp, 

Advisory Committee Specialist at (202) 690-6620 or karen.

thomas-sharp@fsis.usda.gov. To read the Federal Register notice, 

go to www.fsis.usda.gov/Frame/FrameRedirect.asp?main=http://

www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2012-0010.htm.

Updates on FSIS Testing for E. coli

Weekly updates for the agency’s raw beef E. coli sampling 

program are posted to the FSIS website. 

For comparative previous and current year results, go to www.

fsis.usda.gov/Science/Ground_Beef_E.coli_Testing_Results/

index.asp. 

FSIS Policy Update 

FSIS issues notices and 

directives to protect public 

health. The following policy 

update was recently issued:

Notice 26-12,

Pre-implementation 

Information on the 

Upcoming FSIS Non-O157 

Shiga Toxin Producing 

E. coli (STEC) Verification 

Testing Program

All notices and directives 

are available at www.fsis.

usda.gov/Regulations_&_

Policies/index.asp. 

Get Answers at 

AskFSIS

AskFSIS is a web-based 

technology and policy 

question-and-answer forum 

on topics such as exporting, 

labeling, inspection, 

programs and procedures.

In addition, AskFSIS offers 

Really Simple Syndication 

(RSS) feeds that link back 

to the Q&As. To view 

recently posted topics, visit 

http://askfsis.custhelp.com/. 

Generic E. coli - Statistical 

Process Control (SPC) and 

Using MPN for Results

http://askfsis.custhelp.

com/app/answers/detail/a_

id/1770