An Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer

January 28, 2021

TRANSMITTED VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Ms. Erin Michele Sutherland

Staff Attorney

Animal Welfare Institute

900 Pennsylvania Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20003

@awionline.org

RE: 2021-FSIS-00118-F 

GCP Records 

Dear Ms. Sutherland: 

This is the final response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, dated 

January 4, 2021, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection

Service (FSIS). You requested a copy of records regarding Good Commercial Practices 

(GCP), from October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. We received your request in our office 

on January 4, 2021. 

The FSIS FOIA staff works with subject matter experts across the agency to locate 

responsive documents. For this request, we conducted a records search in the Office of 

Planning, Analysis, and Risk Management and the Office of Field Operations. FSIS’ search 

began on January 4, 2021. Our search includes responsive records in FSIS’ control on that 

date.

We have located 75 pages that are responsive to your request. After a thorough review, we 

have determined that portions of these documents are exempt from disclosure under (b)(4) 

and (b)(6) of the FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552, as amended. Accordingly, this request is granted in

part. 

Exemption 4 of the FOIA protects “trade secrets and commercial or financial information 

obtained from a person [that is] privileged or confidential.” 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4). The 

exemption covers two distinct categories of information in federal agency records, (1) trade 

secrets, and (2) information that is (a) commercial or financial, and (b) obtained from a 

person, and (c) privileged or confidential. In this instance, the agency is withholding line 

speed information. We have determined that these records contain commercial or financial 

information that is customarily treated as private by the business submitters. Therefore, the 

information is considered confidential.

Portions of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 6, 5 

U.S.C. § 552(b)(6). Exemption 6 protects information that would constitute an unwarranted 

invasion of an individual’s personal privacy. The types of information withheld under 

Exemption 6 include the names, addresses, or cell phone numbers of employees of 

Establishments and third parties, including, but not limited to interviewees or customers.

You may appeal this determination no later than 90 days from the date of this letter. Your 

appeal should include copies of your original request and this response, as well reasons 

Food Safety and 

Inspection Service 

1400 Independence 

Avenue, SW. 

Washington, D.C. 

20250 

 

(b) (6)
Erin Michele Sutherland

Page 2 

Be Food Safe: CLEAN: Wash Hands and Surfaces Often SEPARATE: Separate Raw Meats from Other Foods

COOK: Cook To The Right Temperature CHILL: Refrigerate Food Promptly

supporting your appeal. The envelope should be plainly marked to indicate that it contains a FOIA 

appeal. If you decide to appeal, please send your appeal to: 

Paul Kiecker

Administrator

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Food Safety and Inspection Service

1400 Independence Avenue, SW.

Room 1170, South Building

Washington, DC 20250-3700

FSIS.FOIA@USDA.GOV 

Please be advised that your FOIA request, including your identity and the information made available, is 

releasable to the public under any subsequent FOIA requests. However, FSIS does not release your 

personal privacy information, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, or Social Security Numbers, 

all of which are protected from disclosure under FOIA Exemption 6.

If you have any questions about the way this request was handled, or about the USDA’s FOIA 

regulations, please contact Luke Harman at 202-720-0290 or via email at Luke.Harman@usda.gov. You 

may seek dispute resolution services from me, the FSIS FOIA Public Liaison and FOIA Director at 202-

690-2760 or via email at Arianne.Perkins@usda.gov. If you have general questions about FSIS’ FOIA 

procedures or regulations, please feel free to reach out to me as well.

Additionally, you may contact the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) at the National 

Archives and Records Administration to inquire about the FOIA mediation services they offer. The 

contact information for OGIS is as follows: Office of Government Information Services, National 

Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road-OGIS, College Park, Maryland 20740-6001, 

e-mail at ogis@nara.gov; telephone at 202-741-5770; or facsimile at 202-741-5769.

Thank you for your interest in FSIS programs and policies. 

Sincerely,

Arianne M. Perkins

Director, Freedom of Information Act Staff

Office of Public Affairs and Consumer Education

Enclosure