12a. This Committee shall be fairly balanced in its membership in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed. Staggering membership terms and limiting the number of renewed memberships assist in maintaining a balanced membership.
 
12b. Equal opportunity practices in accordance with USDA policies will be followed in all appointments to the Committee. To ensure that the recommendations of the Committee have taken into account the needs of the diverse groups served by USDA, membership shall include, to the extent possible, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent minorities, women and persons with disabilities.

12c. The USDA prohibits discrimination in all of its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program.

The Secretary of Agriculture appoints the membership of the Committee. Furthermore, members serve for two-year terms, and can serve no more than two consecutive terms. Membership shall consist of not more than 20 individuals with diverse capabilities distinguished by their knowledge and interest in meat and poultry safety and other FSIS responsibilities. Members shall be drawn from representatives of state and local governments; industry and trade associations; public health, scientific, and academic communities; and consumers and consumer organizations.

The Associate Commissioner for Food Protection of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or his or her representative, and the Director of the Food Safety Office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or his or her representative, shall be ex officio members of the Committee.

12d. The Secretary of Agriculture or designee will appoint the Chairperson who is recognized for his and her ability to lead a group in a fair and focused manner and who has been briefed on the mission of this Committee.

12e. Ethics Statement

To maintain the highest levels of honesty, integrity and ethical conduct, no Committee or subcommittee member shall participate in any “specific party matters” (i.e., matters are narrowly focused and typically involve specific transactions between identified parties) such as a lease, license, permit, contract, claim, grant, agreement, or related litigation with the Department in which the member has a direct or indirect financial interest. This includes the requirement for Committee or Subcommittee members to immediately disclose to the DFO any specific party matter in which the member’s immediate family, relatives, business partners or employer would be directly seeking to financially benefit from the Committee’s recommendations.

All members will receive ethics training to identify and avoid any actions that would cause the public to question the integrity of the Committee’s advice and recommendations. Members who are appointed as “Representatives” are not subject to Federal ethics laws because such appointment allows them to represent the point(s) of view of a particular group, business sector or segment of the public.

Members appointed as “Special Government Employees” (SGEs) are considered intermittent Federal employees and are subject to Federal ethics laws. SGE’s are appointed due to their personal knowledge, academic scholarship, background or expertise. No SGE may participate in any activity in which the member has a prohibited financial interest. Appointees who are SGEs are required to complete and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE-450 form) and, upon request, USDA will assist SGEs in preparing these financial reports. To ensure the highest level of compliance with applicable ethical standards USDA will provide ethics training to SGEs on an annual basis. The provisions of these paragraphs are not meant to exhaustively cover all Federal ethics laws and do not affect any other statutory or regulatory obligations to which advisory committee members are subject.