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National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods to Hold Public Meetings
The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods will hold public meetings
from September 18 - 22.
Agenda items include the determination of cooking parameters for safe seafood for consumers and
assessment of the food safety importance of Mycobacterium avian subspecies
paratuberculosis.
The subcommittee on Determination of Cooking Parameters for Safe Seafood for Consumers will hold
open meetings on September 18 - 19, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The subcommittee on Assessment of the Food Safety Importance of Mycobacterium avium
subspecies paratuberculosis will hold open meetings on September 20 - 21, from 8:30
a.m. - 5 p.m.
All subcommittee meetings will be held at the Aerospace Building, 901 D St., SW., Room 369,
Washington, D.C.
The full committee will hold a meeting on September 22, from 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., in the
conference room at the south end of the USDA South Building cafeteria, 1400 Independence Ave.,
SW., Washington, D.C.
For more information about the public meetings, contact Karen Thomas, advisory committee
specialist, at (202) 690-6620 or by electronic mail at Karen.Thomas@fsis.usda.gov.
FSIS to Hold Regulatory Education Sessions for Small and Very Small Plants
FSIS will hold regulatory education sessions for the owners and operators of small and very
small plants in Texas, New York, Missouri and California.
The sessions will cover a regulatory walk-through of the sanitation standard operating procedures,
hazard analysis and critical control point and rules of practice regulations.
The regulatory education sessions will be held at the following locations:
September 18, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at the MCC Building Auditorium, University of Texas, 3935
West Braker Lane (on the southwest corner of MOPac [Loop 1] and Braker Lane), Austin, Texas;
September 19, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at the Crown Plaza Albany Hotel, State and Lodge Streets,
Albany, N.Y.;
September 19, from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., at the Millennium Hotel St. Louis, 200 South 4th Street, St.
Louis, Mo.; and
September 20, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m., at the Embassy Suites Hotel Los Angeles, Covina, 1211 E.
Garvey Street, Covina, Calif.
To register by phone, call (800) 336-3747. Online registration forms and information about
upcoming sessions can be found at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/
Outreach_Sessions_SVS_Plants/index.asp.
FSIS to Hold 2006 Food Safety Education Conference
FSIS will hold a food safety education conference titled, "Reaching At-Risk Audiences and
Today's Other Food Safety Challenges" in Denver, Colo., from September 27 - 29. The conference
will focus on educating general and at-risk populations such as pregnant women, children, older
adults, immune-compromised patients and culturally diverse populations about food safety.
The conference will be held at the Adam's Mark Hotel, 1550 Court Place, Denver, Colo. To reserve
your room, call the hotel at (800) 444-2326.
This three-day conference, with pre-conference workshops on September 25 - 26, is being sponsored
by FSIS; NSF International, a non-profit public health company; the Food and Drug Administration;
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension Service; USDA's Food and Nutrition Service; the NSF/WHO Collaborating Center for Food
Safety; and other partners.
The conference will be organized around five primary themes:
- Foodborne Illness Surveillance and Epidemiological Insights;
- Food Safety Behavioral and Attitudinal Research;
- Social Marketing, Educational Interventions and Program Research;
- Role of Foodservice and Food Industries; and
- New Technologies.
To register or view the conference program, visit FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/denver2006/.
FSIS Issues Notice on Nominations for Membership on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection
FSIS published a Federal Register notice on September 12, to announce that USDA is soliciting
nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection.
The full committee consists of no less than 16 and no more than 18 members, and each person
selected is expected to serve a two-year term.
Existing members can serve three consecutive two-year terms. USDA is soliciting nominations
to fill 16 to 18 vacancies on the committee.
The agency is accepting nominations until October 12. Nominations should be submitted by
electronic mail to NACMPI@fsis.usda.gov,
or by mail to Dr. Barbara Masters, administrator, FSIS, USDA, in care of the advisory committee
specialist, Room 405 Aerospace Building, 901 D Street, SW., Washington, D.C. 20250-3700, or by
fax to (202) 690-6519.
The Federal Register notice is available on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Frame/FrameRedirect.asp?main=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2006-0019.htm.
FSIS Issues Notice on Nationwide Young Chicken Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program
FSIS issued Notice 60-06 on September 14, to provide information to inspection program personnel at
establishments participating in the FSIS Nationwide Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program
for Young Chickens.
Information in this notice applies to the 90-day training period that will be conducted before the
actual study begins. The 90-day training period will begin upon receipt of Notice 60-06.
The notice is available on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/60-06.pdf.
FSIS Revises Homeland Security Monitoring and Surveillance Directive
FSIS issued Directive 5420.3, Revision 3 on September 14, titled, Homeland Security Threat
Condition Response - Monitoring and Surveillance of Products in Commerce.
This directive has been rewritten to include specific tasks that FSIS' Office of Program
Evaluation, Enforcement and Review personnel should follow during food defense surveillance
activities at or above a threat condition "elevated" (yellow) level.
It further provides instructions for communicating the results of those surveillance
activities to appropriate levels in FSIS.
FSIS Directive 5420.3, Revision 3 is available on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/
FSISDirectives/5420.3_Rev3.pdf.
Export Tip of the Week
FSIS' Office of International Affairs receives many calls from readers who continue to
experience problems finding recent revisions to country requirements.
Changes to country requirements in the Export Library are marked with a red asterisk. For shorter
country requirements, a "note" is included as a header indicating that the red asterisk indicates
the most recent revision to the requirements.
For lengthier country requirements, the "note" is included as a header plus a
"search" capability. To search, click on your browser's "edit" menu. Click
on "find (on this page)." Enter the asterisk symbol (do not include quotation marks
before or following the asterisk) in the "find what" field. Click on "find next"
field and continue to click on "find next" until all asterisks signify the revisions
have been identified.
For further information, call FSIS' Office of International Affairs at (202) 720-3473.
Visit FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
Regulations_&_Policies/Export_Information/index.asp
to learn more about requirements for exporting products to other countries.
Export Requirement Updates
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for the following:
- Australia
- Canada
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Republic of Korea
- Russia
Complete information can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/
Export_Information/index.asp.
Extension of Comment Period for Harvard Risk Assessment of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
FSIS has extended the comment period for the 2005 updated Harvard risk assessment of BSE.
FSIS is taking this action in response to a comment that was submitted after its July 25 technical
meeting. At the meeting, officials provided information on the updated risk assessment model and
report.
The agency is accepting comments until October 27. Comments may be submitted through the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov
or by electronic mail at
fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov.
The related Federal Register notice is available on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Frame/FrameRedirect.asp?main=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/2006-0011E.htm.
FSIS Issues Notice on Illegally Imported or Smuggled Products
FSIS issued Notice 59-06 on September 13, titled, Illegally Imported or Smuggled Products.
This notice provides methodologies that FSIS' Office of Program Evaluation, Enforcement and
Review and the Office of International Affairs will apply when surveillance or an investigation
identifies meat, poultry or egg products from a foreign country that have been illegally imported
or smuggled into the United States.
The notice is available on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISNotices/59-06.pdf.
Hot Link
E-mail Subscription Service - FSIS' e-mail alert service provides
automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and information.
Visit
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/Email_
Subscription/index.asp to sign up for agency e-mail alerts.
FSIS Web Site Named Finalist for Best Practices Award
FSIS' Web site, www.fsis.usda.gov, was recently named a
finalist in the general audience category for a prestigious best practices award presented to
top government Web sites by Webcontent.gov, a consortium of government, Federal and military
Web site managers.
FSIS' Web site was selected by a panel of Federal Web managers, mostly comprised of the Web
Managers Advisory Council. The group includes representatives from every cabinet-level agency,
several independent agencies and representatives from the judicial and legislative branches.
Over 50 Web sites were nominated for awards. Other finalists in the general audience category
include the Department of State's International Information Programs; the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ocean Explorer; and the U.S.
Geological Survey.
To view the list of finalists, go to
http://www.firstgov.gov/webcontent/improving/marketing/
awards/finalists.shtml.
A winner will be named during the group's Fall Government Managers Workshop on September 19,
in Washington, D.C.
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Last Modified:
September 15, 2006 |
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