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Agency Awards More Than $2.5 Million in Cooperative Agreements
FSIS awarded more than $2.5 million in cooperative agreements to academic institutions, non-profit
organizations and federal and state government agencies in fiscal year 2005.
The cooperative agreements support efforts seeking new ideas and strategies to protect public health
by reducing the incidence of foodborne illnesses associated with meat, poultry and egg products.
They also seek to protect the food supply from intentional acts of contamination.
Products developed from these cooperative agreements will be available for public use nationwide.
The cooperative agreements support five areas and are broken down as follows:
- 18 projects supporting integration of data at the federal, state and local level to enhance the capability of the Food Emergency Response Network to protect the food supply;
- 10 projects supporting the implementation of new technologies that allow small and very small meat, poultry and egg products establishments to produce safer products;
- Eight projects supporting improvements in food animal production, transportation and marketing;
- Eight projects supporting retail stores, food service establishments and other inspection-exempt enterprises subject to state, local or tribal regulations that process or otherwise handle meat, poultry and egg products; and
- Five projects supporting small and very small federally and state-inspected establishments to improve food safety training and education.
For further information on cooperative agreements, visit FSIS' Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov.
FSIS Begins New Data Collection Program
FSIS recently released Notice 73-05, announcing the Nationwide Microbiological Baseline Data Collection
Program for Domestic Beef Trimmings, which will begin on November 28. It also nullifies FSIS Notice 48-05.
73-05 informs inspection program personnel about the sample beef trimmings which are available for the
production of ground beef. The sampling will be conducted at approximately 250 establishments and will
include both regulatory testing for Escherichia coli O157:H7 and non-regulatory testing for other
microorganisms.
Information provided in the previously-issued Computer Based Training (CBT) compact disc (CD) still applies
to the continued sampling program.
As well as publicizing the beginning of the data collection program, the notice also announces an important
change in procedure from the training period. For an efficient and speedy response, all samples need to be
collected and shipped on the day the beef trimmings are produced. This is a change from the CBT CD, but is
not a change on how the samples are to be collected. The inspection personnel must continue to follow the
training from the CBT CD.
During the training phase for this baseline study, various questions were received by FSIS' Technical Service
Center and through e-mail. Notice 73-05 includes Attachment 1, titled "Consolidated Questions and Answers
Concerning Nationwide Microbiological Baseline Data Collection Program for Domestic Beef Trimmings." The
attachment should assist in the clarification of commonly asked questions.
Complete information about this notice and the baseline collection program can be found on FSIS' Web site at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/
FSISNotices/73-05.pdf (PDF Only).
FSIS Answers Questions on Notice 45-05
FSIS issued Notice 72-05 November 8 in
response to questions arising from the issuance of FSIS Notice 45-05.
Titled "Availability of Questions and Answers Related to FSIS Notice 45-05," the notice
announces the posting of frequently asked questions and related answers on FSIS' Web site.
Notice 45-05 provided inspection program personnel with instructions for ensuring establishments
have implemented the appropriate process controls for ingredients that are public health concerns.
The questions and answers address situations that have arisen since Notice 45-05 was issued. They are
available on FSIS' Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/
FAQs_for_Notice_45-05/.
Reminder for Meeting on Amenability
A public meeting to discuss possible changes to the jurisdiction over certain food products that contain
meat and poultry will be held by FSIS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. December 15 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center,
5555 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.
Amenability is the only issue that will be discussed at this
meeting.
Seats at the meeting are limited, and anyone wishing to attend is encouraged to register in advance at
http://register.grad.usda.gov/
conferences/fda/fda-fsis_reg_form.cfm.
Furthermore, both agencies encourage the submission of comments before the meeting takes place.
FSIS and FDA will be accepting public comments, which may be submitted to Docket No. 05-013N by any of the
following methods:
Thanksgiving Food Safety Tips Offered
Undersecretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond discussed important tips for preventing foodborne illness
during the holidays with volunteers from the Capital Area Food Bank November 15.
Dr. Raymond was joined by Washington Chef Terrell Danley of Crème Café.
Among the tips offered by Dr. Raymond were USDA's four basic food safety messages:
Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.
A number of recommendations for safely thawing turkey were also offered.
For more information, visit USDA's Web site at http://www.usda.gov/2005/11/0488.xml.
Export Requirement Updates
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for the following
countries: Canada, European Union, Guatemala, Romania, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam. Complete information can be found at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations/
Export_Information/
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