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USDA Offers Food Assistance to Those Affected by Hurricane Sandy
The department is coordinating with other federal agencies, states and community organizations to provide disaster
nutrition assistance in communities affected by Hurricane Sandy.
USDA approved mass replacements of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, sponsored by the
Food and Nutrition Service, to households in certain areas affected by the hurricane. Requests were approved for
the states of Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia to extend the time SNAP
recipients have to report loss of food.
USDA also collaborated with the Department of Education to help families by utilizing USDA food stockpiles purchased
for the National School Lunch Program to prepare meals at schools, shelters or other feeding sites to help feed
local residents.
For more information about USDA's disaster assistance, visit
www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=HurricaneInfo.xml.
Also visit www.usa.gov/sandy for the latest Hurricane Sandy response information and
resources available from other government agencies.
PHIS Update
FSIS is gearing up to launch the industry functionality of the Public Health Information System (PHIS) to
establishments nationwide. This will include the "plant management" role to review and print noncompliance
records, respond to noncompliance records and appeal noncompliance records, view industry-specific reports and
manage users associated with an establishment. The use of PHIS by industry is optional. For those who are
interested in accessing PHIS, you must first establish a USDA eAuthentication (eAuth) Level 2 account. PHIS
will not be accessible to anyone without an eAuth account. The steps on obtaining eAuth are:
- Log onto www.eauth.egov.usda.gov. Complete the online
application for approval and submit it. Within a few minutes, you will receive an e-mail message with
instructions on how to proceed.
- You are required to have a Licensed Registration Agent (LRA) verify your identity in person. You must do
this before you can receive a password for your eAuth account. Go to the eAuth website at
www.eauth.egov.usda.gov
and click on "Find an LRA" at the top right corner of the screen. Then find an agent in your area using the map provided.
- It is important that you store your eAuth password in a secure location and that you do not share it with
others; it is unique to you as an individual.
If you need assistance or have questions about eAuth, contact the USDA eAuth service desk at
eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov or (800) 457-3642.
Dr. Kerry Dearfield Named FSIS Chief Scientist
FSIS has named Dr. Kerry Dearfield the Chief Scientist for FSIS. As a member of OPHS, Dr. Dearfield will serve
as the key scientific advisor on matters of public health and food safety that affect the mission of OPHS and the
agency. His primary responsibility is to ensure sound science underpinnings for the scientific initiatives
within OPHS and FSIS. He will also represent the agency in its dealings with external scientific bodies and
regulatory organizations.
Dr. Dearfield joined OPHS in 2005 in the role of scientific advisor for Risk Assessment. He developed policies,
guidance and directions for risk assessments and advised on environmental and microbial risk assessments for
food safety. His scientific interests include the development of science policy and guidance (e.g., microbial
risk assessment guidelines); health risk assessments of environmental and microbial food contaminants; modes
of action for toxicity; health effects testing guidelines (e.g., carcinogenicity); and risk assessment,
risk management and risk communication issues. Dr. Dearfield has published in numerous peer-reviewed
publications on genetic toxicology of chemicals, genotoxicity in regulatory decisions and guidelines,
peer review and risk assessment practices and science policy issues.
Prior to his USDA positions, Dr. Dearfield worked at EPA as a risk assessor and senior scientist for Science Policy.
He has a bachelor's degree in biology from the College of William and Mary, a master's in cell biology from the
University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in pharmacology from the George Washington University Medical Center.
Export Requirement Updates
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for the following
countries:
- Egypt
- United Arab Emirates
Complete information can be found at
www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/
Export_Information/index.asp.
FSIS Resources
This week, the agency hosted webinar trainings on Nov. 7 and 8 that focused on verification of poultry
sanitary dressing.
The training discussed a "system" as it relates to sanitary dressing and
process control, the role of sanitary dressing and process control as part of an establishment's food
safety system. In addition, details were provided as to how inspectors verify poultry sanitary dressing
and process control procedures as outlined in Directive 6410.3 (www.fsis.usda.gov/oppde/rdad/FSISDirectives/6410.3.pdf).
Follow-up information is available on the FSIS website at
www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/
Reg_Education_Videos/index.asp#Process.
FSIS Policy Updates
FSIS issues notices and directives to protect public health. All notices and directives are available at
www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/index.asp.
The following policy updates were recently issued:
- Notice 67-12, Instructions Concerning Written Recall Procedures and Food Defense
- Directive 8010.5 - Revision 3, Case Referral and Disposition
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. Visit http://askfsis.custhelp.com/
to view recently posted topics.
The following topic was recently updated:
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Last Modified:
November 9, 2012 |
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