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USDA Announces Proposed Rule to Streamline
Generic Labeling Approval Processes |
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Congressional and Public Affairs
Bill Bagley (202) 720-9113
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2011 - The U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is
proposing a new rule that will allow establishments to label a
broader range of products without first submitting the label to FSIS
for approval, should it become final. Under the proposal, FSIS will
continue to verify that labels are accurate, not misleading, and in
compliance with all labeling features. This rule is expected to
benefit consumers because it will get new products into the
marketplace sooner while still ensuring that they are not
misbranded. Also, by making the label approval process more
convenient and cost-effective, the industry, especially smaller
producers, is expected to benefit from the rule.
“It is important that we make the labeling process more effective
and efficient, while still ensuring consumers have the best
information available when shopping for food,” said Dr. Elisabeth
Hagen, Undersecretary for Food Safety at the Department of
Agriculture.
The rule proposes to modify the agency's generic label approval
process. Under the proposal, the generic label approval process
would allow companies to use new labels or modify labels without
first submitting such labels to FSIS. Under the proposed generic
approval process, all mandatory label features would still need to
comply with FSIS regulations.
The proposed rule was posted today on the FSIS website at
www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/
Proposed_Rules/index.asp
and soon will publish in the Federal Register. The comment period
will end on Feb. 3, 2012 and must be submitted through the Federal
eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, or by mail to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), FSIS, OPPD, RIMD, Docket Clearance
Unite, Patriots Plaza III, Rm. 8-164, 355 E Street, SW., Washington,
D.C. 20024-3221. All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must
include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2005-0016.
Over the past two years, FSIS has announced a several new
measures to safeguard the food supply, prevent foodborne illness,
and improve consumers' knowledge about the food they eat. These
initiatives support the three core principles developed by the
President’s Food Safety Working Group (FSWG): prioritizing
prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and
improving response and recovery. Some of these actions include:
- Performance standards for poultry
establishments for continued reductions in the occurrence of
pathogens. USDA expects the new standards to prevent as many as
25,000 foodborne illnesses annually. This includes a tougher
performance standard for Salmonella and the first ever
performance standard for Campylobacter.
- Zero tolerance policy for six Shiga
toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serogroups. Raw ground beef, its
components, and tenderized steaks found to contain E. coli O26,
O103, O45, O111, O121 or O145 will be prohibited from sale to
consumers. USDA will launch a testing program to detect these
dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.
- Test and hold policy that will
significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products,
because products cannot be released into commerce until Agency
test results for dangerous contaminants are known.
- Labeling proposals that provide better
information to consumers about their food by requiring nutrition
labels on single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products and by
simplifying labeling language for raw meat and poultry products
with added solutions that may not be apparent to the consumer.
- Public Health Information System, a
modernized, comprehensive database about public health trends
and food safety violations at the nearly 6,100 plants FSIS
regulates.
As part of its multi-faceted approach to prevent foodborne illness,
USDA also launched Food Safe Families, a consumer education campaign
with the Ad Council, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is the first
joint public service campaign to empower families to further reduce
their risk of foodborne illness at home by checking their key food
safety steps: clean, separate, cook, and chill. For more
information, go to
http://www.foodsafety.gov.
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| Follow FSIS on Twitter @usdafoodsafety. |
Last Modified: December 5, 2011 |
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