[Federal Register: August 31, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 170)]
[Notices]
[Page 45958-45959]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31au01-22]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 01-024N]
National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of meeting; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria
for Foods (NACMCF) will meet September 17-20, 2001. The meeting is open
to the public. The committee will discuss Salmonella performance
standards in meat and poultry products; Escherichia coli O157:H7 in
blade-tenderized, non-intact beef; review Codex Alimentarius Commission
Draft Guidelines for the Validation of Food Hygiene Control Measures;
introduce the evaluation of hot holding temperatures; and the
scientific basis for establishing safety-based ``use by'' date labeling
for refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods.
FSIS will finalize an agenda describing the specific charges to the
Committee on or before the meeting date and post it to its internet web
page.
DATES: Subcommittees will meet on Monday, September 17, 2001, beginning
at 8:30 a.m., and again on September 18 and 19, 2001; the full
Committee will meet in plenary session on September 19-20, 2001.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th &
K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005. Send an original and two copies of
comments to the Food Safety and Inspection Service Docket Room: Docket
#01-024N, Room 102 Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250. Comments may also be sent by facsimile (202) 205-
0381. The comments and the official transcript of the meeting, when it
becomes available, will be kept in the FSIS Docket Room at the above
address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons interested in making a
presentation, submitting technical papers, or providing comments should
contact Ms. Karen Thomas (202) 690-6620, Fax (202) 690-6634, e-mail
address: karen.thomas@dcqexs1.hqnet.usda.gov, or mailing address: Food
Safety and Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture, Office of
Public Health and Science, Aerospace Center, Room 333, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. Persons requiring
a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should
notify Ms. Thomas, by September 3, 2001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The NACMCF was established in April 1988, in response to a
recommendation in a 1985 report of the National Academy of Sciences
Committee on Food Protection, Subcommittee on Microbiological Criteria,
``An Evaluation of the Role of Microbiological Criteria for Foods.''
The Charter for the NACMCF is available for viewing on the FSIS
internet web page at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/programs/nacmcf_chart.htm.
The NACMCF provides scientific advice and recommendations to the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services
on public health issues relative to the safety and wholesomeness of the
U.S.
[[Page 45959]]
food supply including development of microbiological criteria and
review and evaluation of epidemiological and risk assessment data and
methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards in foods. The
Committee also provides advice to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the Departments of Commerce and Defense. Dr. I. Kaye
Wachsmuth, Deputy Administrator, Office of Public Health and Science,
FSIS, is the Committee Chair, and Janice F. Oliver, Deputy Director,
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug
Administration, is the Co-Chair.
At the September 17-20, 2001, meeting announced in this document,
the Committee will
Discuss Salmonella performance standards in meat and
poultry products;
Discuss Escherichia coli O157:H7 in blade-tenderized, non-
intact beef;
Review Codex Alimentarius Commission Draft Guidelines for
the Validation of Food Hygiene Control Measures;
Introduce the evaluation of hot holding temperatures; and
Introduce the scientific basis for establishing safety-
based ``use by'' date labeling for refrigerated, ready-to-eat foods.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure
that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this
notice, FSIS will announce it and provide copies of this Federal
Register publication in the FSIS Constituent Update. FSIS provides a
weekly FSIS Constituent Update, which is communicated via fax to over
300 organizations and individuals. In addition, the update is available
on-line through the FSIS web page located at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
The update is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies,
procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS public
meetings, recalls, and any other types of information that could affect
or would be of interest to our constituents/stakeholders. The
constituent fax list consists of industry, trade, and farm groups,
consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific
professionals, and other individuals that have requested to be
included. Through these various channels, FSIS is able to provide
information to a much broader, more diverse audience. For more
information and to be added to the constituent fax list, fax your
request to the Congressional and Public Affairs Office, at (202) 720-
5704.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-21982 Filed 8-30-01; 8:45 am]
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