[Federal Register: May 31, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 104)]
[Notices]
[Page 30333-30335]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31my07-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0038]
Availability of Electronic Web-Based FSIS Form 10,240-1,
Production Information on Post-Lethality Exposed Ready-To-Eat Products,
With Revisions and Detailed Instructions
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and opportunity for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing
the availability of an electronic Web-based version of FSIS Form
10,240-1, Production Information on Post-Lethality Exposed Ready-to-Eat
Products. This form is available for the first time for online
submission.
FSIS Form 10,240-1 will be used to collect information about the
ready-to-eat (RTE) products produced by establishments.
ADDRESSES: FSIS invites interested persons to send comments on this
notice. Comments may be sent by any of the following methods:
Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand- or
courier-delivered items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, SW.,
Room 102 Cotton Annex, Washington, DC 20250.
Electronic mail: fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this
Web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to http://www.regulation.gov
and in the ``Search for Open Regulations'' box,
select ``Food Safety and Inspection Service'' from the agency drop-down
menu, then click on ``Submit.'' In the Docket ID column, select FDMS
Docket Number 2006-0038 to send or view public comments and to view
supporting and related materials available electronically.
All submissions received by mail or electronic mail must include
the Agency name and docket number 2006-0038. All comments sent in
response to this document, as well as research and background
information used by FSIS in developing this document, will be available
for public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room at the address listed
above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Comments
will also be posted on the Agency's Web site
[[Page 30334]]
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/2007_Notices_Index/index.asp
.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Doyle, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, FSIS, Technical Service Center, Program Analysis Staff,
FSIS, 1-800-233-3935.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
FSIS is committed to developing strategies that address food safety
hazards throughout the entire food production chain. Under the Federal
Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act, FSIS has
the authority and responsibility to provide for the safety of meat and
poultry products during in-plant production and through transportation,
storage, and other handling.
On June 6, 2003, FSIS published an interim final rule (68 FR 34207)
to require that official establishments that produce RTE meat and
poultry products that are exposed to the environment after a lethality
treatment has been administered act to prevent product adulteration by
the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes). In this interim
final rule, FSIS identified three alternative methods for addressing
post-lethality contamination of RTE products by L. monocytogenes and
required that establishments adopt and implement one of these
alternatives.
The use of FSIS Form 10,240-1, Production Information on Post-
Lethality Exposed Ready-to-Eat Products, facilitates collection of
information about the RTE products produced by establishments. This
information is used in developing FSIS' annual sampling frequencies for
establishments and RTE products. The annual collection of this
information was addressed in the interim final rule in 9 CFR 430.4(d).
The Agency will use this information, along with the FSIS verification
testing history of the establishment, to design a risk-based
verification testing program, as stated in the preamble to the interim
final rule.
The regulations at 9 CFR 430.4(d) state that ``* * * an
establishment that produces post-lethality exposed RTE product shall
provide FSIS * * * with estimates of annual production volume and
related information for the types of meat and poultry products
processed * * * .'' FSIS Form 10,240-1 was developed for this purpose
and is now available in the new, Web-based submittable format. It can
be found on the FSIS Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Forms/PDF/Form_10240-1.pdf.
Any establishment required to complete this form
will be able to complete and submit the form entirely online, which
will ensure more timely submission and more accurate information. In
addition to reformatting the form to facilitate its being fillable and
submittable online, FSIS has revised the content of the form in certain
minor respects:
Item 1g, Plant Size Category was added.
Item 2, Annual Production Volume, Other Than Deli
Products, has two new product designations. These new columns are
Frozen Products and Pate' Products.
Item 3, Alternative 3, Question B was deleted.
Establishments are required to file Form 10,240-1 whenever a
significant change in the alternative category or volume of production
occurs.
The address for any written communication concerning FSIS Form
10,240-1 has changed. Send all written correspondence to: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, FSIS, Technical Service Center, Program
Analysis Staff, Suite 300 Landmark Center, 1299 Farnam Street, Omaha,
NE 68102. Fax number (402) 344-5006. Phone: 1-800-233-3935.
Awareness Meeting With Establishment Management
FSIS Inspectors-In-Charge (IICs) at establishments that produce
products that are regulated under 9 CFR part 430 have been instructed
to provide information on the electronic FSIS Form 10,240-1 to
establishment management. The IICs are to provide the following
information:
1. The form is located on the FSIS Web site at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Forms/PDF/Form_10240-1.pdf
.
2. Adobe Reader 7.0 or greater should be installed in order to
submit the form electronically. Download the software free of charge
from the Adobe Web site at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.
(If this free download is accessed, any supplemental
items that are not wanted should be unchecked.)
3. If establishment management chooses to submit a paper form by
mail, it may obtain a copy of the blank form by printing a blank form
from the online version or by contacting the Technical Service Center
(TSC) at: USDA/FSIS/OPPED/TSC/PAS, Suite 300 Landmark Center, 1299
Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 68102. Fax: 402-344-5006. Phone: 1-800-233-
3935.
4. Establishment management should submit the completed paper form
to the address in 3. above.
5. If the establishment is no longer required to file FSIS Form
10,240-1 (e.g., the establishment no longer produces the RTE product
for which it had filed the form previously), establishment management
should either:
a. Send an e-mail with the message ``No Longer Required to File''
to the e-mail address RTEform@fsis.usda.gov, or
b. Write across the front of a blank form ``No Longer Required to
File'' and mail to the TSC at the address provided under 3. above.
6. Pursuant to the regulation, the Administrator is requiring each
establishment to file, either electronically, by fax, or via mail the
new FSIS Form 10,240-1 within 30 days of the date of the meeting.
7. Under the regulation, each establishment is required to continue
to submit updates to the form when changes to its production volume or
selected alternative occur.
Instructions for completing form 10,240-1 are attached to the form.
The additional instructions to assist in completing the form are in
Attachment 1 to FSIS Notice 21-07, dated March 8, 2007. The IIC is to
provide establishment management with a copy of Attachment 1 to FSIS
Notice 21-07.
In a memorandum of meeting, the IIC is to document who was present
at the meeting, the date and time of the meeting, what was discussed at
the meeting, and any documents that were shared with management. The
IIC is to maintain a copy of the memorandum in the official government
file and provide a copy to establishment management.
Inspection program personnel are to hold a meeting with
establishment management approximately 30 days after the meeting at
which the IIC notifies the establishment about completing and
submitting the form. At this second meeting, inspection program
personnel are to ask the establishment management whether it has
completed the revised FSIS Form 10,240-1 and submitted it to FSIS and
are to remind establishment management of the need to do so if it has
not.
The District Analyst in each District Office will be reviewing the
database containing the submitted 10,240-1 forms to verify receipt of
forms from establishments that are required to submit them. The TSC
will assist districts without a District Analyst.
Any persons with comments on FSIS' decision to make FSIS Form
10,240-1 available and fillable electronically should submit them to
the Docket Clerk, whose address is set out at the beginning of this
document.
[[Page 30335]]
Paperwork Reduction Act
The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information
collection and recordkeeping requirements under approval number 0583-
0132. This notice contains no other paperwork requirements.
E-Government Act Compliance
FSIS is committed to complying with the E-Government Act, to
promote the use of the Internet and other information technologies to
provide increased opportunities for citizen access to Government
information and services, and for other purposes.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this
notice, FSIS will announce it online through the FSIS Web page located
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2007_Notices_Index/. FSIS
also will make copies of this Federal Register publication available
through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide
information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal
Register notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other types of
information that could affect or would be of interest to constituents
and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, a free
electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade and farm
groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, and
other individuals who have asked to be included. The update is
available on the FSIS Web page. Through the Listserv and Web page, FSIS
is able to provide information to a much broader and more diverse
audience. In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail subscription service which
provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news
and information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription/.
Options range from recalls to
export information to regulations, directives and notices. Customers
can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to
password protect their account.
Done at Washington, DC, on May 23, 2007.
David P. Goldman,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7-10469 Filed 5-30-07; 8:45 am]
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