[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 43 (Monday, March 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13070-13072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5272]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2012-0009]
National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice is announcing that the National Advisory Committee
on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a meeting of
the full Committee by an audio conference call that is open to the
public on March 28, 2012. The Committee will discuss: Food Safety
Questions from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Agricultural Marketing Service to Support Ground Beef Purchase for the
Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs. Specifically NACMCF
will address food safety questions to assist the 2012-2013 ground beef
purchase for the School Lunch Program on microbiological criteria,
pathogen
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testing methodology, and sampling plans.
DATES: The full Committee will hold a meeting by phone conference on
Wednesday March 28, 2012, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. E.S.T.
ADDRESSES: The March 28, 2012, meeting will be held by phone. Please
contact Karen Thomas-Sharp at the address below to register for the
meeting:
USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, Stop 3777, Patriots Plaza
3, Floor 9-47, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250, or
by phone (202) 690-6620, fax (202) 690-6334, or email: Karen.thomas-sharp@fsis.usda.gov.
All documents related to the full Committee meeting will be
available for public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room, USDA, at
Patriots Plaza 3, 355 E. Street SW., Room 8-164, Washington, DC 20250
between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, as soon as they
become available. The NACMCF documents will also be available on the
Internet at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/Federal_Register_Notices/index.asp.
FSIS will finalize the agenda on or before the meeting and post it
on the FSIS Web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Meetings_&_Events/. Please note that the meeting agenda is subject to change due
to the time required for Committee discussions; thus, sessions could
end earlier or later than anticipated. Please plan accordingly if you
would like to attend or participate in a public comment period.
The official meeting minutes of the March 28, 2012, full Committee
meeting, when it becomes available, will be kept in the FSIS Docket
Room at the above address and will also be posted on http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About/NACMCF_Meetings/.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Persons interested in registering to
attend the meeting, making a presentation, submitting technical papers,
or providing comments at the March 28, plenary session should contact
Karen Thomas-Sharp, phone (202) 690-6620, fax (202) 690-6334, email:
Karen.thomas-sharp@fsis.usda.gov or at the mailing address above.
Persons requiring special accommodations for this phone conference
(voice and TTY) should notify Ms. Thomas-Sharp by March 1, 2012.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The NACMCF was established in 1988, in response to a recommendation
of the National Academy of Sciences for an interagency approach to
microbiological criteria for foods, and in response to a recommendation
of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, as
expressed in the Rural Development, Agriculture, and Related Agencies
Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988. The charter for the NACMCF is
available on the FSIS Web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About/NACMCF_Charter/.
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. food supply, including development of microbiological criteria, as
well as the review and evaluation of epidemiological and risk
assessment data and methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards
in foods. The Committee also provides scientific advice and
recommendations to the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and the Departments of Commerce and
Defense.
Dr. Elisabeth A. Hagen, Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is
the Committee Chair; Mr. Michael Landa, Acting Director of the Food and
Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
(CFSAN), is the Vice-Chair; and Ms. Gerri Ransom, FSIS, is the
Executive Secretary.
Documents Reviewed by NACMCF
FSIS will make all materials reviewed and considered by NACMCF
regarding its deliberations available to the public. Generally, these
materials will be made available as soon as possible after the full
Committee meeting. Further, FSIS intends to make these materials
available in electronic format on the FSIS Web page
(www.fsis.usda.gov), as well as in hard copy format in the FSIS Docket
Room. Often, an attempt is made to make the materials available at the
start of the full Committee meeting when sufficient time is allowed in
advance to do so.
Disclaimer: NACMCF documents and comments posted on the FSIS Web
site are electronic conversions from a variety of source formats. In
some cases, document conversion may result in character translation or
formatting errors. The original document is the official, legal copy.
In order to meet the electronic and information technology
accessibility standards in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act,
NACMCF may add alternate text descriptors for non-text elements
(graphs, charts, tables, multimedia, etc.). These modifications only
affect the Internet copies of the documents.
Copyrighted documents will not be posted on the FSIS Web site, but
will be available for inspection in the FSIS Docket Room.
Additional Public Notification
FSIS will announce this notice online through the FSIS Web page
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_
Register_Notices/index.asp.
FSIS will also 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, 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 groups,
consumer interest groups, health professionals, and other individuals
who have asked to be included. The Update is also available on the FSIS
Web page. In addition, FSIS offers an electronic 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_&_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 accounts.
USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on
the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age,
disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or
family status (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs).
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (Braille, large print, and
audiotape) should contact USDA's Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice
and TTY).
To file a written complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TTY).
USDA
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is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Done at Washington, DC, on February 28, 2012.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012-5272 Filed 3-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P