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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
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Food Safety and Inspection
Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700 |
News and Information
Public Meetings
May
6-7, 2002
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Georgetown University Conference Center
3800 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, DC 20057
On May 6-7, 2002, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will hold a scientific symposium on the issue of pathogen reduction. This symposium is the second in a series of nine symposia to be sponsored by FSIS over the next year for the purpose of enhancing the scientific foundation of food safety policies and systems.
The May 6-7 symposium will explore progress and challenges in pathogen reduction, from farm to table, as it considers the effectiveness of the Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point system rule.
Scientific dialogue at the symposium will focus on pathogen reduction from four perspectives:
Introduction of hazards from farm to table
Impacts of HACCP systems and approaches, including prerequisite programs
Performance standards and the role of microbial testing in a HACCP environment
Intervention strategies, including verification of effectiveness
The goal of the symposium is to engage scientific, academic, industry and consumer stakeholders in discussion of fundamental scientific issues relevant to pathogen reduction along the farm-to-table chain. Accordingly, invited speakers from government and academia will make presentations, and meeting participants will be encouraged to participate in moderated discussions. FSIS intends to publish the proceedings from this meeting. The Agency will use the information from this and the other planned symposia to develop and implement approaches to enhance public-health based food safety protections.
Pre-registration: The meeting will begin at 8:00 a.m. and conclude at 5:00 p.m. on both days. FSIS encourages attendees to pre-register as soon as possible by contacting Ms. Sheila Johnson, FSIS Planning Staff, at (202) 690-6498 or by e-mail at sheila.johnson@usda.gov. If a sign language interpreter or other special accommodation is necessary, please contact Ms. Johnson.
Agenda: A draft agenda is accessible on the FSIS web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
Public comments: FSIS welcomes comments on the topics to be discussed at the symposium. Please send an original and two copies of comments to the FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #02-006N, 102 Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
For further information on the conference: Contact Dr. Karen Hulebak, Senior Advisor for Scientific Affairs, FSIS, at (202) 720-8609; by fax at (202) 720-9893; or by e-mail at Karen.Hulebak@usda.gov.
For Further Information, Contact:
FSIS Congressional and Public Affairs Staff
Phone: (202) 720-9113
Fax: (202) 690-0460