Food Safety and Inspection Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D.C. 20250-3700

FSIS Constituent Update: March 19, 2004

Expanded BSE Surveillance Program Announced

On March 15, 2004, Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman announced details for an expanded surveillance effort for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in the United States. The plan incorporates recommendations from members of the international scientific review panel and authors of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis report on BSE.

The primary focus of USDA’s enhanced surveillance effort will continue to be the highest risk populations for the disease, but USDA will greatly increase the number of target animals surveyed and will include a random sampling of apparently normal, aged animals. A copy of the BSE Surveillance Plan* can be found at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/BSE_Surveil_Plan03-15-04.pdf.

Deadline for Comments Approaching

FSIS will continue accepting comments on the new regulations addressing BSE until April 12. Any comments should be directed to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #03-0381F, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12^th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. Complete information on new regulations can be found at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OA/news/2004/bseregs.htm.

Delegate Report of Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene Now Available

On March 11, 2004, the delegate report of Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene of the Codex Alimentarius Commission was made available to the public. The meeting was held in Auckland, New Zealand, on February 16-20, 2004, with the U.S. represented by Dr. Perfecto Santiago, U.S. Delegate, and Dr. William James, Alternate U.S. Delegate. The report of the session is available online at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/codex/rep_mh2004.htm.

Export Requirement Updates

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for Hong Kong, Mexico, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Romania, Saudi Arabia, and Western Samoa. Complete information can be found at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OFO/export/explib.htm

Codex Schedules Public Meetings for 2004

A number of public meetings have been scheduled to occur prior to Codex Committee sessions this year. The Delegates to the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (CCFAC), the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS), the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP), the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) and the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) have all posted public meetings. The dates, times, and locations for these meetings are available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/codex/meeting.htm.

THIS WEEK’S HOT WEB LINKS

This section has been added to remind readers of information available on the FSIS web site.
Web links will vary from week-to-week.

• Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Plan
  http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/BSE_Surveil_Plan03-15-04.pdf
   
• FSIS News Releases
  http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/news/newsrls.htm
   
• USDA’s Agricultural Biotechnology Program
  http://www.usda.gov/agencies/biotech/index.html

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For Further Information Contact:
FSIS Constituent Affairs Program
Phone: (202) 720-9113
Fax: (202) 720-5704
E-mail: LisaWallenda.Picard@fsis.usda.gov

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