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Constituent Update
Friday, November 03 2023

Constituent Update - November 3, 2023

FSIS Celebrates One Health Day

Today marks the eighth annual One Health Day, a global campaign to raise awareness about the interconnection between the health of people, animals, plants and their shared environment. This day promotes the importance of collaborations between human, veterinary, and environmental health fields to address public health threats and achieve optimal health outcomes for both people and animals.

FSIS’ work protecting public health by ensuring that meat, poultry and egg products are safe, wholesome and properly labeled contributes to One Health. Additionally, efforts such as FSIS’ initiative to reduce Salmonella illnesses attributed to poultry benefit from a One Health approach.

FSIS will continue to collaborate with partners using the One Health approach. For more information about FSIS’ efforts to protect public health, please visit the FSIS website.

Reminder: NACMCF Virtual Public Meeting

As announced in the October 27 Constituent Update, the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a virtual public meeting of the full committee and subcommittees from November 14-16, 2023. The committee will introduce a new charge from USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) on genomic characterization of pathogens and continue working on the response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) charge on Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula. More details about NACMCF charges are available on the FSIS website, where you may also find more information and register to attend the NACMCF meeting.

FSIS requests that those interested in providing public comments at the meeting should indicate this when registering. The Federal Register notice provides additional meeting details and directions for providing written comments.

NACMCF has made important contributions to a broad range of critical food safety issues. The committee reports provide current information and scientific advice to federal food safety agencies and serve as a foundation for regulations and programs aimed at reducing foodborne disease and enhancing public health. Federal food safety agencies involved with NACMCF are the USDA FSIS, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Commerce National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Department of Defense Veterinary Services.

Tips for Faster Label Approval 

Labels are currently taking about 2-5 business days to evaluate. 

TIP: The label signature line may state the name of a distributor if preceded by a qualifying statement, such as “distributed by.”

All labels must include a signature line identifying the name or trade name of the manufacturer or packer (establishment) that prepared the product for compliance with 9 CFR 317.2(g) and 381.122. The signature line is a mandatory labeling feature, and labels without this feature may be considered misbranded. The signature line can appear on the principal display panel (PDP), on the 20% panel adjacent to the PDP in the case of a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical container, on the front riser panel of frozen food cartons, or on the information panel. In addition to the name of the manufacturer or packer, the signature line must show the city, state and zip code of the place of business. If the company is not listed in a telephone or city directory, the street address should also be included in the signature line.

In place of the manufacturer or packer, the name and address of the distributor may appear in the signature line. When the name of the distributor is used, the signature line must be preceded by a qualifying statement such as “prepared for,” or “distributed by.” Alternatively, the signature lines for both the manufacturer or packer and the distributor may appear on the label provided that the name of the distributor includes a qualifying statement.

For more information on mandatory labeling features, see the guidance under the Label Sketch banner on the Label Submission Checklist webpage on the FSIS website.

FSIS will continue to provide updates regarding label turnaround time, as well as suggestions to assist industry to streamline label submissions in its Constituent Update.

Upcoming Events

Available for Public Comment

FSIS seeks public comments on proposed rules and notices, which are viewable on the FSIS Federal Register & Rulemaking webpage. FSIS is currently seeking comments on the following:

Policy Update

FSIS notices and directives on public health and regulatory issues are available on the FSIS Policy webpage. The following policy update was recently issued:

FSIS Notice 60-23 - Performance Management Instructions for Fiscal Year 2024

Export Requirements Update

The Library of Export Requirements has been updated for products for the following:

  • Mexico
  • Taiwan
  • Singapore
  • Mauritius
  • European Union
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • French Polynesia (Tahiti)
  • China
  • Korea
  • Canada
  • Hong Kong
  • New Caledonia

Complete information can be found at the FSIS Import & Export Library.

Last Updated: Nov 03, 2023