National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection to Hold Virtual Public Meeting

On August 27, 2021, FSIS issued a Federal Register notice announcing a two-day virtual public meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (Docket FSIS-2021-0019). The committee provides advice to the Secretary of Agriculture concerning state and federal programs with respect to meat, poultry, and egg products inspection, food safety, and other matters that fall within the scope of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (FMIA), the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), and Egg Product Inspection Act (EPIA).

The committee will meet virtually on September 27 and 28, 2021, where FSIS will present two sets of topics for the committee to consider:

1. How FSIS should clarify the Agency's positions on the custom and retail exemptions to ensure that meat, poultry, and egg products produced under the exemptions are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.
2. What actions FSIS should take to prevent and reduce illnesses associated with the handling or consumption of frozen, raw, stuffed not ready-to-eat (NRTE) poultry products, which may be breaded and par-fried and may appear ready-to-eat (RTE) to consumers.

Attendees must pre-register for the meeting to receive more detailed information and to express interest in delivering comments during the meeting. Individuals will have an opportunity to provide oral comments during the public comment period, limited to three minutes per speaker. FSIS will do its best to accommodate all registered persons who request to provide oral comments.

FSIS invites interested persons to submit written comments on this meeting by September 24, 2021. Comments may be submitted at https://www.regulations.gov. This website provides the ability to type short comments directly into the comment field, or you may attach a file for lengthier comments. Follow the online instructions at the website for submitting comments to docket number FSIS-2021-0019.

USDA Reminds Consumers to Handle Frozen Foods Safely This School Year

As students, parents and caretakers adjust to a physical return to classrooms this fall, USDA reminds families to follow food safety practices to prevent foodborne illness when it comes to preparing frozen foods.

After a year of virtual learning, households are adjusting to new schedules and routines as students and schools return to in-person learning. When it comes to packing lunches, preparing after-school snacks, or quick and convenient dinners between after-school activities, frozen foods are a popular option. In a recent USDA study, 76 percent of study participants said they would buy not-ready-to-eat frozen chicken products for their children to prepare at home.

Tips on how to prepare frozen foods safely all school year long can be found here.

National Food Safety Education Month

September is National Food Safety Education Month and FSIS is reminding the public to think about health and safety in the kitchen. Consumers are encouraged to practice behaviors that will continue to help keep them and their loved ones safe from foodborne illness.

FSIS resources can teach consumers how to practice the four steps of food safety – Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill – and reduce their risk of foodborne illness. Families interested in learning about food safety together can find age appropriate food safety lessons on FSIS’ webpage Food Safety Education Resources for Families, by following @USDAFoodSafety on Twitter, and by liking Facebook.com/FoodSafety.gov. Consumers with questions about food safety can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, in English or Spanish, or email to mphotline@usda.gov. Consumers can also chat live at https://ask.usda.gov/.

Reminder: Listening Sessions for Improvements to CIS Program

FSIS is seeking recommendations for improvements to its Cooperative Interstate Shipment (CIS) Program. Join the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition for a listening session with FSIS on the CIS program on September 16, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. E.T. In the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), Sec. 764(e)(2) charges FSIS with submitting a report on the CIS Program, describing any recommendations, developed in consultation with all States, for possible improvements to the cooperative interstate shipment program.

FSIS is interested in feedback from state Departments of Agriculture, small processors that use or would like to use the CIS program, and other relevant experts’ thoughts on the following:

• If your state’s Meat and Poultry Inspection (MPI) program is currently participating in the CIS program, please identify the specific benefits your state and its inspected establishments experience from the CIS program and recommendations for potential improvements to the program that would enhance those specific benefits.
• For all states and processors, including those who are not currently participating in the CIS program, please provide a detailed description of your recommendations that include:
• The underlying need for the recommendations
• The potential improvement(s) the program would achieve from implementing the proposed recommendations
• The stakeholders who would benefit from the potential improvement
• Any known existing constraints to implementing the recommendations

Proposed recommendations need not be limited to those that can be implemented under the current laws, regulations, and Agency policy. Stakeholders may also submit written recommendations to CISProgram@usda.gov by September 17, 2021.

Register in advance for the listening session here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Upcoming Deadlines for Inspection of Egg Product Exports to the U.S. 

On September 7, 2021, FSIS published a Federal Register notice describing upcoming deadlines to submit equivalence documentation for countries that currently export or wish to export egg substitutes and/or freeze-dried egg products to the U.S. According to the October 2020 final rule on egg product inspection regulations, FSIS will begin enforcing its regulation of these products on October 30, 2023. For this reason, countries that already export or wish to export these products to the U.S. must undergo an equivalence determination by FSIS. The notice describes the following deadlines:

• Phase 1: Notify FSIS of intention to export egg substitutes and freeze-dried egg products to the United States by October 30, 2021.
• Phase 2: Submit a complete self-reporting tool (SRT), including supporting documentation, that demonstrates how a country’s egg products inspection system achieves an equivalent level of public health protection to FSIS’ inspection system by April 30, 2022.
• Phase 3: Receive a determination by FSIS that the SRT submission and supporting documentation demonstrates that the country maintains an equivalent documented egg products inspection system to FSIS’ inspection system by October 30, 2023.

Additionally, countries that currently maintain egg product inspection systems equivalent to that of FSIS (i.e., Canada and the Netherlands) and wish to continue as well as countries that begin exporting egg substitutes and/or freeze-dried egg products to the U.S. after October 30, 2023 must submit an updated certified establishment list by October 1, 2023 that includes establishments producing those products.

FSIS to Post Updated Dataset on Import Refusals

On September 15, 2021, FSIS will update the publicly posted dataset on import refusals for products that it regulates. Federal law requires every commercial shipment of imported meat, poultry, and egg products to be re-inspected prior to product entering U.S. commerce. FSIS re-inspects each shipment to verify labeling, proper certification, general condition, and any signs of tampering and to identify product adulterated by transportation damage. FSIS also performs additional activities on a random and/or for-cause basis, such as physical product examination and laboratory sampling for pathogens and chemical residues.

Any product that does not meet FSIS requirements is refused entry, and the importer has up to 45 days (30 days for egg products) to have the product destroyed for use as human food, re-exported/returned to the foreign country, converted to animal food, or brought into compliance with FSIS requirements, if applicable (e.g., relabeled, remarked, or issued a replacement certificate). 

This dataset is updated around the 15th of each month and contains each shipment with product that was refused entry. To access these datasets or view more information about them, please visit the Import and Export Data page.

Tips for Faster Label Approval Process

Labels are currently taking about 5-7 business days to evaluate. 

TIP: An establishment that includes a factual statement about a product's manufacturing environment on the label, e.g., "Produced in a plant that uses peanuts," or uses a “may contain” statement, e.g., "may contain peanuts" must submit the label to FSIS for approval along with supporting documentation that shows the establishment cannot effectively eliminate cross contact with the ingredient specified in the statement.

All ingredients in meat and poultry products must be listed on the label in the ingredients statement, which ensures all allergens are listed on the product label. In limited situations, the use of factual labeling statements about a product’s manufacturing environment (e.g., "Produced in a plant that uses peanuts") may be used where good manufacturing practices, and effective sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs), cannot reasonably eliminate the unintended presence of certain ingredients.

For example, where chopped peanuts are used in making a dry Thai-style meat sauce mix, a dry processing environment is necessary and, thus, the production equipment cannot be washed with water or other fluids. In this instance, peanut dust may become airborne and unavoidably contaminate other meat or poultry products manufactured in the same production area. In this situation, a statement about the manufacturing environment, as described above, or the use of a "may contain (name of allergenic ingredient)" statement may be used on meat and poultry product labeling. However, this type of statement is not acceptable where it is used as a replacement for poor SSOPs, i.e., cross contact because of an establishment's failure to adequately wash equipment between the manufacture of different lines of products. The agency believes the indiscriminate use of such elective statements does not promote good manufacturing practices under a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and is not helpful for consumers. Labels including such statements must be submitted to FSIS for approval and must include support that the statement is necessary.

For additional information on which types of special statements and claims must be submitted for approval, and the types of factual statements that do not require approval, see Appendix 2 in the “FSIS Compliance Guideline for Label Approval.”

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.

Export Requirements Update

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

• Panama
• Korea
• Australia
• Germany

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