[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 199 (Friday, October 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63901-63902]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26541]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 199 / Friday, October 14, 2011 /
Notices
[[Page 63901]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2011-0023]
Pre-Harvest Food Safety for Cattle; Public Meeting
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice is announcing that the Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), are hosting a public
meeting to seek input on pre-harvest pathogen control strategies
designed to reduce the likelihood that beef will be contaminated with
pathogens of public health concern, such as Shiga toxin- producing E.
coli and Salmonella, during the slaughter process.
DATES: The public meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 9, 2011,
on-site registration is at 8 a.m., the meeting is 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the USDA Center at
Riverside, 4700 River Road, 1st floor--Oklahoma City Memorial
Conference Center, Riverdale, MD 20737 (parking is $5.00 by cash or
credit card--see http://www.USDACenteratRiversideFY11_USDACenteratRiverside.pdf for information on the Riverdale, MD
facility).
FSIS will finalize an agenda on or before the meeting and post it
on the FSIS Web page at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Meetings_&_Events/.
Pre-registration is recommended. To pre-register, visit the FSIS
Web site at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Meetings_&_Events/.
FSIS welcomes comments until January 3, 2012, on this meeting.
Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
--Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the ability to
type short comments directly into the comment field on this Web page or
attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to Regulations.Gov at http://www.regulations.gov/ and follow the online instructions at that site
for submitting comments.
--Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROMs: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), FSIS Docket Room, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Patriots Plaza 3, Mailstop 3782, Room 163A, Washington, DC
20250-3700.
Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must
include the Agency name and docket number FSIS-2011-0023. Comments
received in response to this docket will be made available for public
inspection and posted without change, including any personal
information, to http://www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Engeljohn, PhD, Assistant
Administrator for Office of Policy and Program Development, FSIS, USDA,
Room 349-E, Jamie Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250-3700; telephone (202) 205-0495, fax (202) 720-
2025, email [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
During the 1990s, research programs conducted by ARS on pre-harvest
included projects to evaluate technology and management methods to help
producers achieve lower contamination levels in animals presented for
slaughter.\1\
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\1\ Federal Register/Vol. 61, No. 144. Thursday, July 25, 1996
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Oa/fr/rule4.pdf.
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In 2008, FSIS began to promote cattle pre-harvest interventions to
prevent foodborne illness and improve food safety throughout the farm-
to-table continuum. The condition of the animals entering plants, and
at slaughter, and the contamination rates on their hides and elsewhere
affect the ability to mitigate risk at slaughter and through the rest
of the food system. Pre-harvest food safety interventions can prevent
foodborne illness by helping to reduce risk in the farm-to-table
continuum.
FSIS published cattle pre-harvest guidelines \2\ to inform beef
slaughter establishments of the interventions that can be applied
before slaughter, such as on-site farm management controls, to help
reduce E. coli O157:H7 shedding in cattle. FSIS encourages farmers and
ranchers, packers and processors, and scientists in academia, industry,
and government, to collaborate in identifying the best technology and
practices to reduce contamination before slaughter. Collaboration on
such food safety efforts benefits beef producers, slaughterers,
processors, and consumers.
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\2\ Pre-Harvest Management Controls and Intervention Options for
Reducing Escherichia Coli O157:H7 Shedding in Cattle May 2010 http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Reducing_Ecoli_Shedding_In_Cattle_0510.pdf.
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Pre-Harvest Guideline Recommendations
FSIS recommends that slaughter establishments procure their cattle
from beef producers that implement one or more documented pre-harvest
management practices to reduce fecal shedding of enteric pathogens.
Research on pre-harvest interventions is ongoing. Pre-harvest
interventions that can eliminate fecal shedding of enteric pathogens
have yet to be discovered; however, current research suggests that at
least two pre-harvest interventions, certain probiotics and vaccines,
have the potential to be effective in reducing fecal shedding in
cattle. FSIS encourages slaughter establishments to share this
information with their suppliers and to use it in designing their food
safety systems.
The goals for this meeting on pre-harvest food safety for cattle
are:
1. Food safety improvement through identification and development
of effective pre-harvest practices.
2. Creating an increased focus on pre-harvest food safety and the
identification and development of incentives for producers and
processors to adopt effective pre-harvest practices.
3. Increased producer engagement to emphasize their importance in
the overall food safety system.
4. Finding effective solutions through discrete projects, including
demonstration projects of new technologies and implementation of best
practices.
The end product of this meeting would be the identification of
effective
[[Page 63902]]
and practical pre-harvest practices, the identification of incentives
for producers and processors to adopt such measures, and the
establishment of an ongoing dialogue regarding pre-harvest food safety.
Also, FSIS will present a summary of the recent input from the National
Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection on pre-harvest
issues.
FSIS, APHIS, and ARS have developed the following questions for
discussion at the meeting:
What factors influence shedding of Salmonella and Escherichia coli
(E. coli) O157:H7 and other Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) (e.g.,
age of cattle, stress conditions)?
What effective and practical treatments or mitigation measures are
available to reduce the pathogen load in general, and Salmonella and
STECs specifically?
How can producers, processors, and government work together to
incentivize pre-harvest food safety practices and interventions?
A key outcome of this meeting will be to provide the agencies with
the information to develop a ``best practice'' guidance document. The
draft guidance document would be made available for comment-and
ultimately for use by all stakeholders.
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 is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
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.
Done at Washington, DC, on: October 6, 2011.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-26541 Filed 10-13-11; 8:45 am]
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