[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 38273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16249]
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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. 83, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2018 /
Notices
[[Page 38273]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[Docket No. AMS-LP-18-0050]
United States Classes, Standards, and Grades for Poultry
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural
Marketing Service (AMS) is revising the United States Classes,
Standards, and Grades for Poultry, (the poultry standards) to lower the
age requirement for the ``roaster and roasting chickens'' class of
poultry and identify a ready-to-cook weight of 5.5 pounds or more. This
change is consistent with how the USDA Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS) defines ``roaster or roasting chickens'' for labeling
compliance.
DATES: The revised poultry standards are effective August 6, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Lawson, National Poultry
Supervisor, Livestock and Poultry Program, AMS, USDA; 1400 Independence
Ave. SW; Room 3932-S, STOP 0258; Washington, DC 20250-0258; phone (202)
690-3166; [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 203(c) of the Agricultural Marketing
Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), directs and authorizes
the Secretary of Agriculture ``to develop and improve standards of
quality, condition, quantity, grade, and packaging and recommend and
demonstrate such standards in order to encourage uniformity and
consistency in commercial practices.'' AMS is committed to carrying out
this authority in a manner that facilitates the marketing of
agricultural commodities. While the poultry standards do not appear in
the Code of Federal Regulations, they--along with other official
standards--are maintained by USDA and can be found at https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards. Copies of official standards are
also available upon request. To revise the poultry standards, AMS
utilizes the procedures it published in the August 13, 1997, Federal
Register (62 FR 43439) and in 7 CFR part 36. Because this change to the
poultry standards is to ensure consistency with FSIS's definition,
public comments are not being sought.
Background
FSIS maintains regulatory authority over the labeling of poultry
products under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) which
prohibits the distribution of poultry products that are adulterated or
misbranded (12 U.S.C. 458). In November 2013, the National Chicken
Council petitioned FSIS to amend the ``roaster chicken class to remove
the 8-week minimum age criteria and increase the Ready-to-Cook (RTC)
carcass weight to 5.5 pounds.'' According to the petition, the existing
``roaster'' standard--defined at 9 CFR 381.170(a)(1)(iii) as a ``young
chicken (between 8 and 12 weeks of age), of either sex, with a ready-
to-cook carcass weight of 5 pounds or more, that is tender-meated with
soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin and breastbone cartilage that is
somewhat less flexible than that of a broiler or fryer''--detracted
from the orderly and efficient marketing of classes. Specifically,
companies were unable to label and market chickens as ``roasters'' that
met all the physical attributes apart from the minimum age requirement.
FSIS and AMS completed a review of the petition in July 2014 and
concluded that continuous improvements in breeding and poultry
management techniques had enabled producers to raise chickens with the
characteristics of roasters in under 8 weeks.
On April 13, 2016, FSIS published a final rule in the Federal
Register (81 FR 21706) amending the definition and standard of identity
for the ``roaster or roasting chicken'' poultry class, with an
effective date of January 1, 2018. AMS is revising its poultry
standards definition of roaster from usually 3 to 5 months of age to
5.5 pounds or more and less than 12 weeks of age to maintain
consistency with the FSIS regulation.
Dated: July 23, 2018.
Bruce Summers,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-16249 Filed 8-3-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P