Meetings: Slaughter plants; hazard analysis and critical control point inspection models,
FR, November 17, 1998 › Notices › Food Safety and Inspection Service
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Federal Register: November 17, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 221)NoticesPage 63827From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
DOCID:fr17no98-21
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Docket No. 98-059NMeeting on HACCP-based Inspection Models Project for Slaughter Plants; Models Phase
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Agency is holding a public meeting to discuss its HACCP- based Inspection Models Project for slaughter plants. The morning session will provide general information on the Inspection Models Project and a briefing on the project's Baseline phase, which documents plant performance under current inspection procedures. By the time of the meeting, the Baseline phase will be completed for the first group of plants to participate in the project. The afternoon session will focus in some detail on the upcoming Inspection Models phase in this group of plants and will conclude with an open discussion.
DATES: The meeting will be held on December 2, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC, 10 Thomas Circle NW (at Massachusetts Avenue and 14th Street), Washington DC 20009, (202) 842-1300. Transcripts of the meeting will be available in the FSIS Docket Room, Room 102, 300 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the meeting, contact Ms. Jennifer Callahan of the FSIS Planning Staff at (202) 501-7138 or FAX (202) 501-7642. Attendees who require a sign language interpreter or other special accommodation should contact Ms. Callahan at the above numbers by November 25, 1998.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Inspection Models Project is an outgrowth of the Agency's Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) Systems Final Rule, published on July 25, 1996. The PR/HACCP rule calls for the establishment of a HACCP- based food safety system to reduce the risk of foodborne illness from meat and poultry products.
In a Federal Register Notice of June 10, 1997, FSIS requested public comments on the design and development of new inspection models for slaughter and processing in a HACCP environment (62 FR 31553). This notice summarized recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences and the General Accounting Office that FSIS reduce its reliance on organoleptic (sensory) inspection and redeploy its resources by using inspection methods that are based on the risks inherent in meat and poultry slaughter operations. To accomplish these objectives, new inspection methods must be developed and tested that are consistent with the meat and poultry inspection laws and the systems now required by the PR/HACCP rule. The inspection models project is helping to define the respective responsibilities of FSIS and the regulated industry in slaughter establishments operating under HACCP systems.
A draft project protocol of July 7, 1998 identifies two objectives: (1) Determine the effectiveness of the present inspection system in slaughter establishments by collecting and analyzing organoleptic and microbial data on carcasses produced under the current system--the Baseline phase; and (2) test new inspection models at establishments where plant personnel perform slaughter process control and FSIS inspectors perform oversight and verification inspection activities and collect and analyze data to determine the effectiveness of the models and ensure the safety and wholesomeness of the products--the Inspection Models phase.
A public meeting was held in Washington DC on July 27, 1998 (63 FR 39068, July 21, 1998) to discuss the project. Baseline data were collected in three poultry plants and two hog plants from August through November. This public meeting will discuss results from the Baseline phase in these initial five plants and projected activities in the plants during the upcoming Inspection Models phase.
The meeting is open to the public on a space-available basis.
Done in Washington, DC, on November 9, 1998. Thomas J. Billy, Administrator.
FR Doc. 98-30646Filed11-16-98; 8:45 amBILLING CODE 3410 DM-P
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