Meetings: Meat and Poultry Inspection National Advisory Committee,

[Federal Register: October 12, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 196)]

[Notices]

[Page 55225-55226]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr12oc99-49]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 99-044N]

National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection will hold a public meeting

[[Page 55226]]

on November 3-4, 1999, to review and discuss five issues: (1) Extending USDA's Meat and Poultry Inspection Program to Additional Species (Inspection Methods Standing Sub-Committee), (2) Reinforcing the Food Code by Adopting Key Food Safety Provisions as Federal Performance Standards, (3) Regulatory Reform (Inter-Governmental Roles Standing Sub-Committee), (4) HACCP Systems In-depth Verification Review, and (5) E. coli 0157 Action Plan (Resource Allocation Standing Sub-Committee). Three standing subcommittees of the full committee will also meet on November 3, 1999, to continue working on issues discussed during the full committee session. All interested parties are welcome to attend the meeting and to submit written comments and suggestions concerning issues the Committee will review and discuss. A schedule of when issues are scheduled for discussion is available on the FSIS Homepage at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.

DATES: The full Committee will hold a public meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, November 3-4, 1999, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Subcommittees will hold public meetings on November 3, 1999, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The full Committee meeting will take place at the United States Department of Agriculture, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC in the Jefferson Room. The subcommittees will meet in the Adams, Roosevelt, and Washington Rooms of the Quality Hotel & Suites, Courthouse Plaza, 1200 North Courthouse Road, Arlington, Virginia 22201 (703) 524-4000. Send written comments to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Docket Clerk: Docket 99-044N, Room 102 Cotton Annex Building, 300 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250. Comments may also be sent by facsimile (202) 205- 0381. The comments and the official transcript of the meeting, when it becomes available, will be kept in the Docket Clerk's office at the address provided above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Contact Michael N. Micchelli at (202) 720-6269, FAX (202) 720-2345, or E-mail michael.micchelli@usda.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 12, 1997, the Secretary of Agriculture renewed the charter for the Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection. The Committee provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture pertaining to Federal and State meat and poultry inspection programs pursuant to sections 7(c), 24, 205, 301(a)(3), and 301(c) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act and sections 5(a)(3), 5(c), 8(b), and 11(e) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act. The Administrator of FSIS is the chairperson of the Committee. Membership of the Committee is drawn from representatives of consumer groups; producers, processors, and marketers from the meat and poultry industry; and State government officials. The current members of the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection are: Terry Burkhardt, Wisconsin Bureau of Meat Safety and Inspection; Dr. James Denton, University of Arkansas; Caroline Smith-DeWaal, Center for Science in the Public Interest; Nancy Donley, Safe Tables Our Priority; Carol Tucker Foreman, Food Policy Institute, Consumer Federation of America; Dr. Cheryl Hall, Zacky Farms, Inc.; Kathleen Hanigan, Farmland Foods; Dr. Lee C. Jan, Texas Department of Health; Alice Johnson, National Turkey Federation; Dr. Collette Schultz Kaster, Premium Standard Farms; Dr. Daniel E. LaFontaine, South Carolina Meat-Poultry Inspection Department; Michael Mamminga, Iowa Department of Agriculture; Dr. Dale Morse, New York Office of Public Health; Rosemary Mucklow, National Meat Association; and Gary Weber, National Cattlemen's Beef Association. On September 20, 1999, the Secretary of Agriculture appointed two new members to the Committee: Donna Richardson, Howard University Cancer Center and Magdi Abadir, Cuisine Solutions.

The Committee has three standing subcommittees to deliberate on specific issues and make recommendations to the whole Committee and to the Secretary of Agriculture.

Members of the public will be required to register at the meeting. There is no pre-registration required. The meeting agenda will be available on the FSIS Homepage at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Michael N. Micchelli, by October 18, 1999.

Additional Public Notification

Pursuant to Department Regulation 4300-4, ``Civil Rights Impact Analysis,'' dated September 22, 1993, FSIS has considered the potential civil rights impact of this public meeting on minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. FSIS anticipates that this public meeting will not have a negative or disportionate impact on minorities, women, or persons with disabilities. However, public meetings generally are designed to provide information and receive public comments on substantive issues which may lead to new or revised agency regulations or instructions. Public involvement in all segments of rulemaking and policy development are important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are made aware of this public meeting and are informed about the mechanism for providing their comments, FSIS will announce it and provide copies of this Federal Register publication in the FSIS Constituent Update.

FSIS provides a weekly FSIS Constituent Update, which is communicated via fax to over 300 organizations and individuals. In addition, the update is available on line through the FSIS web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. The update is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register Notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, and any other types of information that could affect or would be of interest to our constituents/stakeholders. The constituent fax list consists of industry, trade, and farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific professionals and other individuals that have requested to be included. Through these various channels, FSIS is able to provide information with a much broader, more diverse audience. For more information and to be added to the constituent fax list, fax your request to the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, at (202) 720-5704.

Done at Washington, DC on: October 5, 1999. Thomas J. Billy, Administrator.

[FR Doc. 99-26559Filed10-8-99; 8:45 am]

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