98-8432. HACCP Plan Requirements and Meat and Poultry Product Processing Categories; Policy Clarification  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
    [Rules and Regulations]
    [Pages 15739-15740]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-8432]
    
    
    
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    Federal Register/Vol. 63, No. 62/Wednesday, April 1, 1998/Rules and 
    Regulations
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
    
    Food Safety and Inspection Service
    
    9 CFR Part 417
    
    [Docket No. 98-006N]
    
    
    HACCP Plan Requirements and Meat and Poultry Product Processing 
    Categories; Policy Clarification
    
    AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service.
    
    ACTION: Policy clarification.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is publishing 
    this document to clarify its policy in regard to HACCP (Hazard Analysis 
    and Critical Control Points) requirements for meat and poultry 
    establishments producing either multiple products that fall within a 
    single processing category or single products that pass through 
    multiple processing categories.
    
    DATES: Comments must be received on or before June 1, 1998.
    
    ADDRESSES: Submit one original and two copies of written comments to 
    FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #98-006N, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
    Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12 St., 
    SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments submitted in response to 
    this document will be available for public inspection in the Docket 
    Clerk's Office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Patricia F. Stolfa, Assistant Deputy Administrator, Regulations and 
    Inspection Methods, Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department 
    of Agriculture (202) 205-0699.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Background
    
        On July 25, 1996, FSIS published a final rule establishing new 
    requirements intended to improve the safety of meat and poultry 
    products and facilitate the modernization of USDA's meat and poultry 
    inspection system (``Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Critical 
    Control Point (HACCP) Systems''; 61 FR 38806). The final rule requires 
    all official meat and poultry establishments to implement HACCP, a 
    science-based process control system. Under the new regulations, all 
    official establishments are responsible for developing and implementing 
    HACCP plans incorporating the controls necessary and appropriate to 
    ensure that their meat or poultry products are safe.
        HACCP is a flexible system that enables establishments to develop 
    and implement control systems customized to the nature and volume of 
    their production. Accordingly, FSIS has promulgated regulatory 
    requirements meant to provide meat and poultry establishments with the 
    maximum flexibility for developing and implementing HACCP plans. FSIS 
    is publishing this notice to clarify the regulatory requirements for 
    establishments that wish to develop and implement a single HACCP plan 
    for multiple, similar products or for a single product that passes 
    through multiple processing categories.
        Under Sec. 417.2, paragraph (a) of the HACCP requirements, FSIS 
    requires meat and poultry establishments to conduct a hazard analysis 
    to determine what food safety hazards are reasonably likely to occur in 
    the production process and identify the preventive measures it can 
    apply to control those hazards. Whenever a hazard analysis reveals that 
    one or more food safety hazards are reasonably likely to occur, FSIS 
    requires that each establishment develop and implement a written HACCP 
    plan covering each product produced by that establishment. Further, 
    FSIS specifically requires that establishments develop HACCP plans for 
    products that fall into the following processing categories:
    
        ``(i) Slaughter--all species.
        (ii) Raw product--ground.
        (iii) Raw product--not ground.
        (iv) Thermally processed--commercially sterile.
        (v) Not heat treated--shelf stable.
        (vi) Heat treated--shelf stable.
        (vii) Fully cooked--not shelf stable.
        (viii) Heat treated but not fully cooked--not shelf stable.
        (ix) Product with secondary inhibitors--not shelf stable.
    
        Section 417.2(b)(2) states ``A single HACCP plan may encompass 
    multiple products within a single processing category identified in 
    this paragraph, if the food safety hazards, critical control points 
    (CCP's), critical limits, and procedures required to be identified and 
    performed * * * are essentially the same, provided that any required 
    features of the plan that are unique to a specific product are clearly 
    delineated in the plan and are observed in practice.'' Many meat and 
    poultry establishments, especially processing establishments, 
    manufacture numerous products that have most of their processing steps 
    in common. Allowing a single HACCP plan for such products was intended 
    to simplify and improve both compliance and inspection.
        For example, an establishment producing both ready-to-eat corned 
    beef and ready-to-eat roast beef could develop and implement a single 
    HACCP plan for both products. The HACCP plan would identify the common 
    CCP's and critical limits (cooking and cooling product in accordance 
    with time/temperature combinations predetermined by the establishment), 
    as well as any processing differences (the corned beef would undergo a 
    curing step). In this example, compliance with HACCP requirements is 
    simplified, and it is probably more efficient and cost-effective to 
    develop and implement a single HACCP plan for the two products than to 
    produce two separate plans. Inspection is also improved and simplified 
    because FSIS inspection personnel can more efficiently and effectively 
    review a single, unified HACCP plan.
        In this document, FSIS also is clarifying that meat and poultry 
    establishments may develop a single HACCP plan for a single product 
    that passes through multiple processing categories. It is likely that 
    such HACCP plans would be developed and implemented, for the most part, 
    by establishments that both slaughter (category (i)) and process 
    (categories (ii) through (ix)) meat or poultry. For example, there are 
    numerous establishments that slaughter, grind, and package meat for 
    retail sale. There also are numerous establishments that slaughter, cut 
    up, and package poultry for retail sale. Many of these and similar 
    establishments probably will choose to develop and implement a single 
    HACCP
    
    [[Page 15740]]
    
    plan covering both slaughter and processing. Developing and 
    implementing a single HACCP plan for a single product often would be 
    more efficient and cost effective than producing two plans (one for 
    slaughter and one for processing). In many cases, FSIS inspection 
    personnel will be able to more efficiently and effectively review a 
    single HACCP plan that covers all of the processing (including 
    slaughter) within a meat or poultry establishment.
    
        Done in Washington, DC: March 18, 1998.
    Thomas J. Billy,
    Administrator, Food Safety Inspection Service.
    [FR Doc. 98-8432 Filed 3-31-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
04/01/1998
Department:
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Entry Type:
Rule
Action:
Policy clarification.
Document Number:
98-8432
Dates:
Comments must be received on or before June 1, 1998.
Pages:
15739-15740 (2 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. 98-006N
PDF File:
98-8432.pdf
CFR: (1)
9 CFR 417