2024-11222. National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods: Public Meeting

AGENCY:

Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION:

Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, FSIS is announcing that the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold a virtual public meeting on June 24, 2024. The Committee will provide updates on FSIS' Genomics charge and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Cronobacter spp. in Powdered Infant Formula charge.

DATES:

The full Committee will hold a virtual public plenary meeting on Monday, June 24, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. EST. Attendance is free but pre-registration by Wednesday, June 19, 2024, is requested.

The deadline to submit written comments is Wednesday, June 19, 2024.

ADDRESSES:

The plenary meeting will be held virtually using Webex. Attendees must pre-register at https://events.intellor.com/​?do=​register&​t=​7&​p=​508211 to receive a join link, dial-in number, access code, and unique Attendee ID for the plenary meeting. Persons interested in providing oral comments at the Monday, June 24, 2024, plenary meeting should indicate so when registering. Oral comments will be limited to three minutes per speaker.

An American Sign Language interpreter will be present online during the meeting and attendees will also have the option to turn on closed captions.

For more information on the NACMCF charges, visit: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/​policy/​advisory-committees/​national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf.

Written comments may be submitted by one of the following methods:

Federal eRulemaking Portal: This website provides the ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on the web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. Go to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions at that site for submitting comments.

Mail: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Mailstop 3758, Washington, DC 20250-3700.

Hand- or Courier-Delivered Submittals: Deliver to 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Jamie L. Whitten Building, Room 350-E, Washington, DC 20250-3700.

Instructions: All items submitted by mail or electronic mail must include the agency name and docket number FSIS-2024-0011. Comments made in response to the docket will be made available for public inspection and posted without change, including any personal information, to https://www.regulations.gov.

Docket: For access to background documents or comments received, call 202-720-5046 to schedule a time to visit the FSIS Docket Room at 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250.

Agenda: FSIS will finalize an agenda on or before the meeting date and post it on the FSIS web page at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/​wps/​portal/​fsis/​newsroom/​meetings. Please note that the meeting agenda is subject to change; thus, sessions could end earlier or later than anticipated. Please plan accordingly if you would like to attend this meeting or participate in the oral public comment period.

The official transcript of the June 24, 2024, plenary meeting, when it becomes available, will be posted on FSIS' website at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/​wps/​portal/​fsis/​topics/​data-collectionand-reports/​nacmcf/​meetings/​nacmcfmeetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kristal Southern, USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 1128, Washington, DC 20250; Email: [e-mail]; Telephone: [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The NACMCF was established in 1988, in response to a recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences for an interagency approach to microbiological criteria for foods, and in response to a recommendation of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, as expressed in the Rural Development, Agriculture, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988. The charter for the NACMCF is available for viewing at https://www.fsis.usda.gov/​policy/​advisory-committees/​national-advisory-committee-microbiological-criteria-foods-nacmcf. The NACMCF provides impartial scientific advice and recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on public health issues relative to the safety and wholesomeness of the U.S. food supply, including development of microbiological criteria and review and evaluation of epidemiological and risk assessment data and methodologies for assessing microbiological hazards in foods. The Committee also provides scientific advice and recommendations to the Departments of Commerce and Defense. The Committee reports to the Secretary of Agriculture through the Under Secretary for Food Safety, the Committee's Chair, and to the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Assistant Secretary for Health, the Committee's Vice-Chair. Currently, Dr. Emilio Esteban, Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA, is the Committee Chair; Dr. Donald Prater, Acting Director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), is the Vice-Chair; and Dr. Kristal Southern, USDA FSIS, is the Director of the NACMCF Executive Secretariat and Designated Federal Officer.

NACMCF documents and comments posted on the FSIS website are electronic conversions from a variety of source formats. In some cases, document conversion may result in character translation or formatting errors. The original document is the official, legal copy. To meet the electronic and information technology accessibility standards in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, NACMCF may add alternate text descriptors for non-text elements (graphs, charts, tables, multimedia, etc.). These modifications only affect the internet copies of the documents. Copyrighted documents will not be posted on FSIS' website but will be available for inspection in the FSIS Docket Room.

Additional Public Notification

Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal Register publication online through the FSIS web page located at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/​federal-register. FSIS also will make copies of this 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 our constituents and stakeholders. The Constituent Update is available on the FSIS web page. Through the web page, FSIS can provide information to a much broader, more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email subscription service which provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and information. This service is available at: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/​subscribe. Options range from recalls to export information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to password protect their accounts.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, USDA, its Mission Areas, agencies, staff offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information ( e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the responsible Mission Area, agency, or staff office; the USDA TARGET Center at [phone] (voice and TTY); or the Federal Relay Service at [phone].

To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which can be obtained online at https://www.usda.gov/​forms/​electronic-forms, from any USDA office, by calling [phone], or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410;

(2) Fax: [phone] or [phone]; or

(3) Email:[e-mail].

Equal opportunity practices in accordance with USDA's policies will be followed in all appointments to the FACA Committee. To ensure that the recommendations of the Committee have taken into account the needs of the diverse groups served by the Department, membership shall include, to the extent practicable, individuals with demonstrated ability to represent the many communities, identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, cultures, and beliefs of the American people, including underserved communities. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Dated: May 16, 2024.

Cikena Reid,

USDA Committee Management Officer.