2019-14666. The Use of an Alternate Name for Potassium Chloride in Food Labeling; Draft Guidance for Industry; Extension of Comment Period

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notification of availability; extension of comment period.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is extending the comment period for the draft guidance for industry entitled “The Use of an Alternate Name for Potassium Chloride in Food Labeling,” which was announced in the Federal Register of May 20, 2019. In the notification, FDA requested comments on the use of “potassium chloride salt” as an alternate common or usual name for potassium chloride. We are taking this action in response to requests for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments.

DATES:

FDA is extending the comment period on the draft guidance published May 20, 2019 (84 FR 22749). Submit either electronic or written comments by September 17, 2019, to ensure that we consider your comment on the draft guidance before we begin work on the final version of the guidance.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments on any guidance at any time as follows.

Electronic Submissions

Submit electronic comments in the following way:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
• If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see “Written/Paper Submissions” and “Instructions”).

Written/Paper Submissions

Submit written/paper submissions as follows:

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
• For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in “Instructions.”

Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA-2019-D-0892 for “The Use of an Alternate Name for Potassium Chloride in Food Labeling.” Received comments will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as “Confidential Submissions,” publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

• Confidential Submissions—To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states “THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as “confidential.” Any information marked as “confidential” will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.gpo.gov/​fdsys/​pkg/​FR-2015-09-18/​pdf/​2015-23389.pdf.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in the heading of this document, into the “Search” box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Andrea Krause, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Dr., College Park, MD 20740, 240-402-2371.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In the Federal Register of May 20, 2019, FDA published a notification announcing the availability of a draft guidance entitled “The Use of an Alternate Name for Potassium Chloride in Food Labeling: Draft Guidance for Industry” with a 60-day comment period to request comments on the use of “potassium chloride salt” as an alternate common or usual name for potassium chloride. The draft guidance is intended to explain to food manufacturers our intent to exercise enforcement discretion for the declaration of the name “potassium chloride salt” in the ingredient statement on food labels as an alternative to the common or usual name “potassium chloride.”

We have received requests for a 60-day extension of the comment period for the draft guidance. The requests conveyed concern that the current 60-day comment period does not allow sufficient time to develop a meaningful or thoughtful response to the draft guidance.

We have considered the requests and are extending the comment period for the draft guidance for 60 additional days, until September 17, 2019. We believe that a 60-day extension allows adequate time for interested persons to submit comments.

Dated: July 3, 2019.

Lowell J. Schiller,

Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.