[Federal Register: June 17, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 116)]
[Notices]
[Page 32787-32790]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jn99-158]
 
 
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_______________________________________________________________________
 
Part XII
 
Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Food and Drug Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
_______________________________________________________________________
 
 
 
President's Council on Food Safety; Notice of Meeting; Notice
 
 
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
Food Safety and Inspection Service
 
[Docket No. 98-045N]
 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 
Food and Drug Administration
 
[Docket No. 97N-0074]
 
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
 
[Docket No. OPP-00550B; FRL-6087-7]
 
 
President's Council on Food Safety; Notice of Meeting
 
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA; Research, Education,
and Economics, USDA; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HHS;
Food and Drug Administration, HHS; Environmental Protection Agency.
 
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
 
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SUMMARY: The President's Council on Food Safety was established in
August 1998 under Executive Order 13100 to strengthen and focus our
efforts to coordinate food safety policy and resources. The Council was
directed to develop a comprehensive national food safety strategic
plan. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) are announcing a public meeting to discuss
development of the plan. The purpose of the strategic plan is to reduce
the annual incidence of acute and chronic foodborne and waterborne
illness by further enhancing the safety of the nation's food supply.
USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and EPA have established
public dockets to receive comments about the President's Council on
Food Safety strategic planning process and the plan.
 
DATES: The meeting will be held on July 15, 1999, from 8:30 a.m. to 5
p.m. Comments should be submitted by September 1, 1999.
 
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at: The Washington Plaza Hotel, 10
Thomas Circle, Massachusetts Avenue and 14th Street, Washington, DC.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for this meeting, call Ms.
Sheila Johnson on (202) 501-7305. Persons requiring a sign language
interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Ms. Johnson
by July 7, 1999.
    For further information about the meeting, call Mr. Robert Tynan,
of USDA, on (202) 205-7393 or e-mail: robert.tynan@usda.gov.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
 
I. Background
 
    On January 25, 1997, the President issued a directive to the
Secretaries of USDA and HHS and the Administrator of EPA to work with
consumers, producers, industry, States, Tribes, universities, and the
public to identify ways to further improve the safety of our food
supply, and report back to him in 90 days. The Federal food safety
agencies, working with their colleagues in the States, in the food
industries, in academia, and with consumers, initially focused on the
goal of reducing illness caused by microbial contamination of food and
water. This goal was to be reached through systematic improvements in
six key components of the food safety system: Foodborne outbreak
response coordination, surveillance, inspections, research, risk
assessment, and education. The plan for meeting this goal was presented
to the President in May 1997, in ``Food Safety from Farm to Table: A
National Food Safety Initiative.''
    In less than 2 years, the agencies have taken significant strides
forward in building a strengthened national food safety system.
Building blocks for the infrastructure are in place: Increased targeted
surveillance through FoodNet and PulseNet; coordination of Federal,
State, and local responses to outbreaks by the Foodborne Outbreak
Response Coordinating Group (FORCG); expanded reliance on preventive
controls (such as the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
(HACCP) based inspection systems for meat, poultry, and seafood, and
Good Agricultural and Good Manufacturing Practices guidance for
produce); coordination of Federal food safety research; cooperation on
risk assessment through the interagency Risk Assessment Consortium;
leveraging inspection resources; and innovative public and private
partnerships. These efforts provide a common ground for moving forward.
    In the May 1997 report, the food safety agencies made a commitment
to prepare a 5-year comprehensive strategic plan, with the
participation of all concerned parties. By Executive Order 13100, the
President established the President's Council on Food Safety that will
be responsible for development of a comprehensive strategic Federal
food safety plan. A coordinated food safety strategic planning effort
is needed to tackle some of the difficult public health, resource, and
management questions facing Federal food safety agencies. Although
microbial contamination will remain an area of emphasis, the strategic
plan will address the full range of issues (e.g., chemical
contamination, pesticides, food additives, and physical hazards) and
actions necessary to ensure the safety of the food and water Americans
use and consume. The charge is to develop a strategic long-range plan
that can be used to help set priorities, improve coordination and
efficiency, identify gaps in the current system and how to fill those
gaps, enhance and strengthen prevention and intervention strategies and
identify measures to show progress. In developing the plan, the
agencies will consider the conclusions and recommendations of the
National Academy of Sciences Report on ``Ensuring Safe Food from
Production to Consumption'' and the review of Federal food safety
research and the research plan currently being developed by an
interagency working group under the auspices of the National Science
and Technology Council.
    The food safety agencies, as part of their work on the President's
Council on Food Safety, have already taken the first steps to lay the
groundwork for the development of the strategic plan by participating
in interagency strategic planning sessions. The agencies also engaged
consumers, producers, industry, food service providers, retailers,
health professionals, State and local governments, Tribes, academia,
and the public in the strategic planning process through a series of
public meetings beginning in October 1998. The purpose of those
meetings was to obtain the public's view on a long-term vision for food
safety in the U.S. and to identify a strategic planning process that
involves interested parties, addresses the important food safety
challenges, and makes the best use of agency resources. As a result of
those public meetings, a vision statement is currently being revised.
The revised vision statement will be available at the July meeting.
    The Council has also developed a series of five draft food safety
goals that create the framework for the food safety strategic plan.
Each draft goal is accompanied by broad objectives designed to achieve
that goal. The Council has chosen a twofold process using internal
agency resources and external public comment involving all interested
parties to review and refine the goals and objectives as well as to add
more specific action items to the objectives.
    First, the Council has designated five government agency planning
 
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workgroups to assist in the development of a final strategic plan. Each
workgroup will be responsible for the further development of one of the
goals and its objectives within the plan. Under the guidance and
direction of the Council, each workgroup will perform the following
tasks for its assigned goal statement and objectives:
    <bullet> Refine the goals and objectives provided by the Council.
    <bullet> Develop the next level of action items for the plan.
    <bullet> Assist in the preparation and presentation of public and
stakeholder meetings related to the planning process by: Developing
appropriate discussion questions related to the goal; participating in
breakout sessions concerning the goal; and reviewing and incorporating
appropriate public comments into the plan.
    Second, the Council wants to engage all interested stakeholders in
the development of the actual plan as it did in the earlier dialogue
surrounding the agencies' vision for the U.S. food safety system and
the roles of all those involved. The Council is planning two public
meetings during the summer and fall of 1999 to share the draft plan and
obtain public input. In addition, the Council is considering engaging
in a series of three to five stakeholder meetings to take place in
conjunction with scientific or professional conferences scheduled over
the next 6 to 9 months.
    The first public meeting is scheduled for July 15, 1999, at the
Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC. The purpose of the July 15th
meeting is to obtain the public's input on the draft goals and
objectives, as well as to provide comments and suggestions on specific
action items for inclusion in the plan. The meeting is intended to be a
working meeting; therefore, the agenda will follow almost exclusively a
breakout session format. The breakout sessions will be organized around
the goals and objectives and include members of the agency planning
workgroups to lead and facilitate discussions. The workgroups are
currently developing several illustrative action items and questions
concerning the goals and objectives to encourage and focus participant
comments during the breakout sessions. The agenda will be designed to
obtain the maximum input from the participants with a minimum of
reporting during the meeting from the breakout groups. Summaries of all
discussions will be available within 30 days from the end of the public
meeting. The second fall public meeting will be announced in the
Federal Register prior to the date of the meeting. This meeting will
obtain public input on a more refined draft of the strategic plan.
    The draft goals and objectives to be discussed at the meeting are
as follows:
 
Draft Inter-Agency Food Safety Strategic Plan--Goals and Objectives
 
Overarching Goal: To protect public health by significantly reducing
the number of foodborne illnesses through science-based and coordinated
regulation, inspection, enforcement, research, and education programs.
Goal 1: Ensure the development and use of a comprehensive scientific
and technological food safety knowledge base to support prevention,
regulation, inspection, surveillance, and education programs.
Objectives:
    <bullet> Develop a national food safety research and technology
infrastructure.
    <bullet> Develop and improve data, methods, models, and measures to
assess health effects, including a better understanding of the factors
that affect sensitivity to foodborne illness (e.g., age and health
status).
    <bullet> Develop new and improve existing data, methods, models,
and measures to assess exposure, including improved analytical and
surveillance methods.
    <bullet> Develop better, integrated (uniform) national and
international risk assessment capability and conduct risk assessments.
    <bullet> Develop and improve prevention/control methods and risk
management practices through better integration of research.
    <bullet> Coordinate and evaluate research on the highest priority
food safety issues and efficiently leverage Federal agencies' research
resources.
    <bullet> Develop adequate technological support, including advanced
modeling technology, for risk assessment and risk management.
Goal 2: Improve the effectiveness of surveillance, outbreak
investigation, and response.
Objectives:
    <bullet> Enhance and expand foodborne disease and hazard monitoring
and surveillance systems.
    <bullet> Identify, investigate, and track the causes of foodborne
infections to determine sources and exposed populations.
    <bullet> Provide better information to health professionals and
physicians about the causes and effects of foodborne illness to more
effectively detect and treat these illnesses.
    <bullet> Improve outbreak coordination and investigation amongst
Federal, State, and local agencies for more efficient, effective
responses to foodborne contamination and illness.
    <bullet> Strengthen and expand traceback, intervention, and recall
capability; improve coordination on tracebacks and recalls.
Goal 3: Identify and manage food safety risks through protective
standards, inspection, and enforcement from farm to table.
Objectives:
    <bullet> Improve the safety of the nation's food supply to protect
public health to the greatest extent possible through priority- and
science-based standards, guidance, and other measures, including
effective food safety management strategies by processors and
providers.
    <bullet> Develop and implement preventive techniques and controls.
    <bullet> Ensure priority-based effective and efficient monitoring
and inspection of the food supply.
    <bullet> Protect our food supply in accordance with U.S. statutes
and where appropriate internationally recognized science-based
standards.
    <bullet> Ensure contaminated water will not contaminate food during
its production, processing, or reconstitution.
Goal 4: Ensure that all people who come into contact with food from
farm to table are fully informed of the risks and measures to prevent
or reduce foodborne illnesses.
Objectives:
    <bullet> Foster basic understanding of food safety principles.
    <bullet> Enhance the public's timely accessibility to accurate
information that will help them make informed decisions about their
food and the risks.
    <bullet> Provide education and information to eliminate unsafe food
handling practices at each point in the food chain (producers,
processors, transporters, preparers, retailers, and consumers).
    <bullet> Improve communication and information to the public so
that they are informed about foodborne illness incidences, but are not
unduly alarmed.
Goal 5: Create a national and to the extent possible an international
seamless food safety system from farm to table.
Objectives:
    <bullet> Ensure a complete set of Federal statutory authorities for
an effective, prevention-based food safety system, including
authorities for information collection and dissemination, rulemaking,
inspection, enforcement, and expedited review of food safety
technologies.
    <bullet> Develop and implement a seamless Federal food safety
system that supports effective regulation and administration of food
safety programs.
    <bullet> Coordinate and integrate Federal, State, and local actions
to provide efficient, effective, and timely
 
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protection of the food supply and eliminate gaps by focusing and
delivering resources where they are needed.
    <bullet> Optimize use of available food safety resources at all
levels of government to carry out the monitoring, inspections, outbreak
response, traceback, and training necessary for an appropriate level of
public protection nationwide.
    <bullet> Enhance international understanding and acceptance of food
safety standards that are in accordance with U.S. statutes and
international trade agreements.
    The workgroups are continuing to refine these goals, objectives,
and action items in preparation for the July 15th meeting. Therefore,
the material distributed at the meeting may differ slightly from the
information provided in this Notice.
 
II. Public Dockets and Submission of Comments
 
    The Agencies have established public dockets for the President's
Council on Food Safety Strategic Plan. Comments submitted to the
dockets are to be identified with the appropriate docket number. For
those comments directed to USDA, use Docket No. 98-045N, and for
comments directed to FDA, use Docket No. 97N-0074. Commenters are
encouraged to submit a disk with their written comments in WordPerfect
5.1/6.1 or ASCII file format. Submit written comments (in triplicate)
to:
USDA/FSIS
    USDA/FSIS Hearing Clerk, 300 12th Street, SW., Rm. 102 Cotton
Annex, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
FDA
    FDA/Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm.
1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
Electronic Comments
    Comments may also be submitted electronically to:
oppts.homepage@epa.gov. All comments and data in an electronic format
must be identified by the docket number OPP-00550. Electronic comments
must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption.
Meeting Summaries
    Summaries of the public meeting will be posted on the Internet at:
www.foodsafety.gov. This website is a joint FDA, USDA, and EPA food
safety homepage. It is linked to each agency for persons seeking
additional food safety information. Summaries of the public meeting may
also be requested in writing from the Dockets Management Branch (HFA-
305), FDA, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852,
approximately 15 business days after the meeting at a cost of 10 cents
per page. The summaries of the public meeting will be available for
public examination at the above-mentioned office between the hours of 9
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
    The public docket in its entirety will be available on the Internet
at: http://www.epa.gov/opptsfrs/home/rules.htm#docket.
 
List of Subjects
 
    Environmental protection, Food safety.
 
    Dated: June 14, 1999.
Catherine E. Woteki,
Undersecretary for Food Safety, United States Department of
Agriculture.
 
    Dated: June 14, 1999.
James A. O'Hara,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Department of Health and Human
Services.
 
    Dated: June 14, 1999.
Susan H. Wayland,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic
Substances, Environmental Protection Agency.
 
[FR Doc. 99-15533 Filed 6-15-99; 2:20 pm]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-F