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Johanns Names Members to National Advisory Committee
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has named 17 members to the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry
Inspection (NACMPI). The membership of this advisory committee is drawn from a broad range of groups interested
in food safety, including producers, processors and marketers of meat, poultry and egg products, as well as those
in academia, state government officials and consumers.
NACMPI was established in 1971 to provide advice and recommendations to the secretary of agriculture about meat
and poultry inspection programs.
NACMPI members include:
Dr. Gladys Bayse
Spelman College
Stone Mountain, Ga. |
Dr. Andrea Grondahl
North Dakota Department of Agriculture
Bismarck, N.D.
|
Dr. David Carpenter
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Springfield, Ill. |
Dr. Joseph J. Harris
Southwest Meat Association
College Station, Texas
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Mr. Darin Detwiler
Lake Washington School District
Camano Island, Wash. |
Dr. Jill Hollingsworth
Food Marketing Institute
Washington, D.C.
|
Dr. James Denton
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Ark. |
Mr. Michael Kowalcyk
Safe Tables Our Priority
Mount Horeb, Wisc.
|
Mr. Kevin Elfering
Minnesota Department of Agriculture
St. Paul, Minn. |
Dr. Elizabeth Krushinskie
U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
Tucker, Ga.
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Ms. Sandra Eskin
Public Policy Consultant
Bethesda, Md. |
Dr. Irene Leech
Va. Citizens Consumer Council
Elliston, Va.
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Mr. Mike Finnegan
State of Montana Meat Inspection
Helena, Mont. |
Mr. Charles Link
Cargill Value Added Meats
Wichita, Kan.
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Mr. Michael Govro
Oregon Department of Agriculture
Lake Oswego, Ore. |
Dr. Catherine Logue
North Dakota State University
Fargo, N.D.
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Mr. Mark Schad
Schad Meats, Inc
Cincinnati, Ohio |
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Food Security Workshops Update
FSIS food security workshops will continue through July 2005. Workshop topics will include
food security awareness, the FSIS Industry Self-Assessment Checklist for Food Security and
the development of model food security plans.
There have been changes to two upcoming registration dates. Workshops scheduled for June 11
in Savannah, Ga. and June 25 in Newark, N.J. have been cancelled. In lieu of those on-site
workshops, FSIS will be holding two webcasts on June 25 at 9 a.m. and on June 27 at 1 p.m.
Individuals who have registered for the two cancelled workshops will be contacted and given
further information. Registration information for the new webcasts will be posted at:
www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/meetings_&_events/.
The remaining workshop dates are:
The remaining workshop dates are: June 4, 2005 (Chicago, IL), July 9, 2005 - onsite and webcast
(Philadelphia, PA), June 25 (webcast) and June 27 (webcast).
National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection to Hold Public Meeting
The National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) will meet June 16 and 17, 2005.
The full committee will meet from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, June 16, and Friday, June 17. Subcommittees
will hold public meetings on Thursday, June 16, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Agenda items for the full committee meeting include: How can FSIS best share information on new technology with
small and very small plants?; What guidance can be provided to industry to ensure that plants hold product when
FSIS tests product for an adulterant?; and How can risk-based sampling most effectively be conducted in small
and very small plants? Further information on agenda items will be available at:
www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/NACMPI/.
To register for the meeting contact Sonya L. West at (202) 690-1079 or by e-mail at
Sonya.West@fsis.usda.gov.
Pre-registration is highly encouraged.
Subcommittees will hold public meetings in rooms 1160 and 0161 of the South Building. All committee meetings will
take place in the conference room at the south end of the USDA South Building Cafeteria, 1400 Independence Ave S.W.,
Washington, DC. To gain access to the meeting, please enter the South Building through the first wing on
Independence Avenue. You will need to sign in at the security desk.
Extension of Effective Date for BSE FSIS Notices
FSIS is extending the expiration date for the following FSIS Notices until June 1, 2006:
FSIS Notice 28-04, FSIS Sample Collection from Cattle Condemned during Ante-Mortem Inspection for Bovine Spongiform
Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program
FSIS Notice 29-04, Questions and Answers for FSIS Notice 28-04 Regarding Ante-Mortem Condemned Cattle
While these notices were due to expire June 1, 2005, they will remain in effect until FSIS takes final action on the
interim final rule, "Prohibition of the Use of Specified Risk Materials for Human Food and Requirements for the
Disposition of Non-Ambulatory Disabled Cattle." Once final action is taken, FSIS will reissue the relevant
information from these notices in a FSIS Directive.
HACCP Plan Reassessments for Mechanically Tenderized Beef Products
FSIS has issued Notice 32-05 informing establishments that produce mechanically tenderized beef products that their
annual Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan reassessment must take into account E. coli O157:H7
outbreaks associated with these products.
Several E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks involving mechanically tenderized beef products have taken place in the past five
years. The occurrence of these outbreaks represents a change that affects the hazard analysis and could alter the
HACCP plans of establishments that produce mechanically tenderized beef products. Therefore, establishments that
produce such products should consider the significance of the outbreaks and ensure that their HACCP plans adequately
address relevant biological hazards, particularly E. coli O157:H7.
This reassessment requirement applies to HACCP plans for raw and cooked mechanically tenderized beef products, including
such products that are injected with marinade or "enhanced" products.
FSIS invites comments on this notice. Written comments may be submitted to the FSIS Docket Room, Reference Docket #04-042N,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex, Washington, DC, 20250. To read
the Federal Register notice in its entirety visit:
www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRPubs/04-042N.pdf
For further information contact Lynn Dickey, Director, Regulations and Petitions Policy Staff, Office of Policy, Program and
Employee Development, at (202) 720-5627.
Availability of Q&As Regarding FSIS Directives
On June 1, FSIS announced the availability of two question and answer (Q&A) documents concerning FSIS Directives 5000.2
("Review of Establishment Data by Inspection Program Personnel"), 6420.2 ("Verification of Procedures for controlling
Fecal Material, Ingesta, and Milk in Slaughter Operations") and 10,010.1, Revision 1 ("Microbiological Testing Program
and Other Verification Activities for Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Raw Ground Beef Products and Raw Ground Beef Components
and Beef Patty Components").
The Q&A documents are available at:
Public Meeting to Discuss U.S. Positions for 28th Codex Session
A public meeting will be held on June 9, 2005 to discuss and receive comments on agenda items that will be discussed at the 28th Session of the Codex Alimentarius
Commission (CAC) in Rome, Italy, July 4-9, 2005.
The public meeting is scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 107A, Whitten Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC.
Codex was created in 1963 by two United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Codex develops
food standards, guidelines and codes of practice in order to protect the health of consumers, ensure fair food trade practices and promote coordination of food
standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
At the June 9 public meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions and offer comments on the agenda items listed at:
www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
For further information or for a sign language interpreter, contact F. Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office, South Agriculture
Building, 1400 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC, at (202) 205-7760 or by fax at (202) 720-3157.
Codex Sanitary and Phytosanitary International Standard-Setting Activities
Sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) have been published in the Federal Register. The Federal
Register notice also provides a list of other standard setting activities of Codex, including commodity standards, guidelines, codes of practice and revised
texts. This notice, which covers the time periods from June 1, 2004, to May 31, 2005 and June 1, 2005, to May 31, 2006, seeks comments on standards currently
under consideration and recommendations for new standards.
Codex carries out activities related to international sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting aimed at ensuring food products are free from adulteration
and are correctly labeled.
To submit comments contact the FSIS Docket Room, Docket #05-003N, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250-3700. Comments are also posted at:
www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2005_Notices_Index/
For further information, contact Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. Manager for Codex, at (202) 205-7760 or via e-mail at
ed.scarbrough@fsis.usda.gov.
The USDA Food Safety Mobile: Taking Food Safety Education on the Road
The USDA Food Safety Mobile travels continuously throughout the United States to educate consumers about the
risks associated with mishandling food and steps they can take to reduce their risk of foodborne illness. The
food safety mobile's schedule locations is as follows:
- June 10-12, 2005: Taste of Omaha (Omaha, NE)
- June 23-25, 2005: American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) 96th Annual Conference & Expo (Minneapolis, MN)
Library of Export Requirement Updated
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for Cuba, European Union, Republic of Korea and Russia.
Complete information can be found at
www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations/Export_Information/
THIS WEEK'S HOT WEB LINKS
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