July 13, 2000

Notice of Document Availability and Public Meeting

On July 11, 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced the availability of the agencies' current thinking papers on national standards for egg safety in the Federal Register. The documents discuss approaches to the production of shell eggs, processing and packaging of shell eggs and egg products, and retail sale of shell eggs, including immediate consumption, such as at a restaurant, intended to reduce the risk of consumer exposure to Salmonella enteritidis (SE). The current thinking papers represent the agencies' current views on approaches to ensure egg safety from farm to table. FDA and USDA also announced a joint public meeting to be held to discuss the current thinking papers. The public meeting will be held on July 31, 2000 from 8:00am to 5:00pm at the Holiday Inn--Washington, DC on the Hill. The Holiday Inn is located on 415 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC.

A copy of the Federal Register notice is available on CFSAN's Website at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr000711.html.

Food Safety Research: Request for Applications

In the July 10, 2000 Federal Register, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the availability of research funds for fiscal year (FY) 2000 to support research in the areas of produce safety, egg safety, development of extraction procedures of foodborne viruses from foods to enhance detection, and food service, transportation, and consumer practices. Approximately $600,000 will be available in FY 2000. FDA anticipates making three to four awards at $100,000 to $200,000 (direct and indirect costs) per award per year. Support of these agreements may be up to 3 years. The number of agreements funded will depend on the quality of the applications received and the availability of federal funds to support the project. After the first year, additional years of noncompetitive support are predicated upon performance and the availability of federal fiscal year funds.

Application forms are available from Maura C. Stephanos, FDA Grants Management Specialist. Ms. Stephanos can be contacted on (301) 827-7183 or by email at mstepha1@oc.fda.gov. Applications must be submitted by August 24, 2000.

A copy of the Federal Register notice is available on World Wide Web at http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a000710c.html.

Director, Joint Institute for Food Safety Research Appointed

On June 19, HHS and USDA announced the appointment of Jerry R. Gillespie, D.V.M., Ph.D., as the Executive Director of the Joint Institute for Food Safety Research (JIFSR). He will succeed Dr. William C. Wagner who has served as the Interim Executive Director since September 1999. During his two-year appointment, which began on June 1, Dr. Gillespie will provide leadership for the coordination of research on food safety issues across the government, including USDA, DHHS, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Their efforts, in cooperation with the work of scientists from other federal and state agencies and the private sector, will help to achieve the ultimate purpose of reducing the incidence of foodborne illness.

Dr. Gillespie has been professor and director of the Food Animal Health and Management Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, since 1994. In the last four years, he has conducted research on food safety of beef production, serving as principal investigator for studies on the ecology of Escherichia coli in beef cow-calf operations.

Dr. Gillespie received his DVM degree from Oklahoma State University and his Ph.D. degree from the University of California-Davis. His many achievements in veterinary medicine were recognized in 1992 when he was elected as a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice (Veterinary Medicine).