[Federal Register: July 21, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 139)]
[Notices]               
[Page 39068]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy98-24]

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Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
appearing in this section.

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 98-040N]

 
Meeting on HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project for Slaughter 
Plants

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Agency is holding a public meeting to discuss its HACCP-
based Inspection Models Project for slaughter plants. The morning 
session will provide background information on the Inspection Models 
Project. The afternoon session will focus in some detail on the 
project's specific phases and timelines and will conclude with an open 
discussion period.

DATES: The meeting will be held on July 27, 1998, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza Hotel in 
Washington, D.C., 10 Thomas Circle NW (at Massachusetts Avenue and 14th 
Street), Washington DC 20005, (202) 842-1300.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the meeting, contact Ms. 
Jennifer Callahan of the FSIS Planning Staff at (202) 501-7138 or FAX 
(202) 501-7642. Attendees who require a sign language interpreter or 
other special accommodation should contact Ms. Callahan at the above 
numbers by July 22, 1998.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Inspection Models Project is an 
outgrowth of the Agency's Pathogen Reduction/Hazard Analysis and 
Critical Control Point (PR/HACCP) Systems Final Rule, published on July 
25, 1996. The PR/HACCP rule calls for the establishment of a HACCP-
based food safety system to reduce the risk of foodborne illness from 
meat and poultry products.
    In a Federal Register Notice of June 10, 1997, FSIS requested 
public comments on the design and development of new inspection models 
for slaughter and processing in a HACCP environment (62 FR 31553). This 
notice summarized recommendations by the National Academy of Sciences 
and the General Accounting Office that FSIS reduce its reliance on 
organoleptic (sensory) inspection and redeploy its resources by using 
inspection methods that are based on the risks inherent in meat and 
poultry slaughter operations. To accomplish these objectives, it is 
clear that new inspection methods must be developed and tested that are 
consistent with the meat and poultry inspection laws and the systems 
now required by the PR/HACCP rule. This inspection models project will 
help define the respective responsibilities of FSIS and the regulated 
industry in slaughter establishments operating under HACCP.
    The Inspection Models Project will rely heavily on objective data. 
Data will be used to: (1) Measure the accomplishments of the present 
inspection system in slaughter establishments using data on the 
pathology, microbiology, and wholesomeness of carcasses produced under 
the current system; and (2) measure the effectiveness of the new 
inspection models at establishments where plant personnel will be 
tasked with performing slaughter process control and FSIS inspectors 
will rigorously perform oversight and verification inspection tasks. 
FSIS will then have comparable data to evaluate the models and 
determine their effectiveness.
    The meeting is open to the public on space-available basis. 
Transcripts of this meeting will be available in the FSIS Docket Room.

    Done in Washington, DC, on July 13, 1998.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-19324 Filed 7-20-98; 8:45 am]
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