[Federal Register: June 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 116)]
[Notices]
[Page 35841-35843]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jn03-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service
Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders on Research, Education
and Extension Programs Related to Food Safety Administered by the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service and the
Agricultural Research Service
AGENCIES: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
and Agricultural Research Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of stakeholders' listening session on food safety
research priorities.
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SUMMARY: Section 102(b) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) (7 U.S.C. 7612) requires the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES)
and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in establishing priorities
for agricultural research, extension, and education activities
conducted or funded by CSREES and ARS to solicit and consider input and
recommendations from persons who conduct or use agricultural research,
extension, or education. As part of the Agencies' ongoing stakeholder
input processes, CSREES and ARS are soliciting input and comments on
the top food safety research priorities of partners and stakeholders.
As part of this effort, CSREES and ARS are planning to conduct a
``Stakeholders' Listening Session on Food Safety Research Priorities''
in Denver, Colorado.
Dates and Addresses: The listening session will be held on Monday,
June 30, 2003, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel Denver
Stapleton Plaza; 3333 Quebec Street; Denver, CO 80207. Attendees must
make their own hotel arrangements.
To aid participants in scheduling their attendance, the following
schedule is anticipated for the listening session:
8:30 a.m.-9 a.m. Introductory Remarks and Background.
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Scheduled 5-Minute Comment Periods.
1 p.m.-5 p.m. Scheduled 5-Minute Comment Periods.
Persons interested in submitting comments but unable to attend
should submit written presentations to be received by 5 p.m. e.d.t.
July 14, 2003. Send written presentations to Dr. Pat Kendall at the
address below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All those intending to attend and make
oral presentations at this meeting are required to pre-register. A List
of Participants, including all those who have pre-registered, will be
available at the Listening Session. Participants may pre-register by
contacting Dr. Pat Kendall at (970) 491-7334, by fax at (970) 491-7252
or by e-mail to foodnutr@coop.ext.colostate.edu or by registering on
line at www.cahs.colostate.edu/fshn/foodsafety/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of This Listening Session
The purpose of this Listening Session is to allow CSREES and ARS
partners and stakeholders an opportunity to identify up to five food
safety research priorities requiring increased attention over the next
five years. All oral presentations should follow the following format:
(1) Provide a clear description of up to five food safety
priorities;
(2) Describe the current state of affairs for each priority; and
(3) Indicate where the organization/agency would like to be in five
years in regard to each priority.
ARS and CSREES are seeking comments on research priorities related
to food safety topics in meat and poultry and fresh fruits and
vegetables. Comments are solicited on such subjects including, but not
limited to, pre- and post-harvest pathogen reduction, mycotoxins,
residues, poisonous plants, good manufacturing practices, worker
education and antibiotic resistance. The food safety research
priorities identified by partners and stakeholders will provide
valuable input for USDA food safety agencies. National Program Leaders
from CSREES and ARS will conduct a series of follow-up meetings to
develop national and agency-wide strategies for working with partners
and stakeholders to help them achieve their 5-year food safety research
goals.
Making Reservations To Attend This Listening Session
When making a reservation for a 5-minute oral comment period,
participants should provide a title for their presentation. More time
may be available in the comment session, depending on the number of
people wishing to make a presentation. Reservations will be confirmed
on a first-come, first-served basis. The final 30 minutes of the
Listening Session will be reserved for unscheduled participants wishing
to make 5-minute presentations. Participants who require a sign
language interpreter or other special accommodations should contact Dr.
Pat Kendall as directed above.
[[Page 35842]]
All those making oral presentations at the meeting are required to
submit the text of their written presentations. Those unable to attend
the meeting may also submit written presentations. Written
presentations will be accepted through July 14, 2003. Written
presentations may be submitted for the record by e-mailing them to
foodnutr@coop.ext.colostate.edu or by mailing them to: CSREES/ARS
Listening Session; c/o Dr. Pat Kendall; Colorado State University;
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition-1571; Fort Collins, CO
80523-1571. Please provide three copies of the written presentations.
Presentations also may be faxed to Dr. Kendall at (970) 491-7252.
Information gathered from the Listening Session will be available
for review on the CSREES Web page (http://www.reeusda.gov).
Background on Listening Sessions and CSREES Programs
Section 102(b) of AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7612) requires that CSREES and
ARS, in establishing priorities for agricultural research, extension,
and education activities conducted or funded by CSREES and ARS, solicit
and consider input and recommendations from persons who conduct or use
agricultural research, extension, or education. As part of this ongoing
effort, CSREES and ARS conduct listening sessions to solicit input and
comments on the effectiveness of the existing agricultural research,
education and extension programs administered by CSREES and ARS in
meeting current and future challenges in the food and agricultural
sciences.
Section 1402 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), 7 U.S.C. 3101, specifies that
the purposes of agricultural research, extension, and education are to
(1) enhance the competitiveness of the United States agriculture and
food industry in an increasingly competitive world environment; (2)
increase the long-term productivity of the United States agriculture
and food industry while maintaining and enhancing the natural resource
base on which rural America and the United States agricultural economy
depend; (3) develop new uses and new products for agricultural
commodities, such as alternative fuels, and develop new crops; (4)
support agricultural research and extension to promote economic
opportunity in rural communities and to meet the increasing demand for
information and technology transfer throughout the United States
agriculture industry; (5) improve risk management in the United States
agriculture industry; (6) improve the safe production and processing
of, and adding of value to, United States food and fiber resources
using methods that maintain the balance between yield and environmental
soundness; (7) support higher education in agriculture to give the next
generation of Americans the knowledge, technology, and applications
necessary to enhance the competitiveness of United States agriculture;
and (8) maintain an adequate, nutritious, and safe supply of food to
meet human nutritional needs and requirements.
Section 1404 of NARETPA, 7 U.S.C. 3103, defines ``Food and
Agricultural Sciences'' as meaning basic, applied, and developmental
research, extension, and teaching activities in food and fiber,
agricultural, renewable natural resources, forestry, and physical and
social sciences, including activities relating to the following: (1)
Animal health, production, and well-being, (2) plant health and
production, (3) animal and plant germplasm collection and preservation,
(4) aquaculture, (5) food safety, (6) soil and water conservation and
improvement, (7) forestry, horticulture, and range management, (8)
nutritional sciences and promotion, (9) farm enhancement, including
financial management, input efficiency, and profitability, (10) home
economics, (11) rural human ecology, (12) youth development and
agricultural education, including 4-H clubs, (13) expansion of domestic
and international markets for agricultural commodities and products,
including agricultural trade barrier identification and analysis, (14)
information management and technology transfer related to agriculture,
(15) biotechnology related to agriculture, and (16) the processing,
distributing, marketing, and utilization of food and agricultural
products.
CSREES currently supports agricultural research, extension and
education activities through a broad array of programs which includes
both formula funded and competitively awarded grant programs. The
formula funded programs include the agricultural research programs
authorized under the Hatch Act (7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.) for the State
Agricultural Experiment Stations; section 1445 of NARETPA (7 U.S.C.
3222) for the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions including Tuskegee
University, and West Virginia State College; the McIntire-Stennis
Cooperative Forestry Act (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.); and section 1433 of
NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3195) for the Animal Health and Disease Research
program. The agricultural extension programs are funded under section 3
of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343) for the cooperative extension
services at the 1862 Land-Grant Institutions; section 3(d) of the
Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) for targeted, national programs; and
section 1444 of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3221) for the 1890 Land-Grant
Institutions including Tuskegee University, and West Virginia State
College. Section 534(a) of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status
Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note) authorizes funding for the 1994
Institutions to strengthen their teaching programs in food and
agricultural sciences.
The CSREES competitive grant programs include the National Research
Initiative authorized under section 2(b) of the Competitive, Special,
and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i); the Initiative for
Future Agriculture and Food Systems authorized under section 401 of
AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7621); the Integrated Research, Education, and
Extension Competitive Grants Program authorized under section 406 of
AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7626); the Food and Agricultural Sciences National
Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program authorized under section
1417(b)(6) of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)); the Higher Education
Challenge Grants Program authorized under section 1417(b)(1) of NARETPA
(7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(1)); the Secondary Agriculture Education Challenge
Grants Program authorized under section 1417(j) of NARETPA (7 U.S.C.
3152(j)); and the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education Grants
Program authorized under section 1455 of NAREPTA (7 U.S.C. 3241). In
addition, sections 535 and 536 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant
Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note) authorize competitive capacity
building and research grant programs for the 1994 Institutions. Further
information about CSREES grant programs is available through the CSREES
Web page at http://www.reeusda.gov as the above list of CSREES grant
programs is not exhaustive.
A majority of the agricultural research, extension, and education
activities funded by CSREES are conducted through the 1862 Land-Grant
Institutions which were established under the First Morrill Act (7
U.S.C. 301 et seq.); the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions under the Second
Morrill Act (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.); and the 1994 Institutions under the
Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301
note).
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the in-house research
agency of
[[Page 35843]]
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Authority for ARS research
is derived from the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1862 (7
U.S.C. 2201), which established the Department of Agriculture. The
scope of USDA's agricultural research programs has been expanded and
extended many times since the Department was first created. Today ARS
has a workforce of approximately 8,000 employees including 2,000
scientists representing a wide range of disciplines. ARS conducts 1,200
research projects at over 100 locations across the country and at four
overseas laboratories. The National Agricultural Library and the
National Arboretum are also part of ARS.
ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to
agricultural problems of high national priority and provides
information access and dissemination to (1) Ensure high-quality, safe
food and other agricultural products, (2) assess the nutritional needs
of americans, (3) sustain a competitive agricultural economy, (4)
enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and (5) provide
economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and society as
a whole.
To achieve these objectives, ARS research projects are divided into
National Programs. Currently, ARS research is organized into 22
National Programs which are described in detail on the ARS Web site at
http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/. ARS also works to ensure the timely
transfer of new knowledge and technologies to potential users. ARS
seeks to broaden public understanding of the value of agriculture and
agricultural research to ensure the continued primacy of the U.S.
agriculture in the 21st century. Program direction related specifically
to food safety programs can be found at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/programs/programs.htm?NPNUMBER=108
.
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of June, 2003.
Joseph J. Jen,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 03-15275 Filed 6-16-03; 8:45 am]
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