Federal Register: February 20, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 34)
Notices
Page 7749
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access wais.access.gpo.gov
 
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
Docket No. 97-003N
 
 
President's National Food Safety Initiative
 
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
 
ACTION: Notice.
 
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SUMMARY: The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food
Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and Research, Education, and
Economics; The Department of Health and Human Services' Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control; and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will convene a public meeting to
discuss the ``President's National Food Safety Initiative.'' At this
meeting, participants will be briefed on the purpose of the President's
initiative and on the agenda for a second public meeting to be held in
April. The goal of the April meeting will be to discuss and develop,
for the President, comprehensive recommendations for reducing, to the
greatest extent possible, the annual incidence of foodborne illness by
enhancing the safety of the Nation's food supply.
 
DATES: The meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on March
5, 1997.
 
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Jefferson Auditorium, 1400
Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20250.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To register for the meeting, contact
Lisa Parks at (202) 501-7138, FAX (202) 501-7642, or E-mail usdafsis/
s=confer@mhs.attmail.com. For questions about the meeting or to obtain
copies of a draft report, contact Mr. Charles Danner, FSIS at (202)
501-7138 or Ms. Caren Carson, FDA at (202) 205-5140. Copies of the
draft report also are available from the following:
FSIS at http://www.usda.gov/fsis or
FDA at http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 25, 1997, the President directed
the Secretaries of USDA and HHS and the Administrator of the EPA to
work with consumers, producers, industry, States, universities, and the
public to identify ways to further improve the safety of our food
supply through government and private sector action, including public
private partnerships, and make recommendations to the President. The
President requested that the recommendations identify steps to further
improve surveillance, inspection, research, risk assessment, education,
and coordination among local, State, and Federal health authorities.
    To carry out the President's initiative, two public meetings will
be held. At the first meeting, government officials will discuss the
current thinking on the President's six areas of concern. They also
will discuss the agenda and goal of the meeting to be held in April.
    At the April meeting, participants will be asked to identify
problems and provide recommendations related to the President's six
areas of concern. A second Federal Register notice will be published
that provides additional information about the time, location, and
focus of the April meeting.
 
    Done at Washington, DC, on: February 13, 1997.
Thomas J. Billy,
Administrator.
FR Doc. 97-4124 Filed 2-14-97; 9:54 am
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P