SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 27, 2001 (66 FR 12589), FSIS published the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) “Performance Standards for the Production of Processed Meat and Poultry Products.” These proposed performance standards would require, among other things, that the processing methods, such as heat treatments, fermentation, drying, or salt-curing, used by each establishment that produces RTE meat or poultry products achieve specific levels of pathogen lethality, in terms of a very low probability that Salmonella organisms will survive or specific log₁₀ reductions of Salmonella in the products. FSIS also proposed that each establishment that produces RTE or partially cooked meat or poultry products use product stabilization processes, such as cooling following a heat treatment, that limit multiplication of C. perfringens to no more than 1 log₁₀ and ensure no multiplication of C. botulinum. Partly in response to comments received on the NPRM, FSIS decided to conduct scientific risk assessments of the proposed lethality and stabilization standards.

FSIS has recently completed a quantitative risk assessment of Salmonella in RTE meat and poultry products. The risk assessment provides important data that the Agency has been using in deciding whether to adopt a lethality performance standard for the processing of RTE products, and, if so, what the standard should be.

The Agency has also completed “A Risk Assessment for Clostridium perfringens in Ready-to-Eat and Partially Cooked Foods” to estimate the risk of diarrheal illness from C. perfringens growth during stabilization of the products. The relative growth of C. botulinum during stabilization was also evaluated. FSIS is using the information from this risk assessment to develop a stabilization performance standard for the processing of such products.

FSIS is making these risk assessments available to the public and requests comment on them. The Agency is also ( printed page 15018) making available in the docket room reference materials used in support of the risk assessments and additional data relating to the development of the proposed performance standards, as requested in comments on the NPRM.

Additional Public Notification

Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the public and, in particular, minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line through the FSIS Web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/​regulations/​2005_​Notices_​Index/​.

FSIS also will make copies of this Federal Register publication available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS public meetings, and recalls, as well as other types of information that could affect or would be of interest to our constituents and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, a free electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade, and farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific professionals, and other individuals who have requested to be included. The update is available on the FSIS Web page. Through Listserv and the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader and more diverse audience.

In addition, FSIS offers an electronic mail subscription service which provides an automatic and customized notification when popular pages are updated, including Federal Register publications and related documents. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/​news_​and_​events/​email_​subscription/​ and allows FSIS customers to sign up for subscription options across eight categories. Options range from recalls to export information to regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to protect their accounts with passwords.