Source: USDA, 9/12/11

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced that the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF) will hold public meetings Sept. 27 through 30.

The full committee will hold an open meeting on Sept. 30 from 9:00 a.m. to noon in the conference room at the south end of USDA's cafeteria, located in the South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20520. Discussion will focus on control strategies for reducing foodborne Norovirus infections and the study of microbiological criteria as indicators of process control or insanitary conditions.

In addition, there will be open subcommittee meetings Sept. 27 through 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. to discuss control strategies for reducing foodborne Norovirus infections and the study of microbiological criteria as indicators of process control or insanitary conditions. The subcommittee meetings will be held at the Patriot Plaza III, 9th Floor OPHS Conference Rooms, 355 E. Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20024. The NACMCF documents will also be available on the FSIS website.

Persons interested in making a presentation, submitting technical papers, or providing comments at the Sept. 30, plenary session should contact Karen Thomas-Sharp, phone (202) 690-6620, fax (202) 690-6334, e-mail: Karen.thomas-sharp@fsis.usda.gov. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Mrs. Thomas-Sharp by Sept. 15.

The NACMCF was established in 1988, in response to a recommendation of the National Academy of Sciences for an interagency approach to microbiological criteria for foods, and in response to a recommendation of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, as expressed in the Rural Development, Agriculture, and Related Agencies Appropriation Bill for fiscal year 1988.