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Source: FEDERAL REGISTER, 8/21/14
SUMMARY: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the
poultry products inspection regulations to establish a new inspection
system for young chicken and all turkey slaughter establishments. Young
chicken and turkey slaughter establishments that do not choose to
operate under the new poultry inspection system may continue to operate
under their current inspection system. The Agency is also making
several changes to the regulations that will affect all establishments
that slaughter poultry other than ratites. This final rule is a result
of the Agency's 2011 regulatory review efforts conducted under
Executive Order 13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review.
DATES:
Effective Date: October 20, 2014.
Notification Date: All young chicken and turkey slaughter
establishments will initially have until February 23, 2015, to notify
their District Office in writing of their intent to operate under the
New Poultry Inspection System (NPIS). Establishments that do not notify
their District Office of their intent by February 23, 2015, will be
deemed to have chosen the inspection system that they are currently
operating under. Young chicken and turkey slaughter establishments that
decide that they would like to convert to NPIS after the initial
notification date may notify FSIS of their intent at any time after
that date. The Agency will implement the NPIS in the additional
establishments that intend to convert on a schedule consistent with
Agency resources and readiness. The Agency intends to implement the
NPIS in all young chicken and turkey establishments that choose to
operate under the NPIS, regardless of when the establishment notifies
FSIS of its intent to transition to the NPIS. However, the initial
implementation wave will only include those establishments that
submitted their notifications within the initial notification period.
After October 20, 2014, FSIS will begin selecting from those
establishments that have notified FSIS of their intent to switch to the
NPIS. The Agency will use a computerized ranking system to determine
the schedule of establishments for implementation of the NPIS. This
ranking system will take into consideration several factors, such as
FSIS staffing needs, past performance of the establishment, the
location of the establishment with respect to other federally-inspected
establishments, and establishment readiness to transition to the NPIS.
FSIS will implement the NPIS in phases by clusters of establishments in
close geographic proximity to one another. The initial implementation
wave will only include those establishments that notified FSIS of their
intent to switch to the NPIS during the initial six-month notification
period. FSIS expects that in subsequent years many more establishments
will choose to transition to the new system. The Agency's
implementation strategy for the NPIS is described in more detail in the
preamble to this final rule.
Applicability Dates: The regulations that prescribe procedures for
controlling visible fecal contamination in 9 CFR 381.65(f), the
regulations that prescribe procedures for controlling contamination
throughout the slaughter and dressing process in 9 CFR 381.65(g), and
the regulations that prescribe recordkeeping requirements in 9 CFR
381.65(h) will be applicable as follows:
In large establishments, defined as all establishments
with 500 or more employees, on November 19, 2014;
In small establishments, defined as all establishments
with 10 or more employees but fewer than 500, on December 19, 2014;
In very small establishments, defined as all
establishments with fewer than 10 employees or annual sales of less
than $2.5 million February 17, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Engeljohn, Assistant
Administrator, Office of Policy and Program Development, FSIS, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20250-3700, (202) 205-0495.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary
In January 2011, President Obama issued Executive Order (E.O.)
13563 on Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. As part of this
E.O., agencies were asked to review existing rules that may be
outmoded, ineffective, insufficient, or excessively burdensome, and to
modify, streamline, expand, or repeal them accordingly. As a result of
FSIS's regulatory review efforts conducted under E.O. 13563, on January
27, 2012, the Agency published a proposed rule to modernize poultry
slaughter inspection (``Modernization of Poultry Slaughter
Inspection,'' 77 FR 13512). This final rule adopts, with modifications,
the provisions in the January 2012 proposal. FSIS is issuing this rule
to facilitate pathogen reduction in poultry products, improve the
effectiveness of poultry slaughter inspection, make better use of the
Agency's resources, and remove unnecessary regulatory obstacles to
innovation.
This final rule will establish a New Poultry Inspection System
(NPIS) for young chicken and all turkey slaughter establishments. The
NPIS will not replace, as was proposed, the current Streamlined
Inspection System (SIS), the New Line Speed Inspection System (NELS),
or the New Turkey Inspection System (NTIS). As such, young chicken and
turkey slaughter establishments may choose to operate under the NPIS or
may continue to operate under their current inspection system, i.e.,
SIS, NELS, NTIS, or Traditional Inspection, as modified by this final
rule. Establishments that slaughter poultry other than young chickens
or turkeys are not eligible to operate under the NPIS unless they
obtain a waiver under the Salmonella Initiative Program. The Agency is
not limiting the number of online inspectors in Traditional Inspection
to two, as was proposed. FSIS will continue to staff all establishments
that do not choose to operate under the NPIS with their current number
of online inspectors.
The NPIS is designed to facilitate pathogen reduction in poultry
products by shifting Agency resources to allow FSIS inspectors to
perform more offline inspection activities that are more effective in
ensuring food safety, while providing for a more efficient and
effective online carcass-by-carcass inspection. Data from the Agency's
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Systems (HACCP)-Based
Inspection Models Project (HIMP) pilot study,\1\ which was used to
inform the NPIS, show that an inspection system that provides for
increased offline inspection activities that are more directly related
to food safety results in greater compliance with sanitation and HACCP
regulations, carcasses with lower levels of visible fecal contamination, and carcasses with equivalent or lower levels of Salmonella contamination.
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