Source: USDA, 1/21/16

On Jan. 21, 2016, FSIS held its first educational meeting on inspection of siluriformes fish in Washington DC. The meeting had approximately 50 participants. The session provided an opportunity for participants to ask detailed questions on siluriformes inspection. Most questions were about domestic slaughter inspection (primary), further processing (secondary) inspection, and imports.The PowerPoint presentation will be available on the siluriformes web page at www.fsis.usda.gov/siluriformes.

During the upcoming months, FSIS will be conducting educational meetings regarding the final rule, “Mandatory Inspection of Fish of the Order Siluriformes and Products Derived from Such Fish,” published in the Federal Register on Dec. 2, 2015. The purpose of the meetings is to educate participants on the final rule, as well as on what will be expected of domestic operations before and after the rule becomes effective on March 1, 2016.  The final rule may be accessed from the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/siluriformes.

A second meeting for all stakeholders will be held on Jan. 27, 2016, from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm CT in Stoneville, MS at the Charles W. Capps Jr. Entrepreneurial Center, Delta Research and Extension Center, Mississippi State University, 82 Stoneville Road, Stoneville, MS 38776. All persons wishing to attend are encouraged to register in advance and allocate extra time to get through security screening. To pre-register for any of the meetings, please go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/meetings. For more information or special accommodations, please contact Evelyn Gomez at 202-418-8903 or evelyn.gomez@fsis.usda.gov.

In March and April 2016, there will be three educational meetings targeting importers at the following major points of entry for siluriformes fish into the US; Los Angeles, CA, Houston, TX, and Newark, NJ.  The Agency may decide to add additional dates and locations based on demand.

Following this, the Agency will host one educational meeting at each of the 10 FSIS District Offices. This includes; Alameda, CA, Atlanta, GA, Chicago, IL, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Des Moines, IA, Jackson, MS, Philadelphia, PA, Raleigh, NC, and Springdale, AR.  Dates to be determined.