[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50929-50931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-25108]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
21 CFR Part 589
[Docket No. 01N-0423]
Substances Prohibited From Use in Animal Food or Feed; Animal
Proteins Prohibited in Ruminant Feed; Public Hearing; Request for
Comments
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of public hearing; request for comments..
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public
hearing in Kansas City, MO, to solicit information and views on its
present animal feeding regulation. The purpose of the rule is to help
prevent the establishment and amplification of the agent(s) of bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in the U.S. cattle herd through feed
and thereby help minimize any risks from such agent(s) to animal or
human health. FDA recognizes that much new information has emerged on
BSE and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) since the rule
went into effect in 1997. FDA is therefore requesting information and
views from individuals and organizations on the present rule and
whether changes in the rule or other additional measures are necessary.
The agency is particularly interested in soliciting comments and views
from individuals, industry, consumer groups, health professionals, and
researchers with expertise in BSE and related animal and human
diseases.
DATES: The hearing will be held on October 30, 2001, from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. central time and will be open to the public throughout its
entirety. The hearing will be adjourned from 12 noon to 1 p.m. for
lunch. FDA will reserve the hour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for those who
have not registered to present orally at the meeting to make oral
presentations to the panel. Those individuals or organizations that
wish to register to present orally at the hearing must register by 4:30
p.m. eastern time on October 23, 2001. Send registration information to
the contact person. Written comments regarding the matters before this
panel are welcome at anytime; however, the official record of the
hearing will remain open to receive written comments until November 21,
2001.
ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Westin Crowne Center
Hotel, One Pershing Rd., Kansas City, MO. Those wishing to present
orally at the hearing must submit a written notice of participation to
Linda Grassie at the address or fax number listed in For Further
Information Contact section. To submit electronic comments go to http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/oc/dockets/edockethome.cfm.
Individuals and organizations wishing to submit written comments on
these issues to the panel, but who do not wish to present orally to the
panel, should submit their written comments to the Dockets Management
Branch (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm.
1061, Rockville, MD 20852. Written comments are to be identified with
Docket No. 01N-0423.
Information specified in this notice can be received by calling
301-594-5000 or sending a self-addressed stamped envelope with your
request to the contact person listed below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Grassie, Center for Veterinary
Medicine (HFV-12), Food and Drug Administration, 7500 Standish Pl.,
Rockville, MD 20855, 301-827-3796, FAX 301-827-4065, e-mail
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In the Federal Register of June 5, 1997 (62 FR 30936), FDA issued a
final rule amending its final regulations to provide that animal
protein derived from mammalian tissues for use in ruminant feed is a
food additive subject to certain provisions in the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act. The final rule established at Sec. 589.2000 (21 CFR
589.2000) a flexible system of controls, including a number of
exemptions, designed to ensure that ruminant feed does not contain most
mammalian tissue proteins and to encourage innovation in such controls.
FDA issued this regulation to protect animal and
[[Page 50930]]
human health in the United States. The final rule was intended to help
prevent the establishment and amplification of BSE in the U.S. cattle
herd through feed, and thereby help minimize any risk from the agent(s)
of BSE to animals or humans health.
This rule has now been in effect for 4 years. Federal, State, and
private sector entities have conducted an intensive campaign to educate
livestock producers and all sectors of the animal feed industry on the
purpose of the rule and the requirements for compliance with the rule.
Since 1997, FDA and State feed inspectors have conducted over 10,000
inspections of cattle producers and firms involved in the manufacture
of animal feeds. The inspectors found approximately 78 percent of these
firms to be in compliance with this rule. Upon re-inspection,
inspectors found approximately 90 percent of the firms to be in
compliance with the rule. In addition, there have been incidents in
which feed containing prohibited materials has been fed to cattle. To
date, there is no evidence that this feed contained prohibited proteins
that were infected with the agent(s) of BSE. All known instances of
feeding violations involved animal protein from countries free of BSE.
To date, there has been no evidence of BSE or vCJD in the United
States. Nonetheless, since the promulgation of this rule, BSE has
spread and is now found in most countries of western and central Europe
and, pending final confirmation, Japan. New efforts this year to
contain the spread of the epidemic in Europe have included, among other
policies, a ban on feeding most animal protein to farmed animals.
II. Scope of the Hearing
There are many evolving, complex scientific and public health
issues involved in the effort to prevent the establishment and
amplification of the agent(s) of BSE in the U.S. cattle herd and to
reduce the risk to American public health from the agent(s) of BSE. In
light of these issues, FDA is soliciting broad public participation and
comment on issues regarding whether new measures are necessary in
addition to FDA's present animal feeding rule at Sec. 589.2000 and
regarding the compliance with that rule to date. Because of the spread
of BSE beyond the United Kingdom, and because of the compliance
experience to date with the 1997 rule, FDA believes it would be prudent
to solicit information and views on the present rule and if there are
ways in which this rule and its enforcement might be further improved
to meet its original objectives or any new objective(s) that may now be
appropriate to consider.
Since 1997, FDA has received numerous unsolicited suggestions from
many individuals and groups regarding this rule. These have ranged from
making no changes to the rule to completely banning the use of all
animal proteins in the feeding of all animals. In addition, there have
been many suggestions that would fall between these two positions.
The agency encourages individuals, industry, consumer groups,
health professionals, and researchers with particular expertise in this
area, as well as other interested persons, to respond to this notice.
The agency strongly encourages persons who cannot attend the hearing to
send information and views relevant to the topics and questions listed
below in this document to the Dockets Management Branch (address
above). Comments should be identified with Docket No. 01N-0423.
FDA is soliciting information and comments on all aspects of the
present feeding rule at Sec. 589.2000 and specifically requests
comments on the following questions. For each question, FDA is
requesting information and comments on the impact on public health and
on both animal feed and human food safety, on any increased business
costs that might result from such changes, and any suggestions on ways
to minimize any potential increased costs or any relevant environmental
concerns associated with such changes. Individuals and organizations
may address as many of the following questions as they wish. It is not
expected that all participants will address all questions.
1. What additional enforcement activities, if any, regarding the
present rule are needed to provide adequate public health controls? Are
there other suggestions for ways to improve compliance with the rule?
2. Is the present rule at Sec. 589.2000 adequate to meet its
intended objectives? If not, what are its inadequacies? Are there
additional objectives that this rule should now address? If so, what
are these new objectives?
3. Should the present FDA ban on the use of certain mammalian
proteins in ruminant feed be broadened? If so, what should the new
parameters of use be? Should the rule be broadened beyond ruminant
feed? Beyond mammalian protein?
4. Should FDA require dedicated facilities for the production of
animal feed containing mammalian protein to decrease as much as
possible the possibility of comingling during production?
5. Should FDA require dedicated transportation of animal feed
containing mammalian protein to decrease as much as possible the
possibility of comingling during transport?
6. In order to improve production practices and increase assurance
of compliance with the rule, should FDA require FDA licensing of
renderers and other firms/facilities engaged in the production of
animal feed containing mammalian protein?
7. Should FDA revoke or change any/all of the current exclusions
for certain products allowed in the current rule at
Sec. 589.2000(a)(1)?
8. Should FDA add to the list of prohibited material in ruminant
feed (i.e., add to the definition of ``protein derived from mammalian
tissues'') poultry litter and other recycled poultry waste products?
9. Should FDA remove the exemption for pet foods from labeling with
the precautionary statements?
10. Should FDA extend its present recordkeeping requirements beyond
1 year? If so, how many years?
11. Should FDA change its rule to require labeling of protein-
containing feed to specify what type(s) of mammal was used in the
production of the protein, e.g. ``porcine MBM'', ``bovine MBM''.
12. In order to make the statement clearer, should the required
cautionary statement on the label of products that contain protein
derived from mammalian tissues and that are intended for use in animal
feed be changed to read: ``Do not feed to cattle, sheep, goats, bison,
elk, or deer.''?
13. What new information is available on potential efficient,
accurate analytical methods that may be used in detecting mammalian
proteins, especially the prohibited mammalian proteins, in feed and
what should the sampling parameters of such a program be?
14. Regarding enforcing compliance with the rule, what further
authorities, if any, would be desirable in order to enforce the rule
adequately (civil monetary penalties?, others?)
15. Regarding helping to increase compliance with the rule, what
role, if any, should public or private certification programs play?
16. Regarding the import of feed, what should the restrictions on
such import be (country specific? comparison between domestic and
foreign controls?)
17. Are there any other additional measures necessary to guard
against BSE and vCJD in the United States?
[[Page 50931]]
III. Notice of Hearing Under 21 CFR Part 15
The Commissioner of Food and Drugs is announcing that the public
hearing will be held in accordance with part 15 (21 CFR part 15). The
presiding officer will be the Commissioner of Food and Drugs or his
designee. A panel of government employees with relevant expertise will
accompany the presiding officer.
Persons who wish to participate in the part 15 hearing must file a
written or facsimile notice of participation with Linda Grassie
(address or fax number above) by 4:30 p.m. eastern time on October 23,
2001. To ensure timely handling, the outer envelope should be clearly
marked with Docket No. 01N-0423 and the statement ``Animal Feed Rule
Hearing.'' Groups should submit two copies. The notice of participation
should contain the speaker's name, address, telephone number, fax
number, business affiliation, if any, a brief summary of the
presentation, and approximate amount of time requested for the
presentation.
The agency requests that persons or groups having similar interests
consolidate their presentations and present them through a single
representative. FDA will allocate the time available for the hearing
among the persons who properly file notices of participation. FDA will
reserve the hour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. for those who have not
registered to present orally at the meeting to make oral presentations
to the panel.
After reviewing the notices of participation and accompanying
information, FDA will schedule each appearance and notify each
participant by mail, telephone, or fax, of the time allotted to the
person and the approximate time the person's presentation is scheduled
to begin. The hearing schedule will be available at the hearing. After
the hearing, the schedule will be placed on file in the Dockets
Management Branch (address above) under Docket No. 01N-0423.
In order to facilitate the efficiency of the hearing process,
presenters at the hearing should indicate the format in which their
presentations will be made so that appropriate visual aids can be made
available. Presenters should note that a hardcopy version of their
presentations should be submitted to FDA on the day of the hearing for
inclusion in the official record of the hearing.
Under Sec. 15.30(f), the hearing is informal and the rules of
evidence do not apply. The presiding officer and any panel members may
question any person during or at the conclusion of their presentation.
No participant may interrupt the presentation of another participant.
Public hearings under part 15 are subject to FDA's policy and
procedures (part 10 (21 CFR part 10, subpart C)) for electronic media
coverage of FDA's public administrative proceedings. Under Sec. 10.205,
FDA permits persons, subject to certain limitations, to videotape,
film, or otherwise record FDA's public administrative proceedings,
including presentations by participants. The hearing will be
transcribed as required in Sec. 15.30(b).
Any disabled persons requiring special accommodations in order to
attend the hearing should direct those needs to the contact person
listed above.
To the extent that the conditions for the hearing, as described in
this notice, conflict with any provisions set out in part 15, this
notice acts as a waiver of those provisions as specified in
Sec. 15.30(h).
IV. Request for Comments
To permit time for all interested persons to submit data,
information, or views on this subject, interested persons may submit to
the Dockets Management Branch written comments for this hearing at any
time; however, the official record of the hearing will remain open to
receive written comments until November 21, 2001. Such written comments
can be submitted to the Dockets Management Branch (HFA-305), Animal
Feed Rule Hearing, Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm.
1061, Rockville, MD 20852, or FAX written comments to the Dockets
Management Branch, Animal Feed Rule Hearing, 301-827-6870. Two copies
of any comments are to be submitted, except individuals should submit
one copy. Comments are to be identified with Docket No. 01N-0423.
V. Transcripts
Transcripts of the hearing will be available for review at the
Dockets Management Branch (address above) approximately 30 days
following the hearing and at http://www.fda.gov.; also orders can be
placed with Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857.
Dated: October 1, 2001.
Margaret M. Dotzel,
Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 01-25108 Filed 10-4-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S