[Federal Register: April 28, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 82)]
[Notices]
[Page 22919]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28ap08-34]
[[Page 22919]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0013]
Better Communications, Better Public Health Outcomes: Strategies
for Improved Coordination During Foodborne Outbreaks
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice is announcing that the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the
Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied
Nutrition (CFSAN), and the National Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), will co-sponsor a two-day summit that will include a
public meeting on May 15, 2008, and an invitation-only simulation
exercise on May 16, 2008. The purpose of the summit is to have a
discussion with stakeholders on improved information sharing and
coordination during multi-jurisdictional foodborne outbreak
investigations.
DATES: The public meeting will be held on Thursday, May 15, 2008, 8
a.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand
and Suites Hotel, 800 Washington Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63101.
All documents related to the meeting will be available for public
inspection in the FSIS Docket Room, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room
2534 South Building, Washington, DC 20250, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, as soon as they become available.
FSIS will finalize an agenda on or before the meeting date and post
it and the documents related to the public meeting on the FSIS Web page
at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News/Meetings--&--Events/.
Also, when it becomes available, the official transcript of the
meeting will be kept in the FSIS Docket Room at the above address and
will be posted on the Agency Web site, http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bonnie Kissler, Phone: (404) 562-5940,
FAX: (404) 562-5934, e-mail: Bonnie.Kissler@fsis.usda.gov or at the
mail address: USDA, FSIS, Office of Public Health Science, 100 Alabama
Street, SW., 1924 Building, Suite 3R90A, Atlanta, GA 30303.
Pre-registration for this meeting is recommended. To pre-register
for the public meeting, go to http://www.fsis.usda.gov and complete the
registration form. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or
other special accommodations should notify Ms. Kissler by May 8, 2008.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
According to the CDC, foodborne infections result in approximately
76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths in the
U.S. each year. FSIS collaborates with local, state, and federal public
health agencies to investigate foodborne illness outbreaks associated
with FSIS-regulated products.
Foodborne illness investigations that span multiple agencies and
jurisdictions are more common today because the U.S. food supply chain
has become increasingly complex due to a wider distribution of products
that are produced domestically and internationally. Further, advances
in epidemiologic and laboratory surveillance have enabled the
identification of multi-jurisdictional foodborne outbreaks more
readily. Successful investigations of these multi-jurisdictional
outbreaks require not only technical competence in epidemiologic and
laboratory data analysis, but also efficient information sharing and
coordination among all stakeholders. Mitigation of the impact of a
foodborne illness outbreak and protection of the public health depends
on effective and timely communication to consumers regarding symptoms,
treatment, prevention, rapid identification of contaminated food
products, and removal of those products from commerce whenever
possible. The response to an outbreak by public health agencies should
be consistent, comprehensive, and timely in order to effectively
protect the public health. Improvements in communications and
coordination among local, state, and federal public health agencies and
the regulated industries during these investigations are essential to
achieving this goal.
Because FSIS is committed to partnering with all members of the
food safety and public health communities in an effort to make these
critical improvements, FSIS will hold a summit to facilitate discussion
with and among stakeholders on ways to improve communication and
collaboration during multi-jurisdictional foodborne illness
investigations.
A public meeting will be held on May 15, 2008, and an outbreak
simulation exercise will be conducted on May 16, 2008. Participation in
the exercise will be by invitation only.
Topics on the agenda for the public meeting include:
--Stakeholders' perspectives on both successes and challenges to
effective collaboration during multi-jurisdictional outbreaks, and
--Ongoing projects and initiatives to improve foodborne outbreak
response.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this
notice, FSIS will announce it online through the FSIS Web page located
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2008--Notices--Index/.
FSIS will also 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 other types of information
that could affect or would be of interest to constituents and
stakeholders. The Update is communicated via Listserv, a free
electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade groups,
consumer interest groups, health professionals, and other individuals
who have asked to be included. The Update is also 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
automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and
information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/
news--and--events/email--subscription/. Options range from recalls to
export information to regulations, directives, and notices. Customers
can add or delete subscriptions themselves, and have the option to
password protect their accounts.
Done at Washington, DC, on April 22, 2008.
Alfred V. Almanza,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E8-9168 Filed 4-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P