21 CFR 179.26 - Ionizing radiation for the treatment of food.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of a carbon dioxide laser for etching information on the surface of fresh, intact citrus fruit. This action is in response to a petition filed by Durand-Wayland, Inc.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is denying requests for a hearing on the final rule that amended the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of ionizing radiation for the control of microbial pathogens in seeds for sprouting. After reviewing objections to the final rule and requests for a hearing, FDA has concluded that the objections do not justify a hearing or otherwise provide a basis for revoking the regulation.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is correcting a proposed rule that published in the Federal Register of January 16, 2013. That proposed rule would amend our regulation for current good manufacturing practice in manufacturing, packing, or holding human food (CGMPs) to modernize it and to add requirements for domestic and foreign facilities that are required to register under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) to establish and implement hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food. That proposed rule also would revise certain definitions in our current regulation for registration of food facilities to clarify the scope of the exemption from registration requirements provided by the FD&C Act for “farms.” We proposed these actions as part of our announced initiative to revisit the CGMPs since they were last revised in 1986 and to implement new statutory provisions in the FD&C Act. The document published with several typographical errors, stylistic errors (such as incorrect indentation of bulleted paragraphs and a gap in the sequential numbering of tables), and a mistake in the date of a reference. The document also published with an Appendix in which all references are numbered incorrectly. This document corrects those errors.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or “we”) is extending the comment period for the information collection related to the proposed rule on “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food” that appeared in the Federal Register of January 16, 2013. In the preamble to the proposed rule, FDA requested comments on the information collection provisions that are subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. We are taking this action in response to requests for an extension to allow interested persons additional time to submit comments on the information collection provisions associated with the rule.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is providing public meeting registration information for two FSMA related public meetings announced in the January 31, 2013, Federal Register . These public meetings will be held along with the February 28 to March 1, 2013, Washington, DC public meeting to discuss the proposed rules to establish standards for the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption (the produce safety proposed rule) and for current good manufacturing practice and hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food (the preventive controls proposed rule). These proposed rules are the first of several proposed rules that would establish the foundation of, and central framework for, the modern food safety system envisioned by Congress in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The purpose of the public meetings is to solicit oral stakeholder and public comments on the proposed rules and to inform the public about the rulemaking process (including how to submit comments, data, and other information to the rulemaking dockets), and to respond to questions about the proposed rules.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing a public meeting to discuss the proposed rules to establish standards for the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption (the produce safety proposed rule) and for current good manufacturing practice and hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food (the preventive controls proposed rule), which are the first of several proposed rules that would establish the foundation of, and central framework for, the modern food safety system envisioned by Congress in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The purpose of the public meeting is to solicit oral stakeholder and public comments on the proposed rules and to inform the public about the rulemaking process (including how to submit comments, data, and other information to the rulemaking dockets), and to respond to questions about the proposed rules.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is proposing to amend its regulation for Current Good Manufacturing Practice In Manufacturing, Packing, or Holding Human Food (CGMPs) to modernize it and to add requirements for domestic and foreign facilities that are required to register under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FD&C Act) to establish and implement hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for human food. FDA also is proposing to revise certain definitions in FDA's current regulation for Registration of Food Facilities to clarify the scope of the exemption from registration requirements provided by the FD&C Act for “farms.” FDA is taking this action as part of its announced initiative to revisit the CGMPs since they were last revised in 1986 and to implement new statutory provisions in the FD&C Act. The proposed rule is intended to build a food safety system for the future that makes modern, science-, and risk-based preventive controls the norm across all sectors of the food system.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of a carbon dioxide laser for etching information on the surface of fresh, intact citrus fruit. This action is in response to a petition filed by Durand-Wayland, Inc.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is denying requests for a hearing on the final rule that amended the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of ionizing radiation for the control of microbial pathogens in seeds for sprouting. After reviewing objections to the final rule and requests for a hearing, FDA has concluded that the objections do not justify a hearing or otherwise provide a basis for revoking the regulation.