Title 9 published on 2013-01-01
The following are only the Rules published in the Federal Register after the published date of Title 9.
For a complete list of all Rules, Proposed Rules, and Notices view the Rulemaking tab.
In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on June 7, 2012, and effective on July 9, 2012, we amended the horse protection regulations to require horse industry organizations or associations that license Designated Qualified Persons to assess and enforce minimum penalties for violations of the Horse Protection Act. This document corrects an error in that final rule.
We are amending the regulations regarding the interstate movement of livestock to require approved livestock facilities and listed slaughtering and rendering establishments to maintain certain records for 5 years. Currently, approved livestock facilities are required to retain certain records for 2 years, and there are no record retention provisions that apply to listed slaughtering and rendering establishments. Requiring the retention of certain records for 5 years will allow us to trace the prior movements of diseased livestock further into the past than is currently possible, thus providing the opportunity to locate potentially infected or exposed livestock that might otherwise remain unidentified. We are also requiring the operators of slaughtering and rendering establishments to sign listing agreements to document their agreement to comply with the requirements of the regulations for listed slaughtering and rendering establishments. Such agreements are currently required for approved livestock facilities, but not for slaughtering and rendering facilities. This change will eliminate that inconsistency.
We are advising the public that we have determined that the Italian Regions of Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, and Piemonte and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano are free of swine vesicular disease. Based on an assessment of the animal health status of these areas, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice of availability, the Administrator has determined that the importation of pork or pork products from these areas presents a low risk of introducing swine vesicular disease into the United States. This determination is based on our review of the documentation submitted by the Government of Italy in support of its request and the findings of our own animal health risk evaluation.
We are amending the regulations governing the importation of animals and animal products by recognizing 25 Member States of the European Union (EU) as the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-defined EU poultry trade region and adding it to the list of regions we consider to be free of Newcastle disease. We are taking this action based on a risk evaluation that we prepared in which we determined that the region meets our requirements for being considered free of Newcastle disease. We also determined that the region meets our requirements for being considered free of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). In addition, we are establishing requirements governing the importation of live birds and poultry and poultry meat and products from the APHIS-defined EU poultry trade region and updating avian disease terms and definitions. We are also allowing importation from the APHIS-defined EU poultry trade region of hatching eggs under official seal, including those that have transited a restricted zone established because of detection of HPAI within the boundaries of the APHIS-defined EU poultry trade region. These actions will facilitate the importation of live birds and poultry, including hatching eggs, and poultry meat and products from the APHIS-defined EU poultry trade region while maintaining safeguards to protect the United States from the introduction of communicable avian diseases.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is extending the comment period for the December 6, 2012, Federal Register document “HACCP Plan Reassessment for Not-Ready-to-Eat Comminuted Poultry Products and Related Agency Verification Procedures” until April 20, 2013. FSIS will also provide an additional 45 days for establishments that produce not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) comminuted chicken or turkey products to reassess their Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans for those products. FSIS will postpone by 45 days the date inspection personnel will begin verifying that those establishments have reassessed their HACCP plans. In addition, starting approximately on April 20, 2013, the Agency intends to begin obtaining samples to determine the prevalence of Salmonella in NRTE comminuted poultry product announced in the document. The Agency is taking these actions in response to a request made by a coalition of trade associations.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal meat and poultry products inspection regulations to remove sodium benzoate, sodium propionate, and benzoic acid from the list of substances that the regulations prohibit for use in meat or poultry products. New uses of these substances in meat or poultry products will continue to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for safety and by FSIS for suitability. FSIS will add approved uses of these substances to the list of approved substances contained in the Agency's directive system.
We are adopting as a final rule, with changes, an interim rule that amended the regulations regarding the importation of horses from countries affected with contagious equine metritis (CEM) by incorporating an additional certification requirement for imported horses 731 days of age or less and adding new testing protocols for test mares and imported stallions and mares more than 731 days of age. This document revises certain CEM-testing requirements for imported stallions and mares, and for test mares, that were amended in the interim rule. The interim rule was necessary to provide additional safeguards against the introduction of CEM through the importation of affected horses.
We are amending the Texas (Splenetic) Fever regulations by updating the scientific names for the ticks that transmit the disease, listing additional names for the disease, and removing all products except coumaphos from the list of dips permitted for use on cattle in interstate movement. These actions are necessary to update and clarify the regulations.
We are adding the CervidTB Stat-Pak® and DPP® tests as official tuberculosis tests for the following species of captive cervids: Elk, red deer, white-tailed deer, fallow deer, and reindeer. We are taking this action because we have determined that the tests can reliably detect the presence or absence of antibodies to bovine tuberculosis in certain species of captive cervids. This action is necessary on an immediate basis in order to provide regulated entities with more options in order to meet the testing requirements for captive cervids within the regulations.
We are amending the regulations to establish minimum national official identification and documentation requirements for the traceability of livestock moving interstate. Under this rulemaking, unless specifically exempted, livestock belonging to species covered by the regulations that are moved interstate must be officially identified and accompanied by an interstate certificate of veterinary inspection or other documentation. These regulations specify approved forms of official identification for each species but allow the livestock covered under this rulemaking to be moved interstate with another form of identification, as agreed upon by animal health officials in the shipping and receiving States or Tribes. The purpose of this rulemaking is to improve our ability to trace livestock in the event that disease is found.
The following are ALL rules, proposed rules, and notices (chronologically) published in the Federal Register relating to Title 9 after this date.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing the availability of updated guidance for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems validation. In addition, FSIS is announcing that it will hold a public meeting on June 25, 2013, to review changes to the guidance announced in this notice and to take comments. The public meeting will also be available by teleconference. Following the public meeting, the Agency will accept written comments until July 25, 2013. Given the extensive opportunity for comment on the guidance, however, the Agency believes that very few, if any, issues remain in this proceeding.
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