7 CFR Chapter X - AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS AND ORDERS; MILK), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

In a final rule published on January 19, 2017, a number of federal departments and agencies revised to the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (often referred to as the “Common Rule”), which each department and agency adopted into regulations in its part of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) adopted the same changes in a final rule published on September 18, 2017. The revised Common Rule was scheduled to become effective on January 19, 2018, with a general compliance date of the same date. By an interim final rule issued on January 17, 2018 and published in the Federal Register on January 22, 2018, federal departments and agencies delayed the effective date and the general compliance date for the revised Common Rule for a 6-month period, until July 19, 2018. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published an interim final rule adopting the same regulatory changes on January 26, 2018. The revised Common Rule, including technical amendments made by the January 22, 2018 interim final rule, is referred to here as the “2018 Requirements.” On April 20, 2018, the federal departments and agencies listed here published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing and seeking comments as to whether the general compliance date for the 2018 Requirements should be delayed for an additional 6-month period. The NPRM also proposed and sought comments on whether to allow regulated entities to implement certain burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements in specified circumstances during such continued delay period. Through this final rule, we are adopting the proposals described in the April 20, 2018 NPRM. This rule delays the general compliance date for the 2018 Requirements for an additional 6-month period, until January 21, 2019. As a result of this delay, regulated entities will be required, with an exception, to continue to comply with the requirements of the pre-2018 version of the Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (the “pre-2018 Requirements”) until January 21, 2019. The one exception to this general rule is that institutions will be permitted (but not required) to implement, for certain research, three burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements during the delay period (July 19, 2018, through January 20, 2019). Those three provisions are: The revised definition of “research,” which deems certain activities not to be research covered by the Common Rule; the elimination of the requirement for annual continuing review with respect to certain categories of research; and the elimination of the requirement that institutional review boards (IRBs) review grant applications or other funding proposals related to the research. Institutions taking advantage of the three-burden reducing provisions must comply with all other pre-2018 Requirements during the delay period. The three burden-reducing provisions of the 2018 Requirements can only be implemented during the delay period with respect to studies initiated prior to January 21, 2019 that will transition to compliance with the revised Common Rule. Any study that implements these three burden-reducing provisions during the delay period must, beginning on January 21, 2019, comply with all of the 2018 Requirements for the balance of the study's duration.

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation into the continental United States of fresh avocado fruit from continental Ecuador. As a condition of entry, fresh avocado fruit from continental Ecuador would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that would include production site registration, field sanitation, packinghouse procedures designed to exclude the quarantine pests, and procedures for packing, storing, and shipping the avocado fruit. The fruit would also have to be imported in commercial consignments, with each consignment identified throughout its movement from place of production to port of entry in the continental United States. The systems approach for all fresh avocado fruit from continental Ecuador, except Hass avocados, would also have to include production site pest control measures. Consignments would have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador certifying that the fruit was produced in accordance with the systems approach. This proposed rule would allow for the importation of fresh avocados from continental Ecuador into the continental United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the inspection, certification and standards requirements for fresh fruits, vegetables and other products and processed fruits and vegetables, processed products and certain other processed food products by adding an option to allow for electronic submissions of inspection applications. The interim rule also eliminated outdated terminology that referenced submission of inspection applications by telegraph.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing revisions to its current regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The revisions in this notice are modeled, in part, after the template published by the Department of Justice Office of Information Policy and will streamline USDA's FOIA processing procedures, include current cost figures to be used in calculating fees but, most importantly, incorporate changes brought about by the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016 and the OPEN Government Act of 2007.

This final rule establishes a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) regulating the handling of milk in California. This final rule issues a marketing order incorporating the entire state of California and adopts the same dairy product classification and pricing provisions used throughout the current FMMO system. The California FMMO provides for the recognition of producer quota as administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. More than the required number of producers for the California marketing area have approved the issuance of the order. This final rule also announces AMS's intention to merge the information collection forms used to conduct the producer referendum with the reporting forms used in the other dairy marketing orders.

We are amending the fruit and vegetable regulations to allow the importation of tree tomatoes from Ecuador into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, the tree tomatoes must be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for importation in commercial consignments, registration and monitoring of places of production, field monitoring and pest control practices, trapping, and inspection for quarantine pests by the national plant protection organization of Ecuador. This action will allow the importation of tree tomatoes from Ecuador while continuing to protect against the introduction of plant pests into the United States.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing the availability of an informational webinar regarding the proposed National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard (NBFDS or standard). The proposed standard would require food manufacturers and other entities that label foods for retail sale to disclose information about bioengineered food and bioengineered food ingredients. The pre-recorded webinar will provide an overview of the background, provisions, and potential impacts of the proposed standard. Establishment and implementation of the new standard is required by recent amendment to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued regulatory guidance to agencies to establish requirements for Federal financial assistance applicants, recipients, and subrecipients that are necessary for the implementation of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (the Transparency Act). Since FY 2011, NRCS included the requirements identified in each of the NRCS conservation program regulations that involve an award of Federal financial assistance. Section 766 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 amended the Food Security Act of 1985 to exempt producers and landowners participating in NRCS conservation programs from the Transparency Act regulations. Therefore, NRCS is removing specific reference to the Transparency Act regulations in its conservation program regulations where such requirements affect its conservation program agreements with producers and landowners.

This rule amends the general regulations for Federal fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop marketing agreements and marketing orders (orders) and allows such programs to conduct meetings and vote using electronic means of communication.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is amending its regulations regarding its Policy on Audits to incorporate 2011 revisions to the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS) issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the clarified audit standards issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in 2011, and Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, Subpart F, Audit Requirements, issued by the Office of Management and Budget on December 26, 2013, and adopted by USDA on December 26, 2014. RUS is also expanding and clarifying its regulations to: include grant recipients, amend its peer review requirements, amend its reporting requirements, expand the options for the electronic filing of audits, and clarify a number of existing audit requirements, and is amending the title to reflect this change.

A recent amendment to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 requires the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to establish the national mandatory bioengineered (BE) food disclosure standard. The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is proposing a new rule that would require food manufacturers and other entities that label foods for retail sale to disclose information about BE food and BE food ingredient content. The proposed rule is intended to provide a mandatory uniform national standard for disclosure of information to consumers about the BE status of foods. AMS seeks comments on the proposed rule. This proposed rule also announces AMS' intent to request approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of new information collection and recordkeeping requirements to implement the proposed BE food disclosure standard.

This rule revises and clarifies requirements for the processing of donated foods in order to: Incorporate successful processing options tested in demonstration projects into the regulations, ensure accountability for donated foods provided for processing, increase program efficiency and integrity, and support vendor and State operability. The rule requires multi-State processors to enter into National Processing Agreements to process donated foods into end products, permits processors to substitute commercially purchased beef and pork of U.S. origin and of equal or better quality for donated beef and pork, and streamlines and modernizes oversight of inventories of donated foods at processors. The rule also revises regulatory provisions in plain language, to make them easier to read and understand.

This proposed rule would amend the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances (National List) section of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) organic regulations to implement recommendations submitted to the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) by the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). This rule proposes to: Add elemental sulfur to the National List for use in organic livestock production; and, reclassify potassium acid tartrate from a non-agricultural substance to an agricultural substance and require the organic form of the ingredient when commercially available.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule implementing a recommendation from the Citrus Administrative Committee (Committee) to relax the minimum size requirements currently prescribed under the marketing order for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and pummelos grown in Florida and the grapefruit import regulation. The interim rule relaxed the minimum size requirement for domestic shipments and imports of grapefruit from 3  5/16 inches to 3 inches in diameter.