. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/136/Add.51
16 January 2002
(02-0210)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
Addendum
The following communication by the United States is being circulated.
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Announcement of and Request for Comment on Industry Petition to Postpone the Effective Date of
Regulations Limiting and Requiring Labeling for Retained Water in Raw Meat and Poultry Products
The USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is requesting comment on a petition
that asks FSIS to postpone until 1 August 2004, the effective date of new regulations that limit waterretained by raw meat and poultry products from post-evisceration processing to the amount that is
unavoidable in meeting applicable food safety requirements, such as the pathogen reduction
requirements for Salmonella, and require labeling for the amount of water retained.  The regulations
were published in the final rule "Retained Water in  Raw Meat and Poultry Pr oducts;  Poultry Chilling
Requirements", in the Federal Register on 9 January 2001 (notified as Addendum 3).  The petitioners,
four trade associations representing the meat and poultry industries, assert that the postponement is
necessary because affected companies will not be able  to comply with the regulations until they have
completed several steps for which the Agency did no t allow sufficient time.  The petitioners maintain
that:  because of the time necessary to obtain Agency review of industry data collection protocols for
determining minimum retained water in products, some companies will not be able to begin data
collection under the protocols until late in 2001;  because of insufficient laboratory capacity in the
industry and because of the need to determine seasonal variation in moisture content of poultry andthe relation between water retention controls and Salmonella levels on raw product, data collection on
water absorbed during chilling processes, and then on water retention in individual raw products at
packaging, cannot be completed until early 2003;  and once retained water levels have been
determined, changes to plates for printing labels and the labeling of the many products affected by the
final rule cannot be completed until mid-2004.  The petitioners elaborate on these points in theirpetition and supporting documentation.  Finally, they argue that if no extension were granted, the
economic consequences would be severe.  Much of the industry would have to shut down because of
the inability to ship product that is not misbranded.
                                                     
1 Addendum 5 is being published at this time becau se it was lost electronically and never reached the
Secretariat for publication in October 2001.  Addendum 5 has a direct relationship to the action in Addendum 6
also published at this time.G/SPS/N/USA/136/Add.5
Page 2
The full text of the 17 October 2001 Federal Register notice which includes instructions for
commenting, is available from the address below.
United States SPS Enquiry Point/Notification Authority
USDA/FAS/FSTSDATTN: Carolyn F. Wilson
Room 5545 South Agriculture Building
Stop 1027
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20250
Tel:  (202) 720-2239
Fax:  (202) 690-0677E-mail:  ofsts@fas.usda.gov
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