. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/USA/401
5 March 2001
(01-1067)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  UNITED STATES
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:  Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, whereapplicable).  Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or
practicable:  Meat and poultry
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Performance Standards for the
Production of Processed Meat and Poultr y Products; Proposed Rule (48 pages)
5. Description of content: The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to
amend the Federal meat and poultry inspection regulations by establishing food safety
performance standards for all ready-to-eat (RTE) and all partially heat-treated meat and
poultry products.  The proposed performance standards set forth levels of pathogen
reduction and limits on pathogen growth that official meat and poultry establishments mustachieve in order to produce unadulterated products, but allow the use of customized,
plant-specific processing procedures.  The proposed RTE performance standards apply to
all RTE meat and poultry products, which can be categorized as follows:  Dried products
(e.g. beef or poultry jerky); salt-cured products (e.g. country ham); fermented products (e.g.
salami and Lebanon bologna);  cooked and otherwise processed products (e.g. beef and
chicken burritos, corned beef, pastrami, poultry rolls, and turkey franks); and thermally-
processed, commercially sterile products (e.g. canned spaghetti with meat balls and cannedcorned beef hash).
Although FSIS routinely samples and tests some RTE products for the presence of
pathogens prior to distribution, there are no specific regulatory pathogen reduction
requirements for most of these products.  The proposed performance standards will help
ensure the safety of these products; give establishments the incentive and flexibility toadopt innovative, science-based food safety processing procedures and controls; and
provide objective, measurable standards that can be verified by Agency oversight.
FSIS also is proposing environmental testing requirements intended to reduce the incidence
of Listeria monocytogenes in RTE meat and poultry products.  Specifically, FSIS is
proposing to require establishments that produce RTE meat and poultry products to testfood contact surfaces for Listeria spp. to verify that they are controlling the presence of L.
monocytogenes within their processing environments.  Establishments that have developed
and implemented HACCP controls for L. m onocytogenes would be exempt from these
testing requirements.G/SPS/N/USA/401
Page 2
Finally, FSIS is proposing to eliminate its regulations that require that both RTE and not-
ready-to-eat pork and products containing pork be treated to destroy trichina (Trichinella
spiralis).  These requirements are inconsistent with HACCP and some will be unnecessary if
FSIS makes final the proposed performance st andards for RTE meat and poultry products.
6. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [    ] animal health,  [    ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [    ] protect territory from
other damage from pests           
7. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [  X ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: 66 FR 12589,
27 February 2001 (Available in English)
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined.
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  To be determined.
11. Final date for comments:  29 May 2001
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  Food Safety and Inspection
Service, USDA  [    ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point, or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  Detailed
instruction on where and how to send comments is in the body of the full text - which will
be sent upon request to the address in paragraph 12.
12. Texts available from: [  X ] National notification authority, [  X ] National enquiry point
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
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. 20250Tel:  (202) 720-2239
Fax:  (202) 690-0677
E-mail:  ofsts@fas.usda.gov