The Food Safety and Inspection Service said comments are due by May 14, 2012 by non-U.S. participants of a Codex physical working group on a draft revision of Principles for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods (CAC/GL 21-1997) which was prepared by the co-chairs of the physical working group that will meet in Parma, Italy, May 29-June 1, 2012. U.S. comments were due by May 9.

On May 9, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On May 8, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails May 8 announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service said the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) will hold its 40th Session in Ottawa, Canada, May 14-18, 2012. The session will feature two main topics: (1) revision of the Guidelines for the Use of Nutrition and Health Claims (CAC/GL 23-1997); and (2) Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is asking for comments by July 9 on a clarification of its requirements for validation by an official establishment of its Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, which was included in a Federal Register notice. FSIS also announced the availability of, and is requesting comments by July 9 on, a revised draft guidance prepared to assist establishments in appropriately validating their HACCP systems. FSIS said it received and analyzed comments on the initial draft of this guidance, which FSIS posted on its website in March 2010.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that the 20th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) began on May 7, 2012 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The agenda for this session includes: setting maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs in foods; amendments to the Risk Analysis Principles applied by the CCRVDF; revision of the Risk Assessment Policy for the setting of MRLS for Veterinary Drugs in Foods; draft sampling plans for residue control for aquatic animal products; draft priority list for veterinary drugs requiring scientific evaluation or re-evaluation; and risk management recommendations for veterinary drugs for which no acceptable daily intake and/or MRL has/have been recommended by scientific evaluation. FSIS said the Session concludes on May 11.

On May 7, 2012, the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Food Safety and Inspection Service is proposing 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. Under this proposal, new uses of these substances in meat or poultry products would continue to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for safety and by FSIS for suitability, and FSIS would add approved uses of these substances to the list of approved substances contained in the Agency’s directive system.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service recently revised export requirements and plant lists for the following countries: