Mr. Thomas J. Billy
Administrator
Food Safety and Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250


Re:     Request for Extension of Comment Period for Proposed Rule on Nutrition Labeling of Ground or Chopped Meat and Poultry Products and Single-Ingredient Products (Docket No. 98-005P)

Dear Mr. Billy,

     The purpose of this letter is to request that the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant a 90-day extension of the comment period for FSIS’s proposed rule on nutrition labeling of ground and single ingredient meat and poultry products. 66 Fed. Reg. 4970 (Jan. 18, 2001). In order to respond fully to the proposal, including the Department’s numerous requests for information, the signatories to this letter will need to conduct research, gather information from our memberships, and analyze the results and responses. We will not be able to perform these activities within the time period currently allotted. Accordingly, given the importance of the proposed rule and the substantial impact it will have on our associations and their large number of member companies (see addendum A), we believe that equity, due process and the Administrative Procedure Act require an extension of the comment period so that we and other interested parties will have a meaningful opportunity to comment.


     A.     Background

     In 1990, Congress passed the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act (NLEA), which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to promulgate rules requiring nutrition labeling on foods regulated by the FDA. Although Congress chose not to provide a comparable mandate to USDA, the Department conducted notice and comment rulemaking that resulted in the promulgation of final nutrition labeling rules for meat and poultry products in 1993. 58 Fed. Reg. 632 (Jan. 6, 1993). These rules establish a voluntary nutrition labeling system for single ingredient raw meat and poultry products (including ground products) and a mandatory system for almost all other meat and poultry products. 9 C.F.R., Part 317, Subpart B.

     Under the voluntary program, food retailers may provide nutrition information to consumers by labeling the products or displaying the information at point-of-purchase. 9 CFR § 317.343(b). The regulations require USDA to evaluate the participation of retailers in the voluntary program every two years, beginning in May 1995. 9 CFR § 317.343. The voluntary program will remain in effect if USDA finds “significant participation,” but USDA can initiate rulemaking to require nutrition labeling on the products covered by the voluntary program if the surveys do not demonstrate significant retailer participation. 9 CFR 317.343(e).

       Based on the results of surveys conducted by USDA in 1995, 1996 and 1999, the Department claims that it was unable to find “significant participation” in the voluntary program and has, therefore, proposed rules to require nutrition labeling on packages of ground meat and poultry products and to require nutrition labeling information to be provided for major cuts of single ingredient meat and poultry products. The comment period for the proposed rules is currently scheduled to close on April 18, 2001.

     

B.     Request for 90-Day Extension of Comment Period

     As discussed more fully in Addendum A, our associations represent a substantial portion of the meat and poultry production and food wholesale and retail communities. Based on our initial evaluation of the proposed rules, we believe that, if finalized as proposed, the new regulations would have significant ramifications for our members.

     Accordingly, our associations and our members are committed to participating fully in this rulemaking. However, in order to do so, we will need additional time (1) to evaluate the proposal and the Department’s requests for comments and information on multiple issues described in the preamble, (2) to analyze the proposed rule’s costs and benefits, and (3) to assemble and assess responsive information. At this point, we have generated questionnaires for our members and are beginning to receive useful data. In addition, we plan to conduct market research to obtain data on some of the specific points of interest, such as consumer expectations, and other information that will be necessary to formulate our response and to assist USDA in the policy-making process. Furthermore, to assist us in understanding the surveys that the Department conducted, we have filed a Freedom of Information Act for the underlying data, which we would like to review before we submit our comments. Thus, although we have already begun the process of assembling the information necessary to respond to the Department’s request for comments, it is now apparent that we will not be able to complete our efforts within the current comment period.   

     Moreover, in this case, USDA is not faced with a statutory mandate to conduct a rulemaking within a specific time frame, as was the case for FDA’s NLEA regulations. In addition, we understand that the development of the nutrition information that would be necessary to label ground beef is still ongoing. Furthermore, consumers are currently receiving some nutrition information on meat and poultry under the voluntary program. Indeed, the signatories to this letter have a long-standing commitment to nutrition labeling and many were involved in the development of the Nutri-Facts program in 1983, a full decade before USDA’s voluntary program was implemented.

     As USDA is not facing a requirement to proceed within a specific timetable, the Department does not appear to be ready to proceed immediately, and information is currently available to consumers, we respectfully request that you extend the comment period to allow the signatories and other interested parties to assemble and analyze the information necessary to prepare a thorough response to the Department's request for comments and to participate fully in the rulemaking process.


*          *          *

     We appreciate your consideration of our request. Please direct your response to Ms. Dagmar Farr, Vice President, Legislative and Consumer Affairs, Food Marketing Institute, 655 15th Street, Washington, DC 20005. If you have any questions regarding our request, please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Farr at (202) 220-0619.

Sincerely,

             

American Association of Meat Processors
American Meat Institute
Food Marketing Institute
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
National Chicken Council
National Grocers Association
National Meat Association
National Pork Producers Council
National Turkey Federation


cc:     The Honorable Ann Veneman     
Secretary of Agriculture   
U.S. Department of Agriculture          
1400 Independence Avenue, SW          
Washington, DC 20250   
      
Mr. Robert Post, Director
Labeling and Additives Policy Division
Food Safety and Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture   
300 12th Street, SW
Room 102
Washington, DC 20250-3700

FSIS Docket Clerk     
Docket No. 98-005P     
Food Safety and Inspection Service
US Department of Agriculture
300 12th Street, SW
Room 102          
Washington, DC 20250-3700

Addendum A

     The American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) is a non-profit trade association with about 1,800 members in the United States, Canada and a number of foreign countries. Our members include meat and poultry processors, slaughterers, wholesalers, retailers, caterers, home food service companies, and consultants/suppliers to the meat and poultry industry. Most of our members are small, very small and medium-sized businesses, many of them family-owned.

     The American Meat Institute (AMI) is the national organization representing the interests of meat and poultry slaughterers and processors and their suppliers throughout North America. AMI’s members produce the majority of meat and poultry products manufactured in the United States.

     The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) is a non-profit association that conducts programs in research, education, industry relations and public affairs on behalf of its 1,500 members and their subsidiaries. Our membership includes food retailers and wholesalers, as well as their customers, in the United States and around the world. FMI’s domestic member companies operate approximately 21,000 retail food stores with a combined annual sales volume of $300 billion, which accounts for more than half of all grocery sales in the United States. FMI’s retail membership is composed of large multi-store chains, small regional firms, and independent supermarkets. Our international membership includes 200 members from 60 countries.

     Producer-directed and consumer-focused, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association is the trade association of America’s cattle farmers and ranchers, and the marketing organization for the largest segment of the nation’s food and fiber industry.

     The National Chicken Council (NCC) is the national trade association representing the integrated chicken industry. NCC member companies produce, process and market over 92 percent of the chickens sold in the United States.

     National Grocers Association (N.G.A.) is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating in a variety of formats. Some are publicly traded but with controlling shares held by the family. Most independent operators are serviced by wholesale distributors, while others may be partially or fully self-distributing. Independents are the true “entrepreneurs” of the grocery industry and dedicated to their customers, associates, and communities.

     The National Meat Association (NMA) is a national, non-profit industry association that represents the interests of over 300 meat packers and processors in the United States manufacturing under a USDA Grant of Inspection and over 300 of their suppliers. The NMA membership firms are primarily comprised of small firms engaged in the slaughtering of livestock or processing, sale and distribution of meat, poultry, meat food products and poultry food products.

     The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is a national organization that represents, through forty-four affiliated state associations, the nation’s pork producers. NPPC membership accounts for most of America’s commercial pork production. The U.S. pork industry is one of this country’s most important agricultural sectors, accounting in a typical year for more than $10 billion in annual farm sales. U.S. pork production generates overall economic activity of approximately $64 billion annually and supports an estimated 600,000 American jobs.

     The National Turkey Federation is the advocate for all segments of the U.S. turkey industry, providing services and conducting activities that increase demand for its members’ products and protect and enhance the ability to effectively and profitably provide wholesome, high quality, nutritious turkey products