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http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-15275.htm
[Federal Register: June 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 116)]
[Notices]
[Page 35841-35843]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17jn03-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Research Service, Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service
Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders on Research, Education
and Extension Programs Related to Food Safety Administered
by the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
and the
Agricultural Research Service
AGENCIES: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service
and Agricultural Research Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of stakeholders' listening session on food
safety
research priorities.
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SUMMARY: Section 102(b) of the Agricultural Research, Extension,
and
Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) (7 U.S.C. 7612) requires
the
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
(CSREES)
and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in establishing
priorities
for agricultural research, extension, and education activities
conducted or funded by CSREES and ARS to solicit and consider
input and
recommendations from persons who conduct or use agricultural
research,
extension, or education. As part of the Agencies' ongoing
stakeholder
input processes, CSREES and ARS are soliciting input and comments
on
the top food safety research priorities of partners and stakeholders.
As part of this effort, CSREES and ARS are planning to conduct
a
``Stakeholders' Listening Session on Food Safety Research
Priorities''
in Denver, Colorado.
Dates and Addresses: The listening session will be held on
Monday,
June 30, 2003, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel
Denver
Stapleton Plaza; 3333 Quebec Street; Denver, CO 80207. Attendees
must
make their own hotel arrangements.
To aid participants in scheduling their attendance, the
following
schedule is anticipated for the listening session:
8:30 a.m.-9 a.m. Introductory Remarks and Background.
9 a.m.-12 p.m. Scheduled 5-Minute Comment Periods.
1 p.m.-5 p.m. Scheduled 5-Minute Comment Periods.
Persons interested in submitting comments but unable to
attend
should submit written presentations to be received by 5 p.m.
e.d.t.
July 14, 2003. Send written presentations to Dr. Pat Kendall
at the
address below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: All those intending to attend
and make
oral presentations at this meeting are required to pre-register.
A List
of Participants, including all those who have pre-registered,
will be
available at the Listening Session. Participants may pre-register
by
contacting Dr. Pat Kendall at (970) 491-7334, by fax at (970)
491-7252
or by e-mail to foodnutr@coop.ext.colostate.edu
or by registering on
line at www.cahs.colostate.edu/fshn/foodsafety/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of This Listening Session
The purpose of this Listening Session is to allow CSREES
and ARS
partners and stakeholders an opportunity to identify up to
five food
safety research priorities requiring increased attention over
the next
five years. All oral presentations should follow the following
format:
(1) Provide a clear description of up to five food safety
priorities;
(2) Describe the current state of affairs for each priority;
and
(3) Indicate where the organization/agency would like to be
in five
years in regard to each priority.
ARS and CSREES are seeking comments on research priorities
related
to food safety topics in meat and poultry and fresh fruits
and
vegetables. Comments are solicited on such subjects including,
but not
limited to, pre- and post-harvest pathogen reduction, mycotoxins,
residues, poisonous plants, good manufacturing practices,
worker
education and antibiotic resistance. The food safety research
priorities identified by partners and stakeholders will provide
valuable input for USDA food safety agencies. National Program
Leaders
from CSREES and ARS will conduct a series of follow-up meetings
to
develop national and agency-wide strategies for working with
partners
and stakeholders to help them achieve their 5-year food safety
research
goals.
Making Reservations To Attend This Listening Session
When making a reservation for a 5-minute oral comment period,
participants should provide a title for their presentation.
More time
may be available in the comment session, depending on the
number of
people wishing to make a presentation. Reservations will be
confirmed
on a first-come, first-served basis. The final 30 minutes
of the
Listening Session will be reserved for unscheduled participants
wishing
to make 5-minute presentations. Participants who require a
sign
language interpreter or other special accommodations should
contact Dr.
Pat Kendall as directed above.
[[Page 35842]]
All those making oral presentations at the meeting are required
to
submit the text of their written presentations. Those unable
to attend
the meeting may also submit written presentations. Written
presentations will be accepted through July 14, 2003. Written
presentations may be submitted for the record by e-mailing
them to
foodnutr@coop.ext.colostate.edu
or by mailing them to: CSREES/ARS
Listening Session; c/o Dr. Pat Kendall; Colorado State University;
Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition-1571; Fort
Collins, CO
80523-1571. Please provide three copies of the written presentations.
Presentations also may be faxed to Dr. Kendall at (970) 491-7252.
Information gathered from the Listening Session will be available
for review on the CSREES Web page (http://www.reeusda.gov).
Background on Listening Sessions and CSREES Programs
Section 102(b) of AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7612) requires that CSREES
and
ARS, in establishing priorities for agricultural research,
extension,
and education activities conducted or funded by CSREES and
ARS, solicit
and consider input and recommendations from persons who conduct
or use
agricultural research, extension, or education. As part of
this ongoing
effort, CSREES and ARS conduct listening sessions to solicit
input and
comments on the effectiveness of the existing agricultural
research,
education and extension programs administered by CSREES and
ARS in
meeting current and future challenges in the food and agricultural
sciences.
Section 1402 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension,
and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), 7 U.S.C. 3101, specifies
that
the purposes of agricultural research, extension, and education
are to
(1) enhance the competitiveness of the United States agriculture
and
food industry in an increasingly competitive world environment;
(2)
increase the long-term productivity of the United States agriculture
and food industry while maintaining and enhancing the natural
resource
base on which rural America and the United States agricultural
economy
depend; (3) develop new uses and new products for agricultural
commodities, such as alternative fuels, and develop new crops;
(4)
support agricultural research and extension to promote economic
opportunity in rural communities and to meet the increasing
demand for
information and technology transfer throughout the United
States
agriculture industry; (5) improve risk management in the United
States
agriculture industry; (6) improve the safe production and
processing
of, and adding of value to, United States food and fiber resources
using methods that maintain the balance between yield and
environmental
soundness; (7) support higher education in agriculture to
give the next
generation of Americans the knowledge, technology, and applications
necessary to enhance the competitiveness of United States
agriculture;
and (8) maintain an adequate, nutritious, and safe supply
of food to
meet human nutritional needs and requirements.
Section 1404 of NARETPA, 7 U.S.C. 3103, defines ``Food and
Agricultural Sciences'' as meaning basic, applied, and developmental
research, extension, and teaching activities in food and fiber,
agricultural, renewable natural resources, forestry, and physical
and
social sciences, including activities relating to the following:
(1)
Animal health, production, and well-being, (2) plant health
and
production, (3) animal and plant germplasm collection and
preservation,
(4) aquaculture, (5) food safety, (6) soil and water conservation
and
improvement, (7) forestry, horticulture, and range management,
(8)
nutritional sciences and promotion, (9) farm enhancement,
including
financial management, input efficiency, and profitability,
(10) home
economics, (11) rural human ecology, (12) youth development
and
agricultural education, including 4-H clubs, (13) expansion
of domestic
and international markets for agricultural commodities and
products,
including agricultural trade barrier identification and analysis,
(14)
information management and technology transfer related to
agriculture,
(15) biotechnology related to agriculture, and (16) the processing,
distributing, marketing, and utilization of food and agricultural
products.
CSREES currently supports agricultural research, extension
and
education activities through a broad array of programs which
includes
both formula funded and competitively awarded grant programs.
The
formula funded programs include the agricultural research
programs
authorized under the Hatch Act (7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.) for
the State
Agricultural Experiment Stations; section 1445 of NARETPA
(7 U.S.C.
3222) for the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions including Tuskegee
University, and West Virginia State College; the McIntire-Stennis
Cooperative Forestry Act (16 U.S.C. 582a et seq.); and section
1433 of
NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3195) for the Animal Health and Disease
Research
program. The agricultural extension programs are funded under
section 3
of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343) for the cooperative
extension
services at the 1862 Land-Grant Institutions; section 3(d)
of the
Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) for targeted, national programs;
and
section 1444 of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3221) for the 1890 Land-Grant
Institutions including Tuskegee University, and West Virginia
State
College. Section 534(a) of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant
Status
Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note) authorizes funding for the
1994
Institutions to strengthen their teaching programs in food
and
agricultural sciences.
The CSREES competitive grant programs include the National
Research
Initiative authorized under section 2(b) of the Competitive,
Special,
and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i); the Initiative
for
Future Agriculture and Food Systems authorized under section
401 of
AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7621); the Integrated Research, Education,
and
Extension Competitive Grants Program authorized under section
406 of
AREERA (7 U.S.C. 7626); the Food and Agricultural Sciences
National
Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program authorized under
section
1417(b)(6) of NARETPA (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)); the Higher Education
Challenge Grants Program authorized under section 1417(b)(1)
of NARETPA
(7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(1)); the Secondary Agriculture Education
Challenge
Grants Program authorized under section 1417(j) of NARETPA
(7 U.S.C.
3152(j)); and the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Education
Grants
Program authorized under section 1455 of NAREPTA (7 U.S.C.
3241). In
addition, sections 535 and 536 of the Equity in Educational
Land-Grant
Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note) authorize competitive
capacity
building and research grant programs for the 1994 Institutions.
Further
information about CSREES grant programs is available through
the CSREES
Web page at http://www.reeusda.gov
as the above list of CSREES grant
programs is not exhaustive.
A majority of the agricultural research, extension, and education
activities funded by CSREES are conducted through the 1862
Land-Grant
Institutions which were established under the First Morrill
Act (7
U.S.C. 301 et seq.); the 1890 Land-Grant Institutions under
the Second
Morrill Act (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.); and the 1994 Institutions
under the
Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C.
301
note).
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the in-house research
agency of
[[Page 35843]]
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Authority for
ARS research
is derived from the Department of Agriculture Organic Act
of 1862 (7
U.S.C. 2201), which established the Department of Agriculture.
The
scope of USDA's agricultural research programs has been expanded
and
extended many times since the Department was first created.
Today ARS
has a workforce of approximately 8,000 employees including
2,000
scientists representing a wide range of disciplines. ARS conducts
1,200
research projects at over 100 locations across the country
and at four
overseas laboratories. The National Agricultural Library and
the
National Arboretum are also part of ARS.
ARS conducts research to develop and transfer solutions to
agricultural problems of high national priority and provides
information access and dissemination to (1) Ensure high-quality,
safe
food and other agricultural products, (2) assess the nutritional
needs
of americans, (3) sustain a competitive agricultural economy,
(4)
enhance the natural resource base and the environment, and
(5) provide
economic opportunities for rural citizens, communities, and
society as
a whole.
To achieve these objectives, ARS research projects are divided
into
National Programs. Currently, ARS research is organized into
22
National Programs which are described in detail on the ARS
Web site at
http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/.
ARS also works to ensure the timely
transfer of new knowledge and technologies to potential users.
ARS
seeks to broaden public understanding of the value of agriculture
and
agricultural research to ensure the continued primacy of the
U.S.
agriculture in the 21st century. Program direction related
specifically
to food safety programs can be found at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov/programs/programs.htm?NPNUMBER=108
.
Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of June, 2003.
Joseph J. Jen,
Under Secretary, Research, Education, and Economics.
[FR Doc. 03-15275 Filed 6-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P
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