Relative Risk to Public Health From Foodborne Listeria Monocytogenes Among Selected Categories of Ready-to-Eat Foods; Draft Risk Assessment Document and Risk Management Action Plan; Availability; Extension of Comment Period

Résumé

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in cooperation with the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published a notice of availability of a draft risk assessment on the relationship between foodborne Listeria monocytogenes and human health and a proposed risk management action plan for L. monocytogenes in the Federal Register of January 19, 2001 (66 FR 5515). Interested persons were given until March 20, 2001, with an extension to May 21, 2001 (66 FR 13545), to comment on these documents. The LM Working Group has requested a second extension of the comment period in part to collect and review new data and to evaluate the model and the appropriateness of the new data to improve the assessment. In response, FDA and USDA/ FSIS are extending the comment period to July 18, 2001; however, the agencies do not anticipate further extensions of the comment period for these draft documents.