[Federal Register: October 25, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 207)]
[Notices]
[Page 63840-63841]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25oc00-41]
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[[Page 63840]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Agricultural Marketing Service
[PY-00-001]
U.S. Trade Descriptions for Poultry
AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of publication of U.S. Trade Description Tentative
Standards for Poultry with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is publishing the
United States (U.S.) Trade Descriptions for Poultry. The U.S. Trade
Descriptions for Poultry establish voluntary trade standards for ready-
to-cook chicken products produced in the U.S. The descriptions are
intended to facilitate wholesale trading of poultry by providing a tool
to better communicate product and packaging requirements among buyers
and sellers. Comments are requested regarding the description's
effectiveness, ease of use, and technical accuracy.
DATES: Use of the descriptions will begin on October 25, 2000 and will
continue until AMS makes a final determination about the usefulness of
the tentative standards. Comments must be received on or before April
23, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions and written comments may be
submitted to David Bowden, Chief, Standardization Branch, Poultry
Programs, Agricultural Marketing Service, United States Department of
Agriculture, Room 3944-South Building, STOP 0259, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-0259; faxed to (202) 690-0941; or e-
mailed to pydocket@usda.gov. State that your comments refer to Docket
No. PY-00-001. Comments received may be viewed over the Internet at
www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/regulations/rulemaking/index.htm
or at the address above between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Copies of the tentative U.S. Trade Descriptions for Poultry are
available over the Internet at www.ams.usda.gov/poultry/regulations/
rulemaking/index.htm or by writing the address above, by faxing (202)
690-0941, or by phoning (202) 720-3506. A fee will be charged for color
copies of the standard to recover the cost of printing and
distribution.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1621
et seq.) authorizes USDA to develop and maintain agricultural commodity
standards to facilitate the domestic and international trading of U.S.
agricultural products. In 1998, the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council,
an industry trade organization, expressed interest in having AMS
develop voluntary U.S. standards to facilitate the domestic and
international wholesale trading of ready-to-cook poultry produced in
the United States. AMS is calling these standards ``U.S. Trade
Descriptions for Poultry'' and will maintain them as AMS 71.
Currently, AMS maintains voluntary standards that define quality
grade levels for poultry products by limiting or excluding product
defects such as broken or disjointed bones, exposed flesh, meat and
skin discoloration, and freezing defects. AMS 71 U.S. Trade
Descriptions for Poultry differ from these standards in that they
describe the composition of poultry products by defining
characteristics such as which parts of the bird are included, whether
bone and skin are present, and how the product is packaged and packed.
The two standards may be used in conjunction with each other.
Although AMS intends to develop trade descriptions for all commonly
traded poultry products, descriptions for ready-to-cook chicken
products are the first to be available for industry use. These
standards consist of word and picture descriptions for over 70 chicken
product styles and define a numeric coding system that communicates
product and packaging characteristics for products to be traded. The
descriptions were developed in cooperation with the poultry industry,
including national industry organizations.
A seller may self-certify that delivered product satisfies all
product and packaging characteristics of the trade description
specified by the buyer. For additional assurance, however, the buyer or
seller may request that AMS examine and officially certify that the
product meets the specified U.S. trade description requirements. The
AMS Poultry Grading Service has procedures for certifying that products
meet the requirements of the U.S. trade descriptions. This service is
available for both officially graded and non-graded products.
AMS believes that the effectiveness and usefulness of a new
standard will be best determined through industry use. For this reason,
AMS is providing interested parties with 180 days to comment on their
effectiveness, ease of use, and technical accuracy.
After the comment period has closed, the Agency will evaluate
comments received and other information to determine if the tentative
U.S. Trade Descriptions for Poultry should be modified or become
official. Once determined, the Agency's decision will be published as a
notice in the Federal Register.
AMS encourages high-volume wholesale buyers and sellers of chicken
to use the tentative standards to define the products they trade. They
can do so by obtaining a copy of the trade descriptions and using the
product definitions and numeric codes in the trade descriptions to
identify all product and packaging requirements for the products they
wish to trade. This code can then be incorporated into the contract
with wording such as ``Product and packaging shall meet requirements of
U.S. Trade Description No. 70101-13-11140001270-1*01100114-184001816-
0.'' An Internet web site will be developed by AMS to provide on-line,
interactive assistance with the specification and documentation
process.
Interested parties can obtain further information or assistance in
the use of the trade descriptions by contacting the Poultry Programs
Standardization Branch by e-mail (Carmen.Humphrey@usda.gov), fax (202
690-0941), or phone (202 720-3506).
[[Page 63841]]
Dated: October 18, 2000.
Kathleen A. Merrigan,
Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 00-27412 Filed 10-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-02-P
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