
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 69603-69604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27644]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

21 CFR Parts 1 and 16

[Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0146]
RIN 0910-AG66


Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies To 
Conduct Food Safety Audits and To Issue Certifications; Extension of 
Comment Periods

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Proposed rule; extension of comment period for the proposed 
rule and for its information collection provisions.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is extending the 
comment period for the proposed rule, and for the information 
collection related to the proposed rule entitled ``Accreditation of 
Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits 
and to Issue Certifications'' that appeared in the Federal Register of 
July 29, 2013. We are taking this action in response to requests for an 
extension to allow interested persons an opportunity to consider the 
interrelationship between this proposed rule and the proposed rule 
announced in October 2013 entitled ``Current Good Manufacturing 
Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for 
Food for Animals.'' We also are taking this action to keep the comment 
period for the information collection provisions associated with the 
rule consistent with the comment period for the proposed rule.

DATES: For the proposed rule published on July 29, 2013 (78 FR 45782), 
submit either electronic or written comments by January 27, 2014. 
Submit comments on information collection issues under the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (the PRA) by January 27, 2014 (see the 
``Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995'' section of this document).

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. FDA-2011-
N-0146 and/or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 0910-AG66, by any of 
the following methods, except that comments on information collection 
issues under the PRA must be submitted to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (see the 
``Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995'' section of this document).

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

Written Submissions

    Submit written submissions in the following ways:
     Mail/Hand delivery/Courier (for paper or CD-ROM 
submissions): Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Agency 
name, Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0146, and RIN 0910-AG66 for this 
rulemaking. All comments received may be posted without change to 
http://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For additional information on submitting comments, see the 
``Request for Comments'' heading of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this document.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
comments received, go to http://www.regulations.gov and insert the 
docket number, found in brackets in the heading of this document, into 
the ``Search'' box and follow the prompts and/or go to the Division of 
Dockets Management, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    With regard to the proposed rule: Charlotte Christin, Center for 
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 
New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 32, Rm. 4234, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, 
240-402-3708.
    With regard to the information collection: Domini Bean, Office of 
Information Management, Food and

[[Page 69604]]

Drug Administration, 1350 Piccard Dr., PI50-400T, Rockville, MD 20850, 
Domini.Bean@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    In the Federal Register of July 29, 2013 (78 FR 45782), we 
published a proposed rule entitled ``Accreditation of Third-Party 
Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to 
Issue Certifications'' with a 120-day comment period on the provisions 
of the proposed rule and on the information collection provisions that 
are subject to review by OMB under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520).
    FDA has received requests for an extension of the comment period on 
the proposed rule to allow interested persons an opportunity to 
consider the interrelationship between this proposed rule and the 
proposed rule entitled ``Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard 
Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals'' (78 
FR 64736, October 29, 2013). FDA has considered the requests and is 
granting a 60-day extension of the comment period for the 
``Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/Certification Bodies to Conduct 
Food Safety Audits and to Issue Certifications'' proposed rule to allow 
interested persons an opportunity to consider the interrelationships 
between the proposed rules. We also are extending the comment period 
for the information collection provisions for 60 days to make the 
comment period for the information collection provisions the same as 
the comment period for the provisions of the proposed rule. To clarify, 
FDA is requesting comment on all issues raised by the proposed rule.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    Interested persons may either submit electronic comments regarding 
the information collection to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or fax 
written comments to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
OMB, Attn: FDA Desk Officer, FAX: 202-395-7285. All comments should be 
identified with the title ``Accreditation of Third-Party Auditors/
Certification Bodies to Conduct Food Safety Audits and to Issue 
Certifications.''

III. Request for Comments

    Interested persons may submit either electronic comments regarding 
the proposed rule to http://www.regulations.gov or written comments to 
the Division of Dockets Management (see ADDRESSES). It is only 
necessary to send one set of comments. Identify comments with the 
docket number found in brackets in the heading of this document. 
Received comments may be seen in the Division of Dockets Management 
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will be posted to 
the docket at http://www.regulations.gov.

    Dated: November 13, 2013.
Leslie Kux,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-27644 Filed 11-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-P


