Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements for Human Food and Cosmetics Manufactured From, Processed With, or Otherwise Containing Material From Cattle

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) is announcing an opportunity for public comment on the proposed collection of certain information by the Agency. Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), Federal Agencies are required to publish notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, and to allow 60 days for public comment in response to the notice. This notice solicits comments on the information collection provisions of existing FDA regulations concerning FDA-regulated human food, including dietary supplements, and cosmetics manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise containing material derived from cattle.

DATES:

Either electronic or written comments on the collection of information must be submitted by October 10, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments as follows. Please note that late, untimely filed comments will not be considered. The https://www.regulations.gov electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time at the end of October 10, 2023. Comments received by mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be considered timely if they are received on or before that date.

Electronic Submissions

Submit electronic comments in the following way:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment does not include any confidential information that you or a third party may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.

• If you want to submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner detailed (see “Written/Paper Submissions” and “Instructions”).

Written/Paper Submissions

Submit written/paper submissions as follows:

• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA–305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

• For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, as confidential, if submitted as detailed in “Instructions.”

Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. FDA–2023–N–2853 for “Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements for Human Food and Cosmetics Manufactured From, Processed With, or Otherwise Containing Material From Cattle.” Received comments, those filed in a timely manner (see ADDRESSES ), will be placed in the docket and, except for those submitted as “Confidential Submissions,” publicly viewable at https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, 240–402–7500.

• Confidential Submissions—To submit a comment with confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states “THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.” The Agency will review this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in its consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your comments and you must identify this information as “confidential.” Any information marked as “confidential” will not be disclosed except in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.

Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://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 Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852, 240–402–7500.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Amber Sanford, Office of Operations, Food and Drug Administration, Three White Flint North, 10A–12M, 11601 Landsdown St., North Bethesda, MD 20852, 301–796–8867, PRAStaff@fda.hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521), Federal Agencies must obtain approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they conduct or sponsor. “Collection of information” is defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 1320.3(c) and includes Agency requests or requirements that members of the public submit reports, keep records, or provide information to a third party. Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the PRA (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)) requires Federal Agencies to provide a 60-day notice in the Federal Register concerning each proposed collection of information, including each proposed extension of an existing collection of information, before submitting the collection to OMB for approval. To comply with this requirement, FDA is publishing notice of the proposed collection of information set forth in this document.

With respect to the following collection of information, FDA invites comments on these topics: (1) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA's functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.

Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements for Human Food and Cosmetics Manufactured From, Processed With, or Otherwise Containing Material From Cattle— 21 CFR 189.5 and 700.27

OMB Control Number 0910–0623—Extension

This information collection supports FDA regulations in §§ 189.5 and 700.27 (21 CFR 189.5 and 700.27), which set forth bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)-related restrictions applicable to FDA-regulated human food and cosmetics. The regulations designate certain materials from cattle as “prohibited cattle materials,” including specified risk materials (SRMs), the small intestine of cattle not otherwise excluded from being a prohibited cattle material, material from nonambulatory disabled cattle, and mechanically separated (MS) beef. Sections 189.5(c) and 700.27(c) set forth the requirements for recordkeeping and records access for FDA-regulated human food, including dietary supplements, and cosmetics manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise containing material derived from cattle. FDA issued these recordkeeping regulations under the adulteration provisions in sections 402(a)(2)(C), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5), 601(c), and 701(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) (21 U.S.C. 342(a)(2)(C), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5), 361(c), and 371(a)). Under section 701(a) of the FD&C Act, we are authorized to issue regulations for the FD&C Act's efficient enforcement. With regard to records concerning imported human food and cosmetics, FDA relied on our authority under sections 701(b) and 801(a) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 371(b) and 381(a)). Section 801(a) of the FD&C Act provides requirements with regard to imported human food and cosmetics and provides for refusal of admission of human food and cosmetics that appear to be adulterated into the United States. Section 701(b) of the FD&C Act authorizes the Secretaries of Treasury and Health and Human Services to jointly prescribe regulations for the efficient enforcement of section 801 of the FD&C Act.

These requirements are necessary because once materials are separated from an animal it may not be possible, without records, to know the following: (1) whether cattle material may contain SRMs (brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of the tail, the transverse processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum), and dorsal root ganglia from animals 30 months and older and tonsils and distal ileum of the small intestine from all animals of all ages); (2) whether the source animal for cattle material was inspected and passed; (3) whether the source animal for cattle material was nonambulatory disabled, or MS beef; and (4) whether tallow in human food or cosmetics contain less than 0.15 percent insoluble impurities.

FDA's regulations in §§ 189.5(c) and 700.27(c) require that manufacturers and processors of human food and cosmetics manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise containing material from cattle establish and maintain records sufficient to demonstrate that the human food or cosmetics are not manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise contain prohibited cattle materials. These records must be retained for 2 years at the manufacturing or processing establishment or at a reasonably accessible location. Maintenance of electronic records is acceptable, and electronic records are considered to be reasonably accessible if they are accessible from an onsite location. Records required by these sections and existing records relevant to compliance with these sections must be available to FDA for inspection and copying. Existing records may be used if they contain all of the required information and are retained for the required time period.

Because we do not easily have access to records maintained at foreign establishments, FDA regulations in §§ 189.5(c)(6) and 700.27(c)(6), respectively, require that when filing for entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the importer of record of human food or cosmetics manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise containing, cattle material must affirm that the human food or cosmetics were manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise contains, cattle material and must affirm that the human food or cosmetics were manufactured in accordance with the applicable requirements of §§ 189.5 or 700.27. In addition, if human food or cosmetics were manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise contains cattle material, the importer of record must provide within 5 business days records sufficient to demonstrate that the human food or cosmetics were not manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise contains prohibited cattle material, if requested.

Under FDA's regulations, we may designate a country from which cattle materials inspected and passed for human consumption are not considered prohibited cattle materials, and their use does not render human food or cosmetics adulterated. Sections 189.5(e) and 700.27(e) provide that a country seeking to be designated must send a written request to the Director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The information the country is required to submit includes information about a country's BSE case history, risk factors, measures to prevent the introduction and transmission of BSE, and any other information relevant to determining whether SRMs, the small intestine of cattle not otherwise excluded from being a prohibited cattle material, material from nonambulatory disabled cattle, or MS beef from the country seeking designation should be considered prohibited cattle materials. We use the information to determine whether to grant a request for designation and to impose conditions if a request is granted.

Sections 189.5 and 700.27 further state that countries designated under §§ 189.5(e) and 700.27(e) will be subject to future review by FDA to determine whether their designations remain appropriate. As part of this process, we may ask designated countries to confirm their BSE situation and the information submitted by them, in support of their original application, has remained unchanged. We may revoke a country's designation if we determine that it is no longer appropriate. Therefore, designated countries may respond to periodic FDA requests by submitting information to confirm their designations remain appropriate. We use the information to ensure their designations remain appropriate.

Description of Respondents: Respondents to this information collection include manufacturers, processors, and importers of FDA-regulated human food, including dietary supplements, and cosmetics manufactured from, processed with, or otherwise containing material derived from cattle, as well as, with regard to §§ 189.5(e) and 700.27(e), foreign governments seeking designation under those regulations.

We estimate the burden of this collection of information as follows:

Based on a review of the information collection since our last request for OMB approval, we have made no adjustments to our burden estimate.