The National Chicken Council today filed comments offering support of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) proposed rule entitled “Prior Label Approval System: Generic Label Approval,” which was published in the Federal Register on December 5. However, NCC did note in its comments that the proposed rule requires additional clarifications and refinements. NCC’s comments highlighted the cost and time associated with label approval as well as requesting clarification on the definition of “special statements or claims” to reflect the discussion in the preamble of the proposed rule. NCC also asked that FSIS extend generic approval to certain types of temporary approvals and to label approvals based on temporary labels. In addition, the comments requested that the agency clarify the inspector’s role, with a specific emphasis on ensuring any enforcement action be appropriately commensurate with the type of technical violation that would result from incorrect application of generic approval regulations and not be overly invasive into the production process.
A copy of the comments filed can be found here.