• Misrepresenting that meat has been inspected, or misrepresenting inspection findings.
• Misrepresenting that meat has been processed at a licensed meat establishment, or is derived from carcasses inspected and passed by DATCP.
• Counterfeiting or misusing any meat inspection mark, label or marking device.
• Wrongfully removing a required mark or label from meat.
• Selling, transporting or storing improperly marked or labeled meat.
Meat Labels; Pre-approval
This rule eliminates the current requirement for DATCP pre-approval of meat labels, unless one of the following applies:
• The meat label makes health, quality or nutritional claims.
• The meat is derived from captive game animals or captive game birds.
• The meat label makes claims related to organizational membership or standards.
Meat Formulas
Under this rule, as under current law, DATCP must pre-approve meat product formulas for compliance with applicable requirements related to food safety and standards of identity.
Transporting Meat
Under this rule, a person must transport meat in a manner that keeps the meat wholesome and unadulterated. The internal temperatures of refrigerated products may not exceed 40° F. at the time of delivery. Transportation vehicles and facilities must be adequate to ensure proper sanitation and food safety, and must be kept in clean and sanitary condition.
Meat Brokers and Distributors
A “meat broker" is a person who, without taking title to meat, arranges the purchase or sale of meat. A “meat distributor" is a person who distributes meat at wholesale. Under this rule, as under current law, meat brokers and meat distributors must hold an annual registration certificate from DATCP. Meat brokers and distributors must apply in writing, on a form provided by DATCP. There is no fee.
Prohibited Practices
This rule prohibits a person from doing any of the following:
• Processing or selling, for human consumption, any unwholesome, adulterated or misbranded meat.
• Slaughtering any food animal, for human consumption, under unsanitary conditions.
• Processing, storing, handling, transporting or selling meat or meat food products, for human consumption, under unsanitary conditions.
• Making any false, deceptive or misleading statement, when submitting a food animal for slaughter, related to any of the following:
□The ownership, identity, origin or health status of the animal.
□The administration of any drug to the animal.
□The intended use of meat from the animal.
• Obstruct a DATCP employee performing his or her duties. Obstruction may include physical interference, verbal or physical abuse, threatening behavior or communications, or refusal to carry out legitimate directives.
Holding Orders, Condemnation Orders and Correction Orders
Under this rule, as under current law, an authorized DATCP employee may issue a holding order to prevent the sale or movement of suspect meat pending further examination to determine whether the meat is unwholesome, adulterated or misbranded. A holding order remains in effect for 14 days unless lifted. A holding order may be extended for up to 14 days.
Under this rule, as under current law, an authorized DATCP employee may issue an order condemning unwholesome, adulterated or misbranded meat if the owner or custodian cannot correct the problem or fails to do so.
Under this rule, as under current law, an authorized DATCP employee may issue an order requiring a person to correct unsanitary conditions and other law violations related to meat. DATCP may also prohibit the use of unsanitary equipment and utensils. An authorized DATCP employee may “tag" unsanitary equipment or utensils to prohibit their use.
Investigation and Enforcement
This rule refers to, but does not change, DATCP's current enforcement authority. DATCP may conduct inspections and other investigations to determine compliance with this rule. DATCP may exercise its authority under chs.
93 and
97, Stats., in support of its inspections and investigations. DATCP may deny, suspend or revoke a license or registration certificate for cause. DATCP may also prosecute violators in court (penalties are provided by statute).
Administrative Appeals
A person may ask DATCP to reconsider any of the following actions:
• The denial of any application for a license or registration certificate.
• Ante mortem or post mortem inspection findings.
• A holding order, condemnation order or correction order.
• A decision to deny, limit or withdraw slaughter inspection services.
• Slaughter inspection billings.
Whenever DATCP receives a request for reconsideration, DATCP must hold a prompt informal conference with the requester. Alternatively, if the matter concerns a slaughter inspection finding by an inspector who is not a veterinarian, DATCP may have a veterinarian review the inspector's finding. If the requester's dispute is not resolved, the requester may seek a “contested case" hearing under ch.
227, Stats., and ch.
ATCP 1.
Fiscal Estimate
This proposed rule change merges two existing rules and incorporates changes made in ch.
97, Stats. by 1999 Assembly Bill 133 which incorporated several sections of 9 CFR, the USDA Meat and Poultry Inspection rules and requirements. These changes include the following: eliminate prior approval for most labels, retain prior approval for formulas, include requirements for SSOP and HACCP, incorporate existing policies on game birds and animals as well as ratites, and eliminate language made redundant or conflicting with language adopted from 9 CFR into ch.
97, Stats.
The department anticipates no adverse financial impact on either the department or the regulated industry since the requirements for HACCP plans, SSOPs, and the associated records have already been implemented since January 2000, by the change to ch.
97, Stats. There should be no additional costs incurred by this proposed rule merger, since it only reflects and clarifies the situation that exists and will require only the one-time costs associated with the rulemaking of approximately $1000, consisting of printing, mailing and costs associated with holding hearings.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
This rule will not, by itself, have a major impact on small business. This rule merely implements state and federal law changes that have already been enacted. This rule also recodifies existing requirements, so they will be easier to read and understand. DATCP currently licenses, registers, and inspects about 500 meat and poultry establishments, mobile slaughterers, mobile processors and meat distributors. The establishments range from very small one and two-person operations to multi-product operations that manufacture and wholesale substantial amounts of meat and poultry products.
This rule incorporates current federal requirements under 9 CFR sections 307 to 311, 313 to 315, 317 to 319, 416, 417, and 381 subparts G, H, I, K, L, O and P. This is required by s.
97.42 (4m), Wis. Stats. and federal law, so that Wisconsin's meat inspection program will be “equal-to" the federal program.
These federal requirements will have negligible impact at this time because most have already been implemented in Wisconsin meat establishments. This rule does not require any additional plans, procedures or records.
This rule does all the following:
• Incorporates federal rules requiring hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plans and pathogen testing at meat establishments.
• Updates current rules and eliminates obsolete rules.
• Eliminates the need for prior approval of most meat labels.
• Continues to require prior approval of meat product formulations.
• Clarifies the requirements for the slaughter and processing of ratites, captive game birds and captive game animals.
These federal requirements have already been implemented in Wisconsin, and this rule imposes no additional testing or recordkeeping requirements. The department has already provided training to Wisconsin meat establishments to help them implement the new federal requirements that are incorporated, by reference, in this rule.
This rule will have a negligible impact on small business. It should not be necessary for licensed establishments to retain the services of a HACCP consultant, a bookkeeper or an attorney to comply with this rule.
Notice of Hearings
Commerce
(Fire Department Safety and Health, Ch.
Comm 30)
(reprinted to correct hearing time information)
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to s.
101.055 (3), Stats., the Department of Commerce announces that it will hold public hearings on proposed rules relating to fire department safety and health.
The public hearings will be held as follows:
Date and Time
|
Location
|
Tuesday, June 5, 2001
10:00 a.m.
|
Room 3B, Thompson
Commerce Center
201 W. Washington Avenue
Madison
|
Friday, June 8, 2001
11:00 a.m.
|
Room 105, Eau Claire State Office Building
718 W. Clairemont Avenue
Eau Claire
|
Interested persons are invited to appear at the hearings and present comments on the proposed rules. Persons making oral presentations are requested to submit their comments in writing. Persons submitting comments will not receive individual responses. The hearing record on this proposed rulemaking will remain open until June 22, 2001, to permit submittal of written comments from persons who are unable to attend a hearing or who wish to supplement testimony offered at a hearing. Written comments should be submitted to Ronald Acker, Department of Commerce, Program Development Bureau, P.O. Box 2689, Madison, WI 53701-2689.
These hearings are held in accessible facilities. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call (608) 266-8741 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY) at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as interpreters, English translators, or materials in audio tape format will, to the fullest extent possible, be made available upon request by a person with a disability.
The proposed rules and an analysis of the proposed rules are available on the Internet at the Safety and Buildings
Division website at:
www.commerce.state.wi.us/SB/SB-HomePage.
Paper copies may be obtained without cost from Roberta Ward, Department of Commerce, Program Development Bureau, P.O. Box 2689, Madison, WI 53701-2689, Email
rward@commerce.state.wi.us, telephone (608) 266-8741 or (608) 264-8777 (TTY). Copies will also be available at the public hearings.
Analysis of Proposed Rules
The Department of Commerce is responsible for adopting standards to protect the safety and health of public employees in the state of Wisconsin. The adopted standards must provide protection at least equivalent to that afforded to private sector employees under standards administered and enforced by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Chapter
Comm 32 currently contains general safety and health standards for all public sector employees, and ch.
Comm 30 contains additional safety and health standards for public sector fire department employees. The proposed rules consist of revisions in ch.
Comm 30.
The purpose, scope and application of ch.
Comm 30 are revised in order to clarify the coverage of the chapter and the relationship of ch.
Comm 32. All of the NFPA standards incorporated by reference in ch.
Comm 30 are updated to the current editions, and the rules for protective clothing and equipment are revised to reflect the new NFPA standard on protective ensemble for structural fire fighting.
The rule for the rescue of members is revised by clarifying the activities that the back-up team members may perform at the fire scene. The rule relating to the physical and medical capabilities of fire fighters is revised by requiring the employer, rather than the fire chief, to assure that fire fighters are physically capable of performing assigned duties. The proposed rules also include a new subchapter in order to clarify the ch.
Comm 32 requirements that apply to several miscellaneous emergency operations performed by fire departments.
The proposed rules have been developed with the assistance of the Fire Department Safety and Health Advisory Council. The members of that citizen advisory council are as follows:
Name
|
Representing
|
Todd Blaser
|
Fire & EMS Legislative Leadership Coalition
|
Michael Drury
|
Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin
|
John W. Fulcher
|
Wisconsin Society of Fire Service Instructors
|
Steven Krause
|
Wisconsin State Fire Fighters Assn.
|
Tim McGrath
|
Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Assn. (Career Dept.)
|
Randy Pickering
|
Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Assn. (Combination Dept.)
|
Carl Weber
|
Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs Assn. (Volunteer Dept.)
|
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Department has considered the environmental impact of the proposed rules. In accordance with ch.
Comm 1, the proposed rules are a Type III action. A Type III action normally does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects and normally does not involve unresolved conflicts in the use of available resources. The Department has reviewed these rules and finds no reason to believe that any unusual conditions exists. At this time, the Department has issued this notice to serve as a finding of no significant impact.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1. Types of small businesses that will be affected by the rules.
The proposed rules will not affect any small businesses as defined in section
227.114 (1) (a), Stats. The proposed rules apply to public sector employers and employees.
2. Reporting, bookkeeping and other procedures required for compliance with the rules.
Not applicable.
3. Types of professional skills necessary for compliance with the rules.
Not applicable.
Fiscal Estimate
The Safety and Buildings Division currently administers and enforces the provisions of ch.
Comm 30 as part of the public sector safety and health program. The proposed rules update and clarify the existing administrative rules now being enforced, and there are no new requirements to affect costs or revenues. Therefore, the proposed rules will not have any fiscal effect on the Division or on local governments.
Notice of Hearing
Health and Family Services
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to ss.
153.75 (1) and
227.11 (2) (a), Stats., the Department of Health and Family Services will hold a public hearing to consider the proposed revision of ch.
HFS 120, relating to the collection, analysis and dissemination of health care information.
Hearing Information
