Deadline Extended on Harvard BSE Risk Assessment

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has extended the comment period for the 2005 updated Harvard risk assessment of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to October 27, 2006 (see page 22 of August 2006 Render). The original comment period closed on August 11, 2006, but the agency extended that deadline in response to a comment that was submitted after FSIS held its July 25, 2006, technical meeting to provide information on the updated risk assessment model and report.

The comment submitted requested that the agency extend the comment period until 45 days from the day the transcript of the July meeting is publicly available. The agency agreed that the matters presented in the risk assessment are complex and extended the comment period for 45 days after it posted the transcript of the technical meeting on the FSIS Web site at www.fsis.usda.gov/pdf/bse_transcript_072506.pdf on September 12, 2006.


October 2006 Render