Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Threshold of Regulation for Substances Used in Food-Contact Articles

AGENCY:

Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing that the proposed collection of information listed below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Submit written comments on the collection of information by January 25, 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Submit written comments on the collection of information to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, New Executive Office Bldg., 725 17th St. NW., rm. 10235, Washington, DC 20503, Attn: Wendy Taylor, Desk Officer for FDA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Peggy Schlosburg, Office of Information Resources Management (HFA-250), Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20857, 301-827-1223.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

In compliance with 44 U.S.C. 3507, FDA has submitted the following proposed collection of information to OMB for review and clearance.

Threshold of Regulation for Substances used in Food-Contact Articles--21 CFR 170.39 (OMB Control Number 0910-0298)—Extension

Under section 409(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the act) (21 U.S.C. 348(a)), the use of a food additive is deemed unsafe unless: (1) It conforms to an exemption for investigational use under 409(j); (2) it conforms to the terms of a regulation prescribing its use; or (3) in the case of a food additive which meets the definition of a food-contact substance in section 409(h)(6), there is either a regulation authorizing its use in accordance with section 409(a)(3)(A) or an effective notification in accordance with section 409(a)(3)(B).

In the Federal Register of July 17, 1995 (60 FR 36582), § 170.39 (21 CFR 170.39) established a process that provides the manufacturer with an opportunity to demonstrate that the likelihood or extent of migration to food of a substance used in a food-contact article is so trivial that the use need not be the subject of a food additive listing regulation or an effective notification. The agency has established two thresholds for the regulation of substances used in food-contact articles. The first exempts those substances used in food-contact articles where the resulting dietary concentration would be at or below 0.5 parts per billion. The second exempts regulated direct food additives for use in food-contact articles where the resulting dietary exposure is 1 percent or less of the acceptable daily intake for these substances.

In order to determine whether the intended use of a substance in a food-contact article meets the threshold criteria, certain information specified in § 170.39(c) must be submitted to FDA. This information includes: (1) The chemical composition of the substance for which the request is made; (2) detailed information on the conditions of use of the substance; (3) a clear statement of the basis for the request for exemption from regulation as a food additive; (4) data that will enable FDA to estimate the daily dietary concentration resulting from the proposed use of the substance; (5) results of a literature search for toxicological data on the substance and its impurities; and (6) information on the environmental impact that would result from the proposed use.

FDA uses this information to determine whether the food-contact article meets the threshold criteria. Respondents to this information collection are individual manufacturers and suppliers of substances used in food-contact articles (i.e., food packaging and food processing equipment) or of the articles themselves.

In the Federal Register of September 19, 2000 (65 FR 56585), the agency requested comments on the proposed collection of information. No comments were received.

FDA estimates the burden of this collection of information as follows:

The above annual reporting estimate is based on information received from representatives of the food packaging and processing industries and on agency records. In the past, FDA has typically received 60 threshold of regulation exemption requests per year.

However, it is estimated that up to 90 percent of the requests that would have previously been submitted under § 170.39 will now be submitted under the premarket notification process for food-contact substances established by section 409(h) of the act.