The FSIS is proposing to amend the meat, poultry products and egg products regulations to redefine the eight-hour working day, reports American Meat Institute. The proposal includes time that inspection programme personnel need to spend at the workplace donning and doffing required gear and time spent walking to and from their work-stations after donning required gear.

FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this proposed rule on or before 8 September 2010. Comments may be submitted online [click here] or by mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROMs, and hand- or courier-delivered items: Send to Docket Clerk, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), FSIS, Room 2-2127 George Washington Carver Center, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705.

To view the proposed rule in its entirety, click here.

To view the AMI memo on the topic, click here.