Notice is hereby given in accordance with § 2.2-4007.01 of the Code of Virginia that the State Board of Health intends to consider amending the following regulation: 12VAC5-165, Regulations for the Repacking of Crabmeat. The regulations pertain to the practice of transferring crab meat from the container of one establishment, as the term is defined in § 28.2-800 in the Code of Virginia, into the container of an establishment certified by the Division of Shellfish Sanitation to repack crab meat. These regulations were developed in 2000 to address a situation where one Virginia-certified crab meat dealer would purchase crab meat packed by another certified crab meat dealer, whether of a domestic or foreign origin, and repack the meat into a container. Most crab meat shipped into the United States now originates from a multitude of different processing facilities but is shipped in one cargo container by one exporter to the U.S. The one-on-one relationship between the original processing plant and the Virginia-certified dealer no longer exists in most instances. Several of the requirements that depended upon this relationship cannot be reliably met. The State Board of Health seeks to revise the regulations to reflect this change in order to assure the safety of crab meat repacked in Virginia.

The agency intends to hold a public hearing on the proposed action after publication in the Virginia Register.

Statutory Authority: § 28.2-801 of the Code of Virginia.

Public Comment Deadline: March 30, 2011.

Agency Contact: Bob Croonenberghs, Ph.D., Department of Health, 109 Governor St., Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 864-7477, FAX (804) 864-7481, or email bob.croonenberghs@vdh.virginia.gov.