New Hotline for State and Local Public Health Officials.

Many state and local regulators have expressed frustration with their efforts to get advice and assistance from federal regulators. To address this problem, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has developed a hotline-type advisory service.

The Interagency Regulators' Information Line (IRIL) was launched on September 20, 1999, to respond to questions about products under FSIS jurisdiction: meat, poultry, and egg products. Topics on which IRIL can provide information include the slaughter of animals; the processing of products from those animals; and the handling of such products during transportation, storage, retail, and food service operations. Inquiries about matters outside USDA's jurisdiction are referred to the appropriate agency.

Immediate answers are provided when possible; otherwise, IRIL staff try to provide an answer within 24 hours. The answers are intended to be informational and advisory only. They are not binding upon a state or local agency that submits a question.

The IRIL staff have a variety of professional and technical expertise and include food technologists, veterinarians, and compliance officers. These personnel, in turn, have ready access to many other staff and information resources.

The Information Line fields inquiries by

* telephone (including voice mail), at [phone];

* fax, at [phone];

* e-mail, at [less than][e-mail][greater than]; and

* mail, at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Field Operations, Technical Service Center, Suite 300, Landmark Center, 1299 Farnam Street, Omaha, NE 68102.

The goal is for the Information Line to become a trusted resource for state and local food safety agencies. Also, information gleaned from state and local agencies can provide FSIS with a real-time early warning of food safety and regulatory issues that have implications across multiple jurisdictions.