FSIS Notice 16-13

FSIS Notice 16-13
Preparations for Industry Access to the Public Health Information System (PHIS)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE
WASHINGTON, DC
16-13 2/22/13 FSIS NOTICE
PREPARATIONS FOR INDUSTRY ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH
INFORMATION SYSTEM (PHIS)

I. PURPOSE
This notice makes inspection program personnel (IPP) and import inspection personnel aware of the
upcoming industry access to the Public Health Information System (PHIS) and instructs IPP and import
inspection personnel to inform establishment management of the upcoming opportunity to access PHIS. It
also instructs IPP and import inspection personnel to ask establishment management to provide the name
and contact information of their designated Establishment Administrator, and to enter that information in
the establishment’s PHIS profile.
II. BACKGROUND
FSIS began implementation of PHIS in April, 2011 with the domestic inspection module. Since then, FSIS
has continued the phased implementation of other PHIS components. In June, 2012, FSIS implemented
the import inspection module of PHIS. From the initial conception of PHIS, FSIS has intended to offer
direct access to representatives of official meat and poultry establishments and official import inspection
establishments to facilitate the transfer of information from PHIS to establishment management and to
facilitate official communication between FSIS and establishment management. In early 2012, FSIS
granted access to PHIS on a pilot basis to a representative sample of establishments. Based on the
feedback received during that pilot, FSIS improved the industry component of PHIS and tested those
improvements in a second pilot in late 2012. FSIS will begin allowing establishments to initiate PHIS
access on February 25, 2013. In a recent letter to industry, FSIS asked establishment management to
provide the name and email address of the designated Establishment Administrator to IPP or import
inspection personnel in writing to facilitate accurate recording of the information in PHIS.
III. AWARENESS MEETING
A. IPP and import inspection personnel are to meet with establishment management to discuss the
contents of this Notice either at the next weekly meeting or at another meeting within a week of receiving
the Notice. IPP and import inspection personnel are to discuss the following information with
establishment management and document the discussion in a Memorandum of Interview (MOI) as
described in FSIS Directive 5000.1:
1. FSIS will be implementing industry access to PHIS beginning on February 25, 2013 according to
the schedule below;
DISTRIBUTION: Electronic NOTICE EXPIRES: 3/1/14 OPI: OPPD PHIS access will roll out for domestic meat and poultry establishments in the District Offices (DOs)
as listed below. PHIS access will be available for all official import establishments on March 18,
2013.
OFO Districts States Implementation Date
Alameda Arizona, California, Nevada February 25, 2013
Atlanta Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico,
South Carolina, Virgin Islands
March 4, 2013
Chicago Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,
Ohio
March 11, 2013
Dallas Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma, Texas
March 11, 2013
Denver Alaska, American Samoa,
Colorado, Idaho, Guam,
Hawaii, Northern Mariana
Islands, Montana, Nebraska,
Oregon, Utah, Washington,
Wyoming
March 18, 2013
Des Moines Iowa, Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota,
Wisconsin
March 18, 2013
All Official Import
Establishments
Nationwide March 18, 2013
Jackson Alabama, Kentucky,
Mississippi, Tennessee
March 25, 2013
Philadelphia Connecticut, Massachusetts,
Maine, Hew Hampshire, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont
March 25, 2013
Raleigh Delaware, District of Columbia,
Maryland, North Carolina, New
Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia
April 1, 2013
Springdale Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri April 1, 2013
2. If establishment management chooses to access PHIS, they will be able to perform the following
activities through the PHIS application:
a. Review, respond to, or appeal noncompliance records electronically;
b. Review, export, or print reports of certain establishment-specific data, including inspection
results and lab sample results;
c. Review, export or print a report of the PHIS profile for the establishment, which includes the
following categories of information about the establishment:
i. General information such as location, FSIS District and Circuit, Size, Inspection
Activities, and Jurisdiction;
ii. Active HACCP process categories;
iii. Inspection grants;
iv. Approved operating schedule and pre-op sanitation schedule;
2 v. Mailing and shipping addresses;
vi. Parent Company;
vii. Establishment contact personnel;
viii. Product groups and estimated production volumes;
ix. Active inspection tasks;
x. Basic information about hazard analyses at the establishment; and
xi. Slaughter lines, if applicable.
3. Even if establishment management chooses not to access PHIS, they can receive notification of
noncompliance records (NRs) via email by providing a valid email address and asking IPP and
import inspection personnel to mark the “NR Notification” check box for the applicable
establishment representative(s) on the Contacts page of the Establishment Profile in PHIS;
4. Establishments can elect to enroll in PHIS at a later date if they choose not to enroll at this time;
5. If establishment management informs IPP and inspection program personnel that they do not
intend to enroll in PHIS at this time, IPP and inspection program personnel are to document the
information in the MOI;
6. If the establishment wishes to access PHIS, it must:
a. Have Internet access using one of the supported Web browsers. PHIS is a Web-based
application that requires Internet access. The PHIS User Guide for Industry, available at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PHIS/index.asp, lists the Web browsing software supported by
PHIS;
b. Designate an individual to serve as the Establishment Administrator in PHIS. This
individual will then be responsible for administering PHIS roles for other representatives of
the establishment. Once he or she enrolls in PHIS as the Establishment Administrator, this
individual will be able to approve enrollment for up to two additional Establishment
Administrators as well as other establishment users that have roles in PHIS. Each
establishment can have up to 3 Establishment Administrators at one time. At this time, any
individual can be enrolled in PHIS for only one establishment at a time;
c. Ensure that the individual designated to serve as the Establishment Administrator has
access to a valid email address to receive PHIS-related communication from FSIS; and
d. Obtain Level 2 eAuthentication credentials for any individual who wishes to access PHIS.
Industry can find information about obtaining Level 2 eAuthentication credentials in a letter
to industry about PHIS from the FSIS Administrator on the FSIS Web site. If establishment
management is not familiar with the industry letter, IPP and import inspection personnel are
to provide this link to establishment management:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/phis/PHIS_Letter_120210_Almanza/index.asp .
7. To set up an Establishment Administrator account in PHIS, establishment management will need
to follow these steps:
a. Provide the name, work phone number, and email address of the individual who will be the
Establishment Administrator to IPP or import inspection personnel assigned to the
establishment. The IPP or import inspection personnel will record the desired
Establishment Administrator in the establishment profile of PHIS (see instructions below).
The name and email address must be the same ones the individual used to register for
Level 2 eAuthentication;
3 b. The designated Establishment Administrator will then log into the PHIS Web site
(https://phis.fsis.usda.gov) using his or her Level 2 eAuthentication credentials to request
enrollment in PHIS; and
c. PHIS will validate the request by comparing the user’s Level 2 eAuthentication account
information to the contact information for the Establishment Administrator contact type in
the PHIS Establishment Profile. If they match, PHIS will immediately grant the user the role
of Establishment Administrator in PHIS.
8. If establishment management later needs to change the Establishment Administrator, the existing
Establishment Administrator can grant that role to another individual. If for some reason the
existing Establishment Administrator is unable to perform that function, then the establishment can
repeat the steps above for a different individual to enroll as Establishment Administrator;
9. The PHIS User Guide for Industry, available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PHIS/index.asp,
provides instructions for establishments on how to use PHIS;
10. If establishment management encounters problems with the PHIS enrollment process, they can
contact the FSIS Service Desk at 1-800-473-9135 and follow the prompts: Press “1” for problems
concerning PHIS, then Press “2” for PHIS establishment management experiencing application
problems;
11. If establishment management encounters problems with eAuthentication, they can contact the
USDA eAuth Help Desk at eAuthHelpDesk@ftc.usda.gov or 1-800-457-3642; and
12. If establishment management has concerns that IPP or import inspection personnel are not
recording the designated Establishment Administrator’s contact information in PHIS in a timely
manner, they can raise that concern to the next level in the supervisory chain.
a. For meat and poultry establishments, the chain of command would be: Inspector-In-Charge
at the establishment; Frontline Supervisor, Deputy District Manager, and District Manager;
and
b. For import inspection establishments, the chain of command would be Import Inspector,
Regional Import Field Supervisor, Import Inspection Division Director.
IV. IPP AND IMPORT INSPECTION PERSONNEL UPDATE PROFILE
A. When the establishment provides the name of the individual who will serve as the first Establishment
Administrator, IPP and import inspection personnel are to record the Establishment Administrator as a
new contact with the contact type of “Establishment Administrator” on the Contacts page of the
establishment profile in PHIS. The individual may already be listed on the contacts page with one or more
other contact types, but IPP and import inspection personnel are to record the Establishment Administrator
as a new contact. IPP and import inspection personnel are to perform the following steps to enter the first
name, last name, phone number, and email address of the establishment’s designated Establishment
Administrator exactly as given by the establishment:
1. Select Establishment Profile/Select Establishment in the left navigation menu;
2. Find the desired establishment on the “My Establishments” tab and click the blue house icon to
open the profile for that establishment;
3. Select Establishment Profile/Contacts from the left navigation menu to open the contacts page for
4that establishment;
4. Confirm that the desired establishment is showing at the top of the contacts page;
5. Click on “Add New Contact” to open the Plant Contacts details page;
6. Select “Establishment Administrator” from the Position drop-down menu;
7. At a minimum, type the Establishment Administrator’s first name, last name, phone number, and
email address exactly as provided by establishment management in the appropriate fields. Record
additional information for the Establishment Administrator if requested by establishment
management; and
8. Click “Save” and verify that the new contact appears as expected in the list of plant contacts; and
B. Each establishment can have up to three Establishment Administrators listed at a time in PHIS.
However, IPP and import inspection personnel only need to enter the initial Establishment Administrator in
PHIS for enrollment validation. After that point, the initial Establishment Administrator will manage any
additional PHIS enrollment for the establishment. Other establishment roles managed by the initial
Establishment Administrator will not display in the Contacts page of the Establishment Profile.
V. DATA ANALYSIS
OCIO will periodically report the number of Industry Users using PHIS and the Industry-related service
desk tickets to assess the adoption and utilization of PHIS for industry users. DAIG will conduct ad hoc
analyses as requested.
VI. QUESTIONS
Refer questions regarding this notice to the Policy Development Division through askFSIS or by telephone
at 1-800-233-3935. When submitting a question, use the Submit a Question tab, and enter the following
information in the fields provided:
Subject Field: Enter FSIS Notice 16-13, or Industry access to PHIS.
Question Field: Enter your question with as much detail as possible.
Product Field: Select General Inspection Policy from the drop-down menu.
Category Field: Select Public Health Information System (PHIS) from the drop-down menu. Policy
Arena: Select Domestic (U.S.) Only or International (Import Export) from the drop-down
menu.
When all fields are complete, press the Submit button.
Assistant Administrator
Office of Policy and Program Development
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