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Upcoming Public Meeting to Address Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, and the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are holding a public meeting to receive comments on agenda
items and draft U.S. positions for the 27th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission's Committee on Nutrition
and Foods for Special Dietary Uses to be held November 21-25, in Bonn, Germany.
The public meeting will be held at the FDA on October 18, from 1 - 4 p.m., in the auditorium of the Harvey Wiley
Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission's Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses was established to
study specific nutritional problems; draft general provisions concerning the nutritional aspects of all foods;
develop standards, guidelines or related information on foods for special dietary uses; and endorse provisions on
nutritional aspects proposed for inclusion in Codex standards.
Interested parties must pre-register and present a photo ID at the door. To pre-register, send your name, organization,
mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address to
nancy.crane@cfsan.fda.govby October 11.
For further information contact Nancy Crane, assistant to the U.S. Delegate to the Codex Committee, FDA, at (301) 436-1450
or by fax at (301) 436-2636. The agenda items and documents are also available electronically at www.codexalimentarius.net.
Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Ellen Matten, U.S. Codex
Office, at (202) 205-7760, or by fax at (202) 720-3157.
Food Safety 101: USDA Offers Food Safety Tips For College Students
It's that time of year again- back to school. College students begin packing the basics - TV, laptop, MP3 player
and cell phone. Many students will also arrive at school with a microwave oven, tabletop grill, mini-fridge and
toaster-oven in tow. Most students, however, don't know there are food safety considerations that need to be taken
into account when cooking with these appliances.
"Students face many rigors while studying for a college education and they often eat whenever and wherever it
is convenient," said Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Richard Raymond. "But when it comes to safely
preparing meals, many college kids simply don't know what it takes to make the grade in food safety and far too many
could end up with a foodborne illness."
FSIS offers tips to students and consumers on how to prevent foodborne illness. The USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline
regularly responds to calls from students with questions about how to safely cook and prepare foods while away at
school.
To ask food safety questions call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854). You may
speak with a food safety specialist - in English or Spanish - from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays
year round. The toll-free number for the hearing impaired (TTY) is 1-800-256-7072.
For more information visit: www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/NR_082405_01
Volunteers Wanted for Young Breeder Turkey HIMP Pilot
In response to a request from the National Turkey Federation, the Agency has decided to allow plants that slaughter
"young breeder" turkeys to participate in the HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP) pilot. The term
"young breeder" for the purposes of participating in the HIMP project will be used to denote turkeys that have,
according to plant production records, completed one breeding cycle. The young turkey HIMP pilot currently has 2 plants
participating, leaving 3 openings available in the program. To volunteer for the pilot, plants must submit a letter
requesting participation. The letter should be sent to:
Mr. Charles Gioglio, Director
Inspection and Enforcement Initiatives Staff
Room 2925, South Building
!400 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20250
Quarterly Enforcement Report Correction
The Quarterly Enforcement Report covering the period January 1, 2005, through March 31, 2005, erroneously reported
that the number of noncompliance reports written for all federally inspected meat, poultry, and egg products establishments
in the United States was 63,112.
For the period January 1, 2005, through March 31, 2005, the correct number of noncompliance reports written was 32,766 and
there were total procedures performed 1,892,369.
The portion of the Quarterly Enforcement Report that reflects noncompliance data and procedures performed is compiled
by the Technical Service Center in Omaha, Neb. The error occurred during the download of Performance Based Inspection
System data from the central database at FSIS' Headquarters. A normal download for the Report contains only the quarter
that is being reported. During the second quarter of fiscal year 2005, data from the first and second quarters were inadvertently
downloaded, adding the number of noncompliance records together, essentially doubling the reported figures.
A May review of reports other than the Quarterly Enforcement Report revealed the presence of two quarters of data and
corrective measures were taken to prevent this from happening again. To date, the procedures implemented have been effective.
Information that was reported for the third quarter of fiscal year 2005 is correct. The Agency regrets the error in reporting
and any inconvenience this might have caused.
Library of Export Requirement Updated
The Library of Export Requirements has been updated to reflect changes in export requirements for Colombia.
Complete information can be found at:
www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations/Export_Information/
THIS WEEK'S HOT WEB LINKS
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