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WASHINGTON, March 25, 2005 - The Office of the Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety,
U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services
today announced a public meeting to provide information and receive comments on draft U.S. responses to Codex Circular
Letter CL 2005/2-FBT. The letter outlines proposals for new work to be undertaken by the Codex Ad Hoc
Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology that was established at the 27th Session of the Codex
Committee in Geneva in 2004.
The public meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, April 7, in Room 5066, South Agriculture Building,
1400 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC. Further information on the Codex Letter CL 2005/2FBT is available at
www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Codex_c105_02e.pdf (PDF Only).
The Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology will develop standards,
guidelines and recommendations for foods derived from modern biotechnology. These will be based on scientific
evidence and risk analysis relevant to the health of consumers and the promotion of fair practices in the food trade.
Codex was created in 1962 by two United Nations organizations: the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the
World Health Organization (WHO). Codex develops food standards, guidelines and codes of practice in order to protect
the health of consumers, ensure fair trade practices in the food trade and promote coordination of food standards
undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.
For more information about the public meeting, contact Paulo Almeida, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, at (202) 690-4042 or
by fax at (202) 720-3157.
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