[Federal Register: April 4, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 65)]
[Notices]
[Page 17623]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04ap00-25]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 00-012N]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Twenty-eighth Session of the Codex
Committee on Food Labelling
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are
sponsoring a public meeting on April 17, 2000, to provide information
and receive public comments on agenda items that will be discussed at
the Twenty-eighth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling
(CCFL), which will be held in Ottawa, Canada, May 9-12, 2000. The Under
Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on
the Twenty-eighth Session of CCFL and to address items on the Agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 17, 2000, from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1409, Federal Office
Building 8, 200 C Street SW, Washington, DC. (Metro Rail stop is
Federal Center, SW.) To receive copies of the documents referenced in
this notice, contact the FSIS Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton
Annex, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. The documents
will also be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following
address: http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/esn/codex. Send
comments, in triplicate, to the FSIS Docket Clerk and reference Docket
#00-012N. All comments submitted in response to this notice will be
available for public inspection in the Docket Clerk's Office between
8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick J. Clerkin, Associate U.S.
Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection
Service, Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW,
Washington, DC 20250, Telephone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Codex was established in 1962 by two United Nations organizations,
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health
Organization (WHO). Codex is the major international organization for
encouraging fair international trade in food and protecting the health
and economic interests of consumers. Through adoption of food
standards, codes of practice, and other guidelines developed by its
committees, and by promoting their adoption and implementation by
governments, Codex seeks to ensure that the world's food supply is
sound, wholesome, free from adulteration, and correctly labeled.
The Codex Committee on Food Labelling drafts provisions on labeling
applicable to all foods; considers, amends if necessary, and endorses
specific provisions on labeling prepared by the Codex Committees
drafting standards, codes of practice and guidelines; studies specific
labeling problems assigned to it by the Commission, and studies
problems associated with the advertisement of food with particular
reference to claims and misleading descriptions.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
Agenda items will be described and discussed at the April 17, 2000,
public meeting. Attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions
and offer comments.
The provisional agenda items to be discussed during the public
meeting:
1. Adoption of the Agenda
2. Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other
Codex Committees
3. Consideration of Labeling Provisions in Draft Codex Standards
4. Draft Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labeling and
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods (Livestock Production)
5. Recommendations for the Labeling of Foods Obtained through
Biotechnology
6. Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labeling of
Prepackaged Foods (Class Names)
7. Proposed Draft Amendment to the Guidelines on Nutrition Labeling
8. Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Use of Health Claims
9. Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Use of the Term ``Vegetarian''
10. Other business:
Discussion Paper on Misleading Claims
Discussion Paper on Quantitative Ingredient
Declaration
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, or
to be distributed, by the Canadian Secretariat to the Meeting. Members
of the public may access or request copies of these documents (see
ADDRESSES).
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure
that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this
notice, FSIS will announce it and provide copies of this Federal
Register publication in the FSIS Constituent Update. FSIS provides a
weekly FSIS Constituent Update, which is communicated via fax to over
300 organizations and individuals. In addition, the update is available
on-line through the FSIS web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
The update is used to provide information regarding FSIS policies,
procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS public
meetings, recalls, and any other types of information that could affect
or would be of interest to our constituents/stakeholders. The
constituent fax list consists of industry, trade, and farm groups,
consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific
professionals, and other individuals that have requested to be
included.
Through these various channels, FSIS is able to provide information
to a much broader, more diverse audience. For more information and to
be added to the constituent fax list, fax your request to the
Congressional and Public Affairs Office, at (202) 720-5704.
Done at Washington, DC on March 30, 2000.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 00-8247 Filed 4-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P