Federal Register: Codex Alimentarius Commission: Thirty-Fourth Session of the Codex

[Federal Register: August 6, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 151)]
[Notices]               
[Page 40963-40964]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06au01-50]                         

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Notices
                                                Federal Register
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-023N]

 
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Thirty-Fourth Session of the Codex 
Committee on Food Hygiene

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings 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), Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring two 
public meetings, on August 30 and September 25, 2001. The purpose of 
the meetings is to provide information and receive public comments on 
agenda items that will be discussed at the Thirty-fourth Session of the 
Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), which will be held in Bangkok, 
Thailand, on October 8-13, 2001. The Under Secretary for Food Safety 
and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information on the Thirty-fourth 
Session of the CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meetings are scheduled for August 30 and September 
25, 2001, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be held in Conference Room 1409, 
Federal Office Building 8, 200 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20204. 
Reference documents will be available for review in the FSIS Docket 
Room, 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. Submit one original and two copies of written 
comments to the FSIS Docket Room and reference Docket #01-023N. All 
comments submitted in response to this notice will be available for 
public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F. Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. 
Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-3700, Telephone (202) 205-7760; Fax (202) 720-
3157. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special 
accommodations should notify Dr. Scarbrough at the above number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 CCFH was established to draft basic provisions on food hygiene 
for all foods. The Government of the United States hosts this Committee 
and will chair the Committee meeting.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following issues and referenced documents will be discussed 
during the public meetings:
    1. Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex committees, CX/FH 01/2.
    2. Endorsement of hygiene provisions in the Codex standards and 
codes of practice, ALINORM 01/18 Appendix V.
    3. Code of practice for fish and fish products.
    4. Draft code of hygienic practice for the primary production of 
fresh fruits and vegetables, ALINORM 01/13A, Appendix V.
    5. Report of the ad hoc expert consultation of risk assessment of 
microbiological hazards in food and related matters, CX/FH 01/5.
    6. Proposed draft guidelines for the control of Listeria 
monocytogenes in foods, CX/FH 01/6.
    7. Proposed draft principles and guidelines for the conduct of 
microbiological risk management, CX/FH 01/7.
    8. Proposed draft code of hygienic practice for milk and milk 
products, CX/FH 01/8.
    9. Proposed draft guidelines for hygienic reuse of processing water 
in food plants, CX/FH 01/9.
    10. Proposed draft guidelines on the application of HACCP in small 
and/or less developed business, CX/FH 01/10.
    11. Proposed draft revision of the code of hygienic practice for 
egg products, CX/FH 01/11.
    12. Discussion paper--risk profile on the antimicrobial resistant 
bacteria in food, CX/FH 01/12.
    13. Discussion paper on the proposed draft guidelines for the 
validation of food hygiene control measures, CX/FH 01/13.
    14. Discussion paper on the proposed draft guidelines for 
evaluating objectionable matter in food, CX/FH 01/14.

Public Meeting

    At the August 30th public meeting, the issues will be described, 
discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions 
and offer comments. At the September 25th public meeting, draft United 
States positions on the issues will be described, discussed, and 
attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions and offer 
comments. Comments may be sent to the FSIS Docket Room (see ADDRESSES). 
Please state that your comments relate to CCFH activities and specify 
which issues your comments address.

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

[[Page 40964]]

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 July 31, 2001.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 01-19595 Filed 8-3-01; 8:45 am]
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