[Federal Register: January 31, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 19)]
[Notices]
[Page 4813-4814]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31ja05-28]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 04-046N]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Nineteenth Session of the Codex
Committee on Fats and Oils
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting, request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), United States Department of Health and Human
Services, are sponsoring a public meeting on February 1, 2005, to
provide information and receive public comments on all agenda items
that will be discussed at the Nineteenth Session of the Codex Committee
on Fats and Oils (CCFO) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex).
The 19th Session of the CCFO will be held in London, United Kingdom,
February 21-25, 2005. The Under Secretary and FDA recognize the
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain
background information on the agenda items that will be discussed at
this forthcoming session of the CCFL.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 1, 2005
from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Room 1A-002, Harvey
W. Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD.
Documents related to the 19th Session of the CCFO will be accessible
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this notice.
Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROMs, and hand-or
courier-delivered items: Send to the FSIS Docket Clerk, U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street,
SW., Room 102, Cotton Annex, Washington DC 20250-3700. All Comments
received must include the Agency name and docket number 04-046N.
All comments submitted in response to this notice, will be
available for public inspection in the FSIS Docket Room at the address
listed above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The comments also will be posted on the Agency's Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2005_Notices_Index/
.
For Further Information About the 19th Session of the CCFO Contact:
U.S. Delegate, Mr. Charles W. Cooper, Director, International
Activities Staff, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food
and Drug Administration (HFS-585), Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building,
5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, Phone: (301)
436-1714, Fax: (301) 436-2618, Email: Charles.Cooper@cfsan.fda.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Syed Amjad
Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861,
South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-
3700, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157. Persons requiring a
sign language interpreter or other special
[[Page 4814]]
accommodations should notify the Delegate at the address above.
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 standard-setting organization for protecting
the health and economic interests of consumers and ensuring fair
practices in international trade in food. 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. In the
United States, USDA, FDA, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
manage and carry out U.S. Codex activities.
The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils was established to elaborate
codes and standards for fats and oils and their products. The Committee
is chaired by the United Kingdom.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 19th Session of CCFO will
be discussed during the public meeting:
1. Matters arising from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other
Codex Committees.
2. Draft Standard for Fat Spreads and Blended Spreads.
3. Consideration of the Linolenic acid level in Section 3.9 of the
Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils.
4. Proposed Draft Amendments to the Standard for Named Vegetable
Oils (Rice Bran Oil, Amendment to Sesame Seed Oil).
5. Proposed Draft Revised Table 1 of the Recommended International
Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of Edible Fats and Oils
in Bulk.
6. Discussion Paper for Criteria for the revision of the Standard
for Named Vegetable Oils.
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the United Kingdom Secretariat to the Meeting.
Members of the public may access copies of these documents (see
ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the February 1, 2005 public meeting, these agenda items will be
described and discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to
pose questions and offer comments. Written comments may be offered at
the meeting or sent to the U.S. Delegate, for the 19th Session of the
CCFO, Charles Cooper (See ADDRESSES). Written comments should state
that they relate to activities of the 19th Session of the CCFO.
Additional Public Information
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the
public and in particular minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line
through the FSIS Web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
FSIS also will make copies of this Federal Register publication
available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide
information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal
Register notices, FSIS public meeting, recalls, and other types of
information that could affect or would be of interest to our
constituents and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv,
a free e-mail subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and
farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals,
scientific professionals, and other individuals who have requested to
be included. The update is available on the FSIS Web page. Through
Listserv and the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a
much broader, more diverse audience.
Done at Washington, DC on: January 25, 2005.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 05-1701 Filed 1-28-05; 8:45 am]