[Federal Register: December 29, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 249)]
[Notices]
[Page 77981-77982]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29de04-34]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 04-048N]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Thirty-third Session of the Codex
Committee on Food Labelling
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 January 19, 2005, to
provide information and receive public comments on certain agenda items
that will be discussed at the Thirty-third Session of the Codex
Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
(Codex). The 33rd Session of the CCFL will be held in Kota Kinabalu,
Malaysia, May 9-13, 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 Wednesday, January 19, 2005
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Auditorium (Room 1A-
003), Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway,
College Park, MD. Documents related to the 33rd Session of the CCFL
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 20730. All comments received
must include the Agency name and docket number 04-048N.
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/2004_Notices_Index/index.asp
Participation by Conference Call: A call-in number has been
arranged: 1-877-322-9654, participant code 920770.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 33RD SESSION OF THE CCFL CONTACT:
U.S. Delegate, Leslye Fraser, J.D. Director, Office of Regulations and
Policy, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA. 5100 Paint
Branch Parkway (HFS-004), College Park, MD 20740. Phone: (301) 436-2378
Fax: (301) 436-2637, E-mail: leslye.fraser@fda.hhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Ellen Matten,
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.
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
[[Page 77982]]
protecting the health and economic interests of consumers and
encouraging fair 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 Food Labelling (CCFL) drafts provisions on
labelling applicable to all foods; considers, amends if necessary, and
endorses specific provisions on labelling of draft standards, codes of
practice, and guidelines prepared by other Codex committees; studies
specific labelling problems assigned to it by the Commission; and
studies problems associated with the advertisement of food with
particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions. The
Committee is chaired by Canada.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 33rd Session of CCFL will
be discussed during the public meeting:
1. Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Labelling of Foods Obtained
Through Certain Techniques of Genetic Modification/Genetic Engineering:
Labelling Provisions and Definitions.
2. Country of Origin Labelling: Response to CL 2004/56-FL.
3. Discussion Paper on Advertising: Response to CL 2004/54-FL.
4. Proposed Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the
Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (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 copies of these documents (see
ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the January 19, 2005 public meeting, these agenda items will be
described, 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 33rd Session of the CCFL,
Leslye Fraser (See Addresses). Written comments should state that they
relate to activities of the 33rd Session of the CCFL.
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/regulations/2004_Notices_Index/index.asp.
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 December 23, 2004.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 04-28465 Filed 12-28-04; 8:45 am]