[Federal Register: April 7, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 66)]
[Notices]
[Page 17644-17645]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07ap05-29]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 05-008N]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Proposals for New Work and
Priorities for the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods
Derived From Biotechnology
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety.
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 April 7, 2005, to provide
information and receive public comments on the draft U.S. responses to
Codex Circular Letter CL 2005/2-FBT: Proposals for new work to be
undertaken by the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods
Derived from Biotechnology. Following approval at the 27th Session of
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (from June 28 to July 3, 2004) to
establish the Task Force, under the chairmanship of Japan, Codex agreed
to solicit comments on the work that the Task Force ought to undertake
and on the priorities for this new work.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, 2005,
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 107-A of the Jamie
L. Whitten Federal Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC.
The Food Safety and Inspection Service (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,
[[Page 17645]]
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 05-
008N.
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/index.asp.
For Further Information About the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental
Task Force on Foods Derived From Biotechnology, Contact: Bernice
Slutsky, Ph.D., Special Assistant to the Secretary for Biotechnology,
Office of the Secretary, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250; telephone: (202) 690-0735; electronic mail:
bernice.slutsky@usda.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Paulo
Almeida, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861, South Building, 1400
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700; telephone: (202)
690-4042; facsimile: (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 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 Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from
Biotechnology develops standards, guidelines, and recommendations for
foods derived from modern biotechnology or for traits introduced into
foods by modern biotechnology. The standards, guidelines, and
recommendations are developed on the basis of scientific evidence and
risk analysis, having regard, where appropriate, for other legitimate
factors relevant to the health of consumers and the promotion of fair
practices in the food trade.
Public Meeting
At the April 7, 2005, public meeting, attendees will have an
opportunity to pose questions and offer comments on draft U.S.
responses to Codex Circular Letter CL 2005/2-FBT: proposals for new
work to be undertaken by the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force
on Foods Derived from Biotechnology. Written comments may be offered at
the meeting or sent to Dr. Bernice Slutsky (see addresses). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the Codex Ad
Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology.
Members of the public may access Circular Letter CL 2005/2-FBT at
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/Codex_cl05_02e.pdf.
Additional Public Notification
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/2005_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 meetings, recalls, and other types of
information that could affect or would be of interest to constituents
and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, a free
electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade, and farm
groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals,
scientific professionals, and other individuals who have asked 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.
In addition, FSIS offers an electronic mail subscription service
that provides an automatic and customized notification when popular
pages are updated, including Federal Register publications and related
documents. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription/
and allows FSIS customers to sign up
for subscription options in eight categories. Options range from
recalls to export information to regulations, directives, and notices.
Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the
option to protect their accounts with passwords.
Done at Washington, DC, on April 4, 2005.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 05-7012 Filed 4-5-05; 11:36 am]