[Federal Register: January 30, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 19)]
[Notices]
[Page 4892-4894]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ja06-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2005-0047]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Milk and Milk Products
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
[[Page 4893]]
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), the Agricultural Marketing Service
(AMS), USDA, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring a public
meeting on March 14, 2006. The objective of the public meeting is to
provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and
draft United States positions that will be discussed at the Seventh
Session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) of the
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in
Queenstown, New Zealand, March 27-April 1, 2006. The Under Secretary
for Food Safety, AMS and FDA recognize the importance of providing
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on
the 7th Session of CCMMP and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 14, 2006 from
9 a.m. to 12 noon.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 2504, South
Agriculture Building, USDA, 14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250. Documents related to the 7th Session of the CCMMP
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:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the ability to
type short comments directly into the comment field on this Web page or
attach a file for lengthier comments. FSIS prefers to receive comments
through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov
and, in the ``Search for Open Regulations'' box,
select ``Food Safety and Inspection Service'' from the agency drop-down
menu, then click on ``Submit.'' In the Docket ID column, select the
FDMS Docket Number FSIS-2005-0047 to submit or view public comments and
to view supporting and related materials available electronically.
Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand- or courier-
delivered items: Send to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, SW., Room 102,
Cotton Annex Building, Washington, DC 20250-3700.
Electronic mail: fsis.regulationscomments@fsis.usda.gov.
All submissions received must include the Agency name and docket
number FSIS-2005-0047.
All comments submitted in response to this notice, as well as
research and background information used by FSIS in developing this
document, will be posted to the regulations.gov Web site. The
background information and comments also 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.
In addition, the U.S. Delegate to the CCMMP, Mr. Duane Spomer of
AMS, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following e-mail address
susan.sausville@usda.gov).
Pre-Registration: To gain admittance to this meeting, individuals
must present a photo ID for identification and also are required to
pre-register. In addition, no cameras or videotaping equipment will be
permitted in the meeting room. To pre-register, please send the
following information to this e-mail address (susan.sausville@usda.gov)
by March 13, 2006:
--Your Name
--Organization
--Mailing Address
--Phone number
--E-mail address
For Further Information About the 7th Session of the CCMMP Contact:
Susan Sausville, Assistant to the U.S. Delegate to the CCMMP, Chief
Dairy Standardization Branch, AMS, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Room 2746, South Building, Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 720-7473,
Fax: (202) 720-2643. E-mail: susan.sausville@usda.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Amjad Ali,
International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202)
720-3157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Codex Alimentarius (Codex) was established in 1963 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 Milk and Milk Products was established to
elaborate codes, guidelines, standards and related texts for Milk and
Milk Products. The committee is hosted by New Zealand.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the Agenda for the 7th Session of the
Committee will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters referred to the Committee from other Codex bodies.
Review of the Proposed Draft and Draft Revised Standards:
Dairy Spreads; Processed Cheese; Individual Cheeses; and Whey Cheeses.
Proposed Standards for Products in Which Milkfat is
Substituted for by Vegetable Fat.
Model Export Certificate for Milk Products.
Specific Food Additive Listings for the Codex Standard for
Fermented Milk Products.
Discussion Papers on new work on Fermented Milk Drinks,
Naming of Non Standardized Dairy Products, and on an Amendment to the
List of Additives Included in the Codex Standard for Creams and
Prepared Creams.
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the New Zealand Secretariat prior to the
Meeting. Members of the public may access or request copies of these
documents (see ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the March 14th public meeting, draft U.S. positions on the
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 7th
Session of CCMMP, Mr. Duane Spomer, (see ADDRESSES). Written comments
should state that they relate to activities of the 7th Session of the
CCMMP.
Additional 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
[[Page 4894]]
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 SSIS 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.
In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail subscription service which
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 across eight categories.
Options range from recalls to export information to regulations,
directives and notices.
Done at Washington, DC on January 24, 2006.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E6-1091 Filed 1-27-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P