[Federal Register: August 15, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 157)]
[Notices]
[Page 46889-46891]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15au06-19]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0022]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Fish and Fishery Products
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
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), and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a
public meeting on September 6, 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
28th Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products
(CCFFP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be
held in Beijing, China from September 18-22, 2006. The Under Secretary
for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing
interested parties with the opportunity to obtain background
information on the 28th Session of the CCFFP and to address items on
the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 6, 2006
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in room 3B-047, of the
Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park,
Maryland 20740. Documents related to the 28th Session of the CCFFP will
be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
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:
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.
[[Page 46890]]
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-2006-0022 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, USDA, FSIS, 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-2006-0022.
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 CCFFP, Mr. Philip Spiller of
FDA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following e-mail address:
melissa.ellwanger@fda.hhs.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_melissa.ellwanger@fda.hhs.gov by September 5, 2006:
--Your Name,
--Organization,
--Mailing Address,
--Phone number,
--E-mail address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 28th SESSION OF THE CCFFP CONTACT:
Melissa Ellwanger, Assistant to the U.S. Delegate to the CCFFP, FDA,
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Harvey W. Wiley Federal
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835;
Phone: (301) 436-1401; Fax: (301) 436-2549. E-mail:
melissa.ellwanger@fda.hhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Amjad Ali,
International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, 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 and
the World Health Organization. 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 protect the health of
consumers and ensure fair practices in trade.
The Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products was established to
elaborate codes, standards and related texts for fish and fishery
products. The Committee is hosted by Norway.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the Agenda for the 28th Session of the
Committee will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters referred to the Committee from the other Codex
bodies.
Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Canned
Sardine and Sardine Type Products: Clupea bentincki.
Draft Standard for Sturgeon Caviar.
Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery
Products (sections 2 Definitions, 7 Live and [Raw] Bivalve Molluscs, 10
Quick Frozen Fish and Fishery Products (sections on Molluscan Shellfish
and Coated Shrimp only), 11 Processing of Salted Fish, 12 Processing of
Smoked Fish, 13 Processing of Lobsters & Crabs).
Proposed Draft Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs.
Proposed Draft Standard for Quick Frozen Scallop Adductor
Muscle Meat.
Proposed Draft Standard for Smoked Fish.
Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Processing of
Scallop Meat.
Discussion Paper on the Procedure for the Inclusion of
Additional Species in Standards for Fish and Fishery Products.
Discussion Paper on an Amendment to the Labeling Section
in the Standard for Canned Sardines and Sardine-Type Products.
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the Norwegian Secretariat prior to the public
meeting on September 6. Members of the public may access or request
copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
Public Meeting
At the September 6th 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 28th
Session of the CCFFP, Mr. Philip Spiller, at
melissa.ellwanger@fda.hhs.gov. Written comments should state that they
relate to activities of the 28th Session of the CCFFP.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that
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/2006_Notices_Index. 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 and other
individuals who have asked to be included. The update is available on
the FSIS Web page. Through the Listserv and Web page, FSIS is able to
provide information to a much broader and more diverse audience. In
addition, FSIS offers an e-mail subscription service which provides
automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and
information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription/.
Options range from recalls to
export information to regulations, directives and notices. Customers
can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the option to
password protect their account.
[[Page 46891]]
Done at Washington, DC on: August 10, 2006.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E6-13361 Filed 8-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P