[Federal Register: December 18, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 75708-75709]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18de06-23]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0041]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Fats and Oils
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 (HHS), are
sponsoring a public meeting on January 23, 2007. 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 Twentieth Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO)
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in
London, United Kingdom, from February 19-23, 2007. The Under Secretary
for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on
the 20th Session of CCFO and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 23, 2007
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the rear of the
Cafeteria, South Agriculture Building, United States Department of
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250.
Documents related to the 20th Session of the CCFO will be accessible
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
The U.S. Delegate to the 20th Session of the CCFO, Dr. Dennis Keefe
of FDA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following e-mail address
Dennis.Keefe@fda.hhs.gov).
Registration
There is no need to pre-register for this meeting. To gain
admittance to this meeting, individuals must present a photo ID for
identification. When arriving for the meeting, please enter the South
Building through the Second Wing entrance on ``C'' Street SW.
For Further Information About the 20th Session of the CCFO Contact:
Dr. Dennis Keefe, the U.S. Delegate to the 20th Session of the CCFO,
FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Harvey W. Wiley
Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-
3835, Phone: (301) 436-1284, Fax: (301) 436-2972. E-mail:
Dennis.Keefe@fda.hhs.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Amjad
Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex
[[Page 75709]]
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 and
the World Health Organization. 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 that fair
practices are used in trade.
The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils was established to elaborate
codes, standards and related texts for fats and oils. The Committee is
hosted by the United Kingdom.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the Agenda for the 20th Session of the
Committee will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee from the Other Codex
Bodies.
Draft Standard for Fat Spreads and Blended Spreads:
Section on Food Additives.
Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils:
Inclusion of Rice Bran Oil.
Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils:
Amendment to Total Carotenoids in Unbleached Palm Oil.
Code of Practice for Storage and Transport of Edible Fats
and Oils in Bulk: Draft List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes.
Consideration of the Linolenic Acid Level in Section 3.9
of the Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils.
Consideration of Proposals for Amendments to the Standard
for Named Vegetable Oils: Palm Kernel Stearin and Palm Kernel Olein.
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 Secretariat prior to the Meeting. Members
of the public may access or request copies of these documents (see
ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the January 23, 2007 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 20th
Session of CCFO, Dr. Dennis Keefe (see ADDRESSES). Written comments
should state that they relate to activities of the 20th Session of the
CCFO.
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/[fxsp0
]news--and--events/[fxsp0]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.
Done at Washington, DC on December 12, 2006.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E6-21371 Filed 12-15-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P