[Federal Register: February 27, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 38)]
[Notices]
[Page 8688-8689]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27fe07-29]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0003]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Additives
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 March 8, 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 Thirty-
ninth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Beijing,
China, on April 24-28, 2007. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and
FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the
opportunity to obtain background information on the 39th Session of
CCFA and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 8, 2007 from
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the auditorium (Room
1A003), Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, FDA, Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint Branch Highway, College Park, MD
20740. Documents related to the 39th Session of CCFA are accessible via
the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
The U.S. Delegate to the CCFA, Dr. Dennis Keefe, invites U.S.
interested parties to submit their comments electronically to the
following e-mail address: ccfa@fda.hhs.gov.
Registration: Attendees may register electronically to the same e-
mail address above by March 6, 2007. Early registration is encouraged
because it will expedite entry into the building and its parking area.
If you require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag number,
if known, when you register. Because the meeting will be held in a
Federal building, you should also bring a photo identification (ID) and
plan for adequate time to pass through security screening systems.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 39th SESSION OF THE CCFA CONTACT:
Dennis Keefe, Office of Food Additive Safety (HFS-205), Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College
Park, MD 20740. Phone (301) 436-1284, Fax: (301) 436-2972, e-mail
dennis.keefe@fda.hhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Ellen Matten,
International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, Room 4861, South building, 1400 Independence Ave
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 Food Additives was formed in 2006 from the
division of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants. It
was established to set or endorse maximum levels for individual food
additives; prepare priority lists of food additives for risk assessment
by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA); assign
functional classes to individual food additives; recommend
specifications of identity and purity for food additives for adoption
by the Commission; consider methods of analysis for the determination
of additives in food; and consider and elaborate standards or codes for
related subjects such as the labeling of food additives when sold as
such. The Committee is hosted by the People's Republic of China.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the Agenda for the 39th Session of CCFA will
be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee from other Codex bodies.
Matters of Interest arising from FAO/WHO.
Endorsement/revision of Maximum Levels for Food Additives
and Processing Aids in Codex Standards.
Inclusion of Food Additive Provisions of Commodity
Standards into the Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA).
Consideration of the Codex General Standard for Food
Additives.
Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings.
Processing Aids.
International Numbering System (INS) for Food Additives.
Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food
Additives.
Priority List of Food Additives Proposed for Evaluation by
JECFA.
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 FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 39th SESSION OF THE CCFA CONTACT).
Public Meeting
At the March 8, 2007 public meeting, draft U.S. positions on the
agenda items will be described and 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 CCFA,
Dr. Dennis Keefe (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that
they relate to activities of the 39th Session of CCFA.
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/2007_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
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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.
Done at Washington, DC, on February 21, 2007.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E7-3264 Filed 2-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P