[Federal Register: February 13, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 29)]
[Notices]
[Page 6708-6709]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13fe07-13]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0004]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
General Principles
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), is sponsoring a public meeting on
March 7, 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 Twenty-fourth
Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) of the
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Paris,
France, April 2-6, 2007. The Under Secretary for Food Safety recognizes
the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to
obtain background information on the 24th Session of CCGP and to
address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, 2007, 1-
4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 107-A, Jamie L.
Whitten Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20250. Documents related to the 24th Session of CCGP will be accessible
[[Page 6709]]
http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the 24th Session of CCGP, F. Edward
Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection
Service, USDA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following e-mail address uscodex@fsis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 24TH SESSION OF THE CCGP CONTACT: F.
Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. Manager for Codex, Tel: (202) 720-2057,
Fax: (202) 720-3157; E-mail: ed.scarbrough@fsis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Jasmine
Matthews, Program Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Tel: (202) 205-7760, Fax:
(202) 720-3157, E-mail: jasmine.matthews@fsis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 General Principles (CCGP) deals with rules
and procedures referred to it by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
including the establishment of principles which define the purpose and
scope of the Codex Alimentarius and the nature of Codex standards. The
development of mechanisms to address any economic impact statements is
also the responsibility of the CCGP. The Committee is hosted by the
Government of France.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the Agenda for the 24th Session of the CCGP
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Proposed Draft Working Principles for Risk Analysis for
Food Safety.
Proposed Draft Revised Code of Ethics for International
Trade in Foods.
Respective roles of the Regional Coordinators and the
Members of the Executive Committee elected on a geographic basis.
[cir] Designation of the Chairperson of the Coordinating Committee
by the Regional Coordinator.
[cir] Respective roles of the Coordinator and the Member elected on
a geographical basis in the Executive Committee.
Review of the Procedures for the Elaboration of Codex
Standards and Related Texts.
[cir] Proposed amendments to the Procedures.
[cir] Guide to the Procedure for the Revision and Amendment of
Codex Standards; and Arrangements for the Amendment of Codex Standards
Elaborated by Codex Committees which have adjourned sine die.
Review of the General Principles of the Codex
Alimentarius.
Proposed new definitions of risk analysis terms related to
food safety.
Consideration of the Structure and Presentation of the
Procedural Manual.
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 24th Session of the CCGP Contact).
Public Meeting
At the March 7, 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 the 24th
Session of the CCGP, F. Edward Scarbrough (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 24th
Session of the CCGP.
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 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 8, 2007.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E7-2436 Filed 2-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P