[Federal Register: September 21, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 183)]
[Notices]
[Page 53985-53986]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21se07-34]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0034]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: First Session of the Codex Ad Hoc
Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on September 24,
2007, to discuss the agenda items coming before the First Session of
the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial
Resistance (AMR) and to present draft U.S. positions on the agenda
items. The First Session on AMR will be held in Seoul, Korea, October
23-26, 2007. The Under Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of
providing interested parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda
items that will be discussed at this forthcoming session on AMR.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 24, 2007,
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 107A Whitten
Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC (Please enter
USDA at the Whitten Building Entrance. If taking Metro, exit on the
Mall side of the Smithsonian stop).
Documents related to the First Session of the AMR Task Force will
be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
For Further Information About the First Session on AMR Contact:
U.S. Delegate, Dr. David White, Director, National Antimicrobial
Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), FDA, Center for Veterinary
Medicine, Office of Research, 8401 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel, MD 20798, Tel:
(301) 210-4181, E-mail: david.white@fda.hhs.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Edith
Kennard, Staff Officer, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS), Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 720-5261, Fax: (202) 720-3157,
E-mail: edith.kennard@fsis.usda.gov.
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). 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 Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial
Resistance was established by the 29th Session of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission in 2006. The Task Force is to develop science-
based guidance to assess the risks to human health associated with
[[Page 53986]]
the presence in food and feed (including aquaculture) of antimicrobial
resistant microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance genes and the
transmission through food and feed of antimicrobial resistant
microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance genes. The Task Force is
also to develop appropriate risk management advice based on that
assessment to reduce such risk. The Task Force, which is hosted by the
Republic of Korea, is to complete its work within four sessions.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the First Session on AMR will
be discussed during the September 24, 2007, public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee from Other Codex Bodies.
Review of the Work by FAO, WHO and the World Organisation
for Animal health (OIE) on Antimicrobial Resistance.
Consideration of the Elaboration of Standards, Guidelines
or Other Texts on Antimicrobial Resistance (comments submitted in
response to Circular Letter 2006/38-AMR).
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the Korean Secretariat to the Meeting. Members
of the public may access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
Public Meeting
At the September 24, 2007, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on
these 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 on
AMR, Dr. David White, at david.white@fda.hhs.gov. Written comments
should state that they relate to activities of the First Session of the
Task Force on AMR.
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 online through the FSIS Web page located
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2007_Notices_Index/. FSIS
will also 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, 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 groups,
consumer interest groups, health professionals, and other individuals
who have asked to be included. The Update is also available on the FSIS
Web page. Through Listserv and the Web page, FSIS is able to provide
information to a much broader and more diverse audience. In addition,
FSIS offers an electronic 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: September 17, 2007.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E7-18719 Filed 9-20-07; 8:45 am]
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