[Federal Register: February 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 31)]
[Notices]
[Page 8645-8646]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14fe08-31]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0001]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS)
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) are sponsoring a public meeting on February 28, 2008. 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 29th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods
of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
(Codex), which will be held in Budapest, Hungary on March 10-14, 2008.
The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of
providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background
information on the 29th Session of the CCMAS and to address items on
the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, 2008,
from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Conference Room 1A 001 of
the Harvey W. Wiley Building located at 5100 Paint Branch Parkway,
College Park, Maryland. Documents related to the 29th Session of the
CCMAS will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following
address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the 29th session of the CCMAS, Dr. Gregory
Diachenko, FDA, invites interested U.S. parties to submit their
comments electronically to the following e-mail address:
gregory.diachenko@fda.hhs.gov.
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: gregory.diachenko@fda.hhs.gov by February 25,
2008:
Your Name--------------------------------------------------------------
Organization-----------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Address--------------------------------------------------------
Phone number-----------------------------------------------------------
E-mail address---------------------------------------------------------
For Further Information About the 29th Session of the CCMAS
Contact: Dr. Gregory Diachenko, Director, Division of Analytical
Chemistry, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-705), FDA,
Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park,
Maryland 20740. Phone (301) 436-1898; Fax (301) 436-2634, E-mail:
gregory.diachenko@fda.hhs.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Syed
Amjad Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety
and Inspection Service (FSIS), Room 4861, South Agriculture Building,
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. Phone (202)
205-7760; Fax (202) 720-3157.
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 CCMAS was established to perform multiple functions; define
criteria appropriate for Codex methods of analysis and sampling;
specify reference methods of analysis and sampling; endorse methods of
analysis and sampling proposed by Codex Committees; elaborate sampling
plans; and consider specific sampling and analysis problems. The
Committee is hosted by Hungary.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 29th Session of the CCMAS
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and
other Codex Committees
Proposed Draft Guidelines for Evaluating Acceptable Methods of
Analysis
Proposed Draft Guidelines for Settling Disputes on Analytical
(Test) Results
Proposed Draft Guidelines on Analytical Terminology for Codex
Use
Criteria for Methods of Detection and Identification of Foods
Derived from Biotechnology
Conversion of the Methods for Trace Elements into Criteria
Guidance on Measurement Uncertainty and Uncertainty of
Sampling
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 these documents on the World Wide Web (see
ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the February 28, 2008, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on
the
[[Page 8646]]
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 29th
Session of the CCMAS (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state
that they relate to activities of the 29th Session of the CCMAS.
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/2008_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 the Listserv and 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_&_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 accounts.
Done at Washington, DC on February 8, 2008.
Karen L. Hulebak,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-2760 Filed 2-13-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P