[Federal Register: March 13, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 10879-10880]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13mr09-17]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2009-0004]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Labeling
AGENCY: Office of the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety,
USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Acting Deputy 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 April 7, 2009. 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 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) of
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in
Calgary, Canada, on May 4 to May 8, 2009. In addition, a Working Group
on the Implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global
Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health will meet on May 2,
2009. The Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the
opportunity to obtain background information on the 37th Session of the
CCFL and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 7, 2009, from
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 107A, Jamie Whitten
Federal Building, 1200 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20250.
Codex documents related to the 37th Session of the CCFL will be
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://
www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the CCFL, Dr. Barbara Schneeman, invites U.S.
interested parties to submit their comments electronically to the
following e-mail address: ccfl@fda.hhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 37TH SESSION OF THE CCFL CONTACT: Dr.
Michael Wehr, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5100 Paint
Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740. Phone: (301) 436-1724, Fax:
[[Page 10880]]
(301) 436-2618, e-mail: michael.wehr@fda.hhs.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Paulo
Almeida, 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 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 CCFL drafts provisions on labeling applicable to all foods;
considers, amends if necessary, and endorses specific provisions on
labeling of draft standards, codes of practice, and guidelines prepared
by other Codex committees; studies specific labeling problems assigned
to it by the Commission; and studies problems associated with the
advertisement of food with particular reference to claims and
misleading descriptions. The Committee is chaired by Canada.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 37th Session of the CCFL
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee from other Codex bodies;
Consideration of Labeling Provisions in Draft Codex
Standards;
Implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet,
Physical Activity, and Health: (a) Proposed Draft Revision of the
Guidelines on Nutrition Labeling Concerning the List of Nutrients that
are Always Declared on a Voluntary or Mandatory Basis; (b) Discussion
Paper on Issues Related to Mandatory Nutrition Labeling; (c) Proposed
Draft Criteria and Principles for Legibility and Readability of
Nutrition Labels; (d) Discussion Paper on Labeling Provisions Dealing
with the Food Ingredients Identified in the Global Strategy on Diet,
Physical Activity, and Health;
Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labeling and
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods: Annex 1: Inclusion of Ethylene
for Other Products; (b) Deletion of Rotenone from Annex 2;
Labeling of Foods and Food Ingredients Obtained through
Certain Techniques of Genetic Modification and Genetic Engineering; (a)
Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged
Foods: Definitions; (b) Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Labeling
of Foods and Food Ingredients Obtained through Certain Techniques of
Genetic Modification and Genetic Engineering;
Editorial Amendments to Codex Texts on Food Labeling;
Discussion Paper on the Need to Amend the General Standard
for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods in Line with the International
Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) Recommendations Regarding the
Declaration of the Quantity of Product in Prepackages; and,
Discussion Paper on Modified Standardized Common Names
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 April 7, 2009, 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 to the CCFL,
Dr. Barbara Schneeman (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state
that they relate to activities of the 37th Session of the CCFL.
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/2009_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_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 accounts.
Done at Washington, DC on: March 9, 2009.
Barbara McNiff,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E9-5449 Filed 3-12-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P