[Federal Register: April 10, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 68)]
[Notices]
[Page 16353-16354]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ap09-21]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2009-0010]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food
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 U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine, are
sponsoring a public meeting on April 29, 2009. The objective of the
public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on
agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the
18th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in
Foods (CCRVDF) which will be held in Natal, Brazil from May 11-15,
2009. The Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the
opportunity to obtain background information on the 18th CCRVDF session
and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2009,
from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the USDA, J.L. Whitten
Building, Room 107-A, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20250.
Documents related to the 18th session of the CCRVDF will be
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the 18th Session of the CCRVDF, Dr. Steven
Vaughn, and the FDA invite U.S. interested parties to submit their
comments electronically to the following e-mail address:
Brandi.Robinson@fda.hhs.gov.
For Further Information About the 18th Session of the CCRVDF
Contact: Steven Vaughn, D.V.M., Director, Office of New Animal Drug
Evaluation, Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA, 7500 Standish Place,
Rockville, MD 20855 Telephone: (240) 276-8300, Fax: (240) 276-8242, e-
mail: Steven.Vaughn@fda.hhs.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Jasmine
Matthews, Program Analyst, USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service,
U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4861,
Washington, DC 20250. Telephone: (202) 690-1124, Fax: (202) 720-3157,
e-mail: jasmine.matthews@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 CCRVDF is responsible for determining priorities for the
consideration of residues of veterinary drugs in foods; to recommend
maximum levels of such substances; to develop codes of practice as may
be required; and to consider methods of sampling and analysis for the
determination of veterinary drug residues in foods.
The Committee is hosted by the United States.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 18th Session of the
CCRVDF will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and
Other Codex Committees and Task Forces.
Matters Arising from FAO and WHO and from the 70\th
\Meeting of the Joint FAO and WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
(JECFA).
Report of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
Activities, Including the Harmonization of Technical Requirements for
Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products.
Draft Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Veterinary Drugs
(at Step 7).
Proposed draft MRLs for Veterinary Drugs (at Step 3).
Draft Guidelines for the Design and Implementation of
National Regulatory Food Safety Assurance Programs Associated with the
Use of Veterinary Drugs in Food Producing Animals.
Discussion Paper on Consideration of Methods of Analysis
and Sampling in the CCRVDF (Report of the Electronic Working Group on
Methods of Analysis and Sampling).
Draft Priority List of Veterinary Drugs Requiring
Evaluation or Re-Evaluation by JECFA and the Working Document Listing
Veterinary Drugs of Potential Interest (Report of the Electronic
Working Group on the Priority List of Veterinary Drugs Requiring
Evaluation or Re-evaluation).
Discussion Paper on Current Practices and Needs for
Further Work by the Committee (Report of the Electronic Working Group
on Risk Management Topics and Options).
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 copies of these documents (see ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the April 29, 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 for the 18th
Session of the CCRVDF, Dr. Steven Vaughn (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 18th
session of the CCRVDF.
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://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=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
[[Page 16354]]
customized access to selected food safety news and information. This
service is available at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_&_events/email_subscription/. Options range from recalls to export information
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Done at Washington, DC on: April 6, 2009.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E9-8181 Filed 4-9-09; 8:45 am]
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