[Federal Register: August 7, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 151)]
[Notices]               
[Page 39613-39614]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07au09-29]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2009-0024]

 
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Thirtieth Session of the Codex 
Committee on Fish and Fishery Products

AGENCY: Office of the Acting 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 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 September 2, 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 
30th Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products 
(CCFFP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be 
held in Agadir, Morocco from September 28 to October 2, 2009. The 
Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the 
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain 
background information on the 30th Session of the CCFFP and to address 
items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 2, 
2009, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Harvey Wiley Federal 
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, Maryland 20740. The 
meeting room number is 1A001. Documents related to the 30th Session of 
the CCFFP will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following 
address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 30th Session of the CCFFP, Mr. Donald 
Kraemer, Food and Drug Administration, invites interested U.S. parties 
to submit their comments electronically to the following e-mail address 
Melissa.Ellwanger@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: Melissa.Ellwanger@fda.hhs.gov by August 17th, 
2009:

--Your Name,
--Organization,
--Mailing Address,
--Phone number,
--E-mail address.

    For Further Information About the 30th Session of the CCFFP 
Contact: Melissa Ellwanger, Assistant to the U.S. Delegate to the 
CCFFP, FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Harvey W. 
Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 
20740-3835; Phone: (301) 436-1401; Fax: (301) 436-2601. E-mail: 
Melissa.Ellwanger@fda.hhs.gov.
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen 
Chen-Moulec, Staff Officer, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and 
Inspection Service (FSIS), Room 4865, South Building, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 7205-7760, Fax: (202) 
720-3157, E-mail: doreen.chen-moulec@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 CCFFP was established to elaborate codes, standards and related 
texts for fish and fishery products. The CCFFP is hosted by Norway.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 30th Session of the CCFFP 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred to the CCFFP from other Codex bodies
 Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (Lobsters 
and Relevant Definitions)
 Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (Crabs 
and Relevant Definitions)
 Draft Standard for Sturgeon Caviar
 Draft List of Methods for the Determination of Biotoxins in 
the Standard for Raw and Live Bivalve Mollusks
 Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products 
(Other Sections including Smoked Fish)
 Proposed Draft Standard for Smoked Fish, Smoked-Flavored Fish 
and Smoked-Dried Fish
 Proposed Draft Code of Practice on the Processing of Scallop 
Meat
 Proposed Draft Standard for Quick Frozen Scallop Adductor 
Muscle Meat
 Proposed Draft Revision of the Procedure for the Inclusion of 
Additional Species in Standards for Fish and Fishery Products
 Proposed Draft Standard for Fresh/Live and Frozen Abalone 
(Haliotis spp)
 Proposed Draft Standard for Fish Sauce
 Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Quick Frozen Fish 
Sticks (Nitrogen Factors)
 Food Additive Provisions in Standards for Fish and Fishery 
Products

    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 at http://
www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the September 2, 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 30th Session of the CCFFP, Mr. Donald Kraemer, at 
Melissa.Ellwanger@fda.hhs.gov. Written comments should state that they 
relate to activities of the 30th Session of the CCFFP.

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

[[Page 39614]]

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 August 3, 2009.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E9-18926 Filed 8-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P