[Federal Register: October 23, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 204)]
[
Notices]
[Page 54777-54778]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23oc09-20]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2009-0030]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Hygiene
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), of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are
sponsoring a public meeting on October 28, 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
41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in San Diego,
California, from November 16 through November 20, 2009. The Acting
Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of
providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background
information on the 41st session of the CCFH and to address items on the
agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2009,
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at FDA, Harvey Wiley Federal
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, Room 1A-003 (Auditorium), College
Park, MD 20740. Documents related to the 41st Session of the CCFH will
be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the 41st Session of the CCFH invites
interested U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the
following e-mail address Donald.Zink@fda.hhs.gov.
Registration: All visitors must pass through security screening in
the front lobby of the building and will be directed to the auditorium.
Visitors who wish to come to the building via automobile may park in
the FDA parking lot next to the building. Those parking in the FDA lot
will need to pass through the guard station at the River Road entrance.
To expedite entry to the parking lot, it is recommended that visitors
who drive to the meeting contact Jasmine Matthews in the U.S. Codex
Office and provide their name, vehicle make, model, color, and license
plate number, by close of business on October 23, 2009.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 41ST SESSION OF THE CCFH CONTACT:
Barbara McNiff, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4870, Washington,
DC 20250, (202) 690-4719, Barbara.McNiff@fsis.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Jasmine
Matthews, Program Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue,
Room 4861, Washington, DC 20250, (202) 690-1124,
Jasmine.Matthews@fsis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The 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 CCFH was established to draft basic provisions on food hygiene
applicable to all food; to consider, amend if necessary, and endorse
provisions on hygiene prepared by Codex commodity committees and
contained in Codex codes of practice unless, in specific cases, the
Codex has decided otherwise; to draft provisions on hygiene applicable
to specific food items or food groups, whether coming within the terms
of reference of a Codex commodity committee or not; to consider
specific hygiene problems assigned to it by the Codex; to suggest and
prioritize areas where there is a need for microbiological risk
assessment at the international level; to develop questions to be
addressed by the risk assessors; and to consider microbiological risk
management matters in relation to food hygiene, including food
irradiation, and in relation to the risk assessment of FAO and WHO.
The CCFH is hosted by the United States of America.
Issues to be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 41st Session of the CCFH
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred by the Codex and Other Codex Committees
to the CCFH;
Matters Arising from the Work of FAO, WHO, and Other
International Intergovernmental Organizations:
(a) Progress Report on the Joint FAO and WHO Expert Meetings on
Microbiological Risk Assessment and Related Matters
(b) Information from the World Organization for Animal Health
Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter
and Salmonella spp. in Chicken Products at Step 4;
[[Page 54778]]
Proposed Draft Annex on Leafy Green Vegetables, Including
Leafy Herbs, to the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and
Vegetables at Step 4;
Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Vibrio spp.
in Seafood at Step 4;
Proposed Draft Annex on Control Measures for Vibrio
parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus in Molluscan Shellfish;
Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Control of
Viruses in Food at Step 4;
Inconsistencies Arising in Documents Elaborated by the
CCFH and Adopted by the Codex;
Discussion of the Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group for
Establishment of CCFH Work Priorities.
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 October 28, 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 41st Session of the CCFH, Donald Zink (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 41st
Session of the CCFH.
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 FSIS Constituent 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 FSIS Constituent 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 October 20, 2009.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E9-25527 Filed 10-22-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P