[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61736-61737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office
[FR Doc No: 2012-25001]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 /
Notices
[[Page 61736]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2012-0042]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Hygiene
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), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are
sponsoring a public meeting on October 23, 2012. The objective of the
public meeting is to provide information, receive public comments on
agenda items, and draft United States (U.S.) positions that will be
discussed at the 44th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene
(CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held
in New Orleans, Louisiana, from November 12-16, 2012. The Under
Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on
the 44th Session of the CCFH and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for October 23, 2012, from 1
p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Jamie L. Whitten
Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 107-A, Washington,
DC 20250.
Documents related to the 44th Session of the CCFH will be
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org.
Jenny Scott, U.S. Delegate to the CCFH, invites U.S. interested
parties to submit their comments electronically to the following email
address: Jenny.Scott@fda.hhs.gov.
Call-In Number: If you wish to participate in the public meeting
for the 44th session of the CCFH by conference call, please use the
call-in number and participant code listed below. Call-in Number: 1-
888-858-2144. Participant Code: 6208658.
For Further Information About the 44th Session of the CCFH Contact:
Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety, Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, HFS-300,
Room 3B-014, College Park, MD 20740-3835, Telephone: (240) 402-2166,
Fax: (202) 436-2632, Email: Jenny.Scott@fda.hhs.gov.
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Barbara
McNiff, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 4861,
Washington, DC 20250, Telephone: (202) 690-4719, Fax: (202) 720-3157,
Email: Barbara.McNiff@fsis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
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 the food trade.
The CCFH is responsible for:
(a) Drafting basic provisions on food hygiene applicable to all
food;
(b) Considering, amending if necessary, and endorsing provisions on
hygiene prepared by Codex commodity committees and contained in Codex
commodity standards;
(c) Considering, amending if necessary, and endorsing provisions on
hygiene prepared by Codex commodity committees and contained in Codex
codes of practice unless, in specific cases, Codex has decided
otherwise;
(d) Drafting 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;
(e) Considering specific hygiene problems assigned to it by Codex;
(f) Suggesting and prioritizing areas where there is a need for
microbiological risk assessment at the international level and to
develop questions to be addressed by the risk assessors; and
(g) Considering microbiological risk management matters in relation
to food hygiene, including food irradiation, and in relation to the
risk assessment of FAO/WHO.
The CCFH is hosted by the United States.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 44th Session of the CCFH
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred by Codex and/or Other Codex Committees
and Task Forces to the Food Hygiene Committee
Draft Regional Code of Practice for Street-Vended Foods
(Near East)
Matters Arising from the Work of FAO, WHO and Other
International Intergovernmental Organizations
(a) Progress Report on the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on
Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) and Related Matters
(b) Information from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
Proposed Draft Revision of Principles for the
Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods at
Step 4
Practical Examples on the Application and Establishment of
Microbiological Criteria
Proposed Draft Guidelines for Control of Specific Zoonotic
Parasites in Meat: Trichinella spiralis and Cysticercus bovis at Step 4
Proposed Draft Revision of the Code of Hygienic Practice
for Spices and Dried Aromatic Plants at Step 4
Proposed Draft Annex on Berries to the Code of Hygienic
Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables at Step 4
Discussion Paper on a Code of Hygienic Practice for Low
Moisture Food
Discussion Paper on New Work and Periodic Review/Revision
of Codes of Hygienic Practice
CCFH Work Priorities
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat prior to the CCFH
meeting. Members of the public may access these documents (see
ADDRESSES).
[[Page 61737]]
Public Meeting
At the October 23, 2012, 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 44th Session of the CCFH, Jenny Scott (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 44th
Session of the CCFH.
Additional Public Notification
FSIS will announce this notice online through the FSIS Web page
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_Register_Notices/index.asp.
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. 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.
USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on
the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age,
disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or
family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (Braille, large print, or
audiotape.) should contact USDA's Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice
and TTY).
To file a written complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice and TTY).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Done at Washington, DC, on: October 1, 2012.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2012-25001 Filed 10-10-12; 8:45 am]
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