[Federal Register: January 11, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 8)]
[Notices]
[Page 2001-2002]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11ja08-16]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0047]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Natural Mineral Waters
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 January 16, 2008. 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 8th Session of the Codex Committee on Natural Mineral Waters
(CCNMW) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be
held in Lugano, Switzerland on February 11-15, 2008.
The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain
background information on the 8th Session of the CCNMW and to address
items that will be on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, 2008,
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1A001, FDA, Center
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Harvey Wiley Federal
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740. Codex
documents related to the 8th Session of the CCNMW will be accessible
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
The Acting U.S. Delegate to the CCNMW, Dr. Henry Kim, invites
interested U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the
following e-mail address: henry.kim@fda.hhs.gov.
Registration: Register electronically to the same e-mail address
above. Early registration is encouraged because it will expedite entry
into the building and its parking area. If you require parking, please
include the vehicle make and tag number, if known, when you register.
Because the meeting will be held in a Federal building, you should also
bring photo identification and plan for adequate time to pass through
security screening systems.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 8th SESSION OF THE CCNMW CONTACT:
Henry Kim, Acting U.S. Delegate to the CCNMW, Office of Food Safety,
CFSAN, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway (HFS-317), College Park, MD
20740, Phone: (301) 436-2023, Fax: (301) 436-2651, e-mail:
henry.kim@fda.hhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Edith
Kennard, Staff Officer, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS), Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 720-5261, Fax: (202) 720-3157,
e-mail: edith.kennard@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 (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 Codex Committee on Natural Mineral Waters (CCNMW) was
established by the Commission as a regional Codex Committee, but has
since been allocated the task of elaborating worldwide standards for
natural mineral waters and bottled (packaged) water other than natural
[[Page 2002]]
mineral water. The Committee is hosted by Switzerland.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee by the Codex
Alimentarius Commission and Other Codex Committees.
Consideration of the Health-Related Limits for Certain
Substances in the Codex Standard on Natural Mineral Waters (CODEX STAN
108-1981).
Substances listed as having discrepancies that exist
between the Codex Standard and the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water
Quality, 3rd edition (guideline values for chemicals of health
significance).
Discrepancies between the Codex Standards and WHO
Guidelines exist for
--Antimony
--Borate
--Copper
--Manganese
--Nitrite
--Mercury
--Nickel
Each item listed above will be fully described in documents
distributed, or to be distributed, by the Swiss Secretariat prior to
the February 11-15, 2008 meeting in Lugano, Switzerland. Members of the
public may access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
Public Meeting
At the January 16, 2008, 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 Acting U.S.
Delegate for the 8th Session of the CCNMW, Dr. Henry Kim, at
henry.kim@fda.hhs.gov. Written comments should state that they relate
to activities of the 8th Session of the CCNMW.
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/2008_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 January 7, 2008.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-310 Filed 1-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P