[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4731-4732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1726]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0042]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Additives
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, are sponsoring a
public meeting on February 10, 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
41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Shanghai,
China, on March 16-20, 2009. The 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
CCFA and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2009,
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the auditorium (Room
1A003), Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, FDA, Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), 5100 Paint Branch Highway, College Park
MD 20740. Documents related to the 41st Session of the CCFA are
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.
codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the CCFA, Dr. Dennis Keefe, invites interested
U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the following
e-mail address: [email protected]. Registration:
Attendees may register electronically to the same e-mail address
above by February 6, 2009. 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 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 41st Session of the CCFA Contact:
Dennis Keefe, Office of Food Additive Safety (HFS-205), CFSAN, FDA,
5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740. Phone: (301) 436-
1284, Fax: (301) 436-2972, e-mail: [email protected].
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen Chen-
Moulec, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety
and Inspection Service (FSIS), Room 4865, South Building, 1400
Independence Ave SW., Washington, DC 20250. Phone: (202) 250-7760, Fax:
(202) 720-3157, e-mail: doreen.chen-moulec@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 CCFA was established to set or endorse maximum levels for
individual food additives; prepare priority lists of food additives for
risk assessment by the Joint FAO and WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives (JECFA); assign functional classes to individual food
additives; recommend specifications of identity and purity for food
additives for adoption by the Commission; consider methods of analysis
for the determination of additives in food; and consider and elaborate
standards or codes for related subjects such as the labeling of food
additives when sold as such. The Committee is hosted by the People's
Republic of China.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 41st Session of the CCFA
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee from the Codex
Alimentarius Commission and other Codex Bodies;
Matters of Interest Arising from the FAO, WHO, and JECFA;
Endorsement or Revision of Maximum Levels for Food
Additives and Processing Aids in Codex Standards;
Consideration of the Codex General Standard for Food
Additives (GSFA);
Discussion Paper on the Scope of Certain Food Categories
of the GSFA;
Discussion Paper on the Identification of Problems and
[[Page 4732]]
Recommendations Related to Inconsistent Presentation of Food Additive
Provisions in Codex Commodity Standards;
Discussion Paper on Inconsistencies in the Names of
Compounds in the Codex Specifications for Identity and Purity of Food
Additives and in the International Numbering System for Food Additives;
Proposed Draft Guidelines and Principles for Substances
Used as Processing Aids;
International Numbering System (INS) for Food Additives;
Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food
Additives; and
Priority List of Food Additives Proposed for Evaluation by
the JECFA
Each item listed above will be fully described in documents
distributed, or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat prior to
the March 16-20, 2009, meeting in Shanghai, China. Members of the
public may access copies of these documents from http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
Public Meeting
At the February 10, 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 CCFA, Dr. Dennis Keefe at [email protected]. Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 41st
Session of the CCFA.
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 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 22, 2009.
Paulo Almeida,
U.S. Associate Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E9-1726 Filed 1-26-09; 8:45 am]
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