[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 57 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14418-14419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6559]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2010-0009]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Labeling
AGENCY: Office of Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Food Safety, United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are
sponsoring a public meeting on April 7, 2010. 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 38th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) of
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Quebec
City, Canada, May 3-7, 2010. The Office of Food Safety and the FDA
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the
opportunity to obtain background information on the 38th Session of the
CCFL and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for April 7, 2010, from 2 to 5
p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the USDA, Jamie L.
Whitten Building, Room 107-A, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20250. Documents related to the 38th Session of the CCFL
will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address:
http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
The U.S. Delegate to the 38th Session of the CCFL, Barbara
Schneeman, and the FDA invite interested U.S. parties to submit their
comments electronically to the following e-mail address:
[email protected].
Registration:
If you would like to participate in the public meeting by telephone
conference, please use the following call-in number and passcode: Call-
in Number: 1-866-692-3158. Passcode: 5986642.
For Further Information About the 38th Session of the CCFL Contact:
Doreen Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection
Service (FSIS), Room 4861, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157, E-mail:
[email protected].
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen
Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861, 1400 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202)
720-3157, E-mail: [email protected].
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 trade.
The CCFL is responsible for drafting provisions on labeling
applicable to all foods; considering, amending if necessary, and
endorsing draft specific provisions on labeling of draft standards,
codes of practice and guidelines prepared by other Codex Committees;
studying specific labeling problems assigned to it by the Codex
Commission; and studying problems associated with the advertisement of
food with particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions.
The Committee is chaired by Canada.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 38th Session of the CCFL
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee by other Codex Bodies
Consideration of Labeling Provisions in Draft Codex
Standards
Implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet,
Physical Activity, and Health
(a) Proposed Draft Revision of the Guidelines on Nutrition Labeling
Concerning the List of Nutrients that are always Declared on a
Voluntary or Mandatory Basis
(b) Discussion Paper on Issues Related to Mandatory Nutrition
Labeling
(c) Proposed Draft Criteria and Principles for Legibility and
Readability of Nutrition Labels
(d) Discussion Paper on Labeling Provisions Dealing with the Food
Ingredients Identified in the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical
Activity, and Health
Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labeling and
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods:
Annex 1: Inclusion of Ethylene for Other Products
Labeling of Foods and Food Ingredients Obtained through
Certain Techniques of Genetic Modification/Genetic Engineering
(a) Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labeling of
Prepackaged Foods: Definitions
Discussion Paper on the Need to Amend the General Standard
for the
[[Page 14419]]
Labeling of Prepackaged Foods in line with the International
Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) Recommendations Regarding the
Declaration of the Quantity of Product in Prepackages.
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat prior to the CCFL
meeting. Members of the public may access these documents on the World
Wide Web (see ADDRESSES).
Public Meeting
At the April 7, 2010, 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, Barbara
Schneeman (See ADDRESSES), for the 38th Session of the CCFL. Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 38th
Session of the CCFL.
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_&_Policies/2010_Notices_Index/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. 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 in Washington, DC, March 17, 2010.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2010-6559 Filed 3-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P