[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 13 (Thursday, January 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3601-3603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1143]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2010-0044]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Pesticide Residues
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 Office of Pesticide Programs,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are sponsoring a public
meeting on February 24, 2011. The objective of the public meeting is to
provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and
draft United States (U.S.) positions that will be discussed at the 43rd
Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Beijing,
P.R. China April 4-9, 2011. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the
EPA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the
opportunity to obtain background information on the 43rd Session of the
CCPR and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2011, from 1
p.m. to 3 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at EPA, One Potomac Yard,
Room S-7100, 2777 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202.
Documents related to the 43rd Session of the CCPR will be
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
Lois Rossi, U.S. Delegate to the 43rd Session of the CCPR and the
EPA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following e-mail address:
[email protected].
Call in Number:
If you wish to participate in the public meeting for the 43rd
Session of the CCPR by conference call, please use the following call
in number and participant code listed below.
Call in Number (United States): 1-866-299-3188
Call in Number (International): 1-706-758-1822
Participant code: 7033056463
For Further Information About the 43rd Session of the CCPR Contact:
Lois
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Rossi, Director of Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs,
EPA, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20460, Phone: (703) 305-5447, Fax: (703) 305-6920, E-mail:
[email protected].
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen
Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room
4861, 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 CCPR is responsible for establishing maximum limits for
pesticide residues in specific food items or in groups of food;
establishing maximum limits for pesticide residues in certain animal
feeding stuffs moving in international trade where this is justified
for reasons of protection of human health; preparing priority lists of
pesticides for evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide
Residues (JMPR); considering methods of sampling and analysis for the
determination of pesticide residues in food and feed; considering other
matters in relation to the safety of food and feed containing pesticide
residues; and establishing maximum limits for environmental and
industrial contaminants showing chemical or other similarity to
pesticides, in specific food items or groups of food.
The Committee is hosted by China.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 43rd Session of the CCPR
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred to the Committee by Codex and Codex
Committees
Report on Items of General Consideration by the 2010 JMPR
Report on the 2010 JMPR Response to Specific Concerns
Raised by the CCPR
Draft and Proposed Draft Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) for
Pesticides in Foods and Feeds at Steps 7 and 4
Discussion Paper on the Application of Proportionality in
Selecting Data for MRL Estimation
Draft Revision of the Codex Classification of Foods and
Animal Feeds at Step 7: Tree Nuts, Herbs and Spices
Proposed Draft Revision of the Codex Classification of
Foods and Animal Feeds at Step 4: Assorted Tropical and Sub-Tropical
Fruits-Edible Peel; Assorted Tropical and Subtropical Fruits-Inedible
Peel; Leafy Vegetables (including Brassica Leafy Vegetables); and
Brassica (Cole or Cabbage) Vegetables, Cabbage, Head and Flowerhead
Cabbages
Draft Principles and Guidance for the Selection of
Representative Commodities for the Extrapolation of MRL for Pesticides
for Commodity Groups at Step 7
Proposed Draft Annexes to the Draft Principles and
Guidance for the Selection of Representative Commodities for the
Extrapolation of MRL for Pesticides for Commodity Groups at Step 4
Discussion Paper on the Guidance to Facilitate the
Establishment of MRL for Pesticides for Minor Use and Specialty Crops
Proposed Draft Revision of the Guidelines on the
Estimation of Uncertainty of Results for the Determination of Pesticide
Residues at Step 4
Discussion Paper on How To Address Methods of Analysis for
Pesticide Residues by the CCPR
Revision of the Risk Analysis Principles Applied by the
CCPR
Establishment of Codex Priority Lists of Pesticides
Consideration of the Status of Codex MRL for Lindane
Discussion Paper on JMPR Resource Issues in the Provision
of Scientific Advice to the CCPR
Assessment of MRL for Pesticides in Tea
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 February 24, 2011, 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 43rd session of the CCPR, Lois Rossi (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 43rd
session of the CCPR.
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, audiotape,
etc.) 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.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the
public and in particular minorities, women, and persons with
disabilities, are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line
through the FSIS Web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_Register_Notices/index.asp.
FSIS also will 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 our constituents and
stakeholders. The Update is communicated via Listserv, a free e-mail
subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and farm groups,
consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific
professionals, and other individuals who have requested to be included.
The Update also is available on the FSIS Web page. Through Listserv and
the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader,
more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an e-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, export information, regulations,
directives, and notices. Customers can add or delete
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subscriptions themselves, and have the option to password protect their
accounts.
Done at Washington, DC, on January 12, 2011.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2011-1143 Filed 1-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P