[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 19 (Friday, January 29, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4632-4633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-2222]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-001N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Food Additives and Contaminants

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United 
States Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a public 
meeting on February 9, 1999, to provide information and receive public 
comments on agenda items that will be discussed at the Thirty-first 
Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants 
(CCFAC), which will be held in the Hague, the Netherlands, March 22-26, 
1999. The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA 
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information and address agenda items 
on the Thirty-first Session of the CCFAC.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 9, 1999, 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.


[[Page 4633]]


ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1419, FOB 8, 200 C 
St. SW, Washington, DC. Send an original and two copies of written 
comments to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket # 99-001N, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton 
Annex, 300 12th St., SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments 
submitted in response to this notice will be available for public 
inspection in the Docket Clerk's Office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. 
Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick J. Clerkin, Associate U.S. 
Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20250-3700, Telephone: (202) 205-7760; Fax: (202) 720-
3157.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) was established in 1962 
by two United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Codex is 
the major international organization for protecting the health and 
economic interests of consumers and encouraging fair international 
trade in food. 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 ensure 
that the world's food supply is sound, wholesome, free from 
adulteration, and correctly labeled.
    The Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants establishes 
or endorses maximum or guideline levels for individual food additives, 
contaminants (including environmental contaminants), and naturally 
occurring toxicants in foodstuffs and animal feeds. In addition, the 
Committee prepares priority lists of food additives and contaminants 
for toxicological evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on 
Food Additives; recommends specifications of identity and purity for 
food additives for adoption by the Commission; considers methods of 
analysis for their determination in food; considers and elaborates 
standards or codes for related subjects such as the labelling of food 
additives when sold as such; and review process for food irradiation.
    Issues to be discussed at the public meeting:

General Issues

1. Adoption of the Agenda
2. Matters Referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex Committees
3. Summary Report of the 51st Meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert 
Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
4. Action Required as a Result of Changes in ADI Status and other 
Toxicological Recommendations
5. Discussion Paper on the Application of Risk Analysis Principles for 
Food Additives and Contaminants

Food Additives

1. Endorsement and/or Revision of Maximum Levels for Food Additives in 
Codex Standards
2. Consideration of the Codex General Standard for Food Additives
3. Discussion Paper on the Use of Colours in Foods
4. Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives Arising 
from the 51st JECFA Meeting
5. Proposed Amendments to the International Numbering System

Contaminants

1. Endorsement and/or Revision of Maximum Levels for Contaminants in 
Codex Standards
2. Comments on Section 3.2 (Health Related Limits for Certain 
Substances) of the Codex Standard for Natural Mineral Water
3. Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods: Report 
of the ad hoc Working Group on Contaminants and Toxins
4. Methodology and Principles for Exposure Assessment in the Codex 
General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods
5. Mycotoxins in Food and Feed
    (a) Ochratoxin
    (b) Zearalenone
    (c) Patulin
6. Industrial and Environmental Contaminants in Foods
    (a) Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Source Directed Measures to 
Reduce Contamination of Food with Chemicals
    (b) Lead
    (c) Tin
    (d) Cadmium
    (e) Arsenic
    (f) Dioxins

General Issues

1. Proposals for Priority Evaluation of Food Additives and Contaminants 
by JECFA
2. Other Business and Future Work
    (a) Comments on Methods of Analysis for the Determination of Food 
Additives and Contaminants in Foods
    (b) Comments on the Inventory of Processing Aids
    (c) Comments on Packaging Provisions to Maintain the Stability of 
Iodized Salt in the Codex Standard for Food Grade Salt

    At the February 9, 1999, public meeting, the agenda items will be 
described and discussed and attendees will have the opportunity to pose 
questions and offer comments. Comments may be sent to the FSIS Docket 
Room (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that they relate to 
CCFAC activities of the Thirty-first Session.

    Done at Washington, DC on January 26, 1999.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex.
[FR Doc. 99-2222 Filed 1-28-99; 8:45 am]
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