[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 170 (Thursday, September 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48137-48139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22901]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-043N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex): Conference on 
International Food Trade Beyond 2000

AGENCY: Office of Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, and the 
Agricultural Marketing Service, United States Department of 
Agriculture; the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for 
Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the 
National Marine Fisheries Service, United States Department of 
Commerce; and the Environmental Protection Agency, are sponsoring a 
public meeting on September 16, 1999, to provide information and 
receive public comments on agenda items for the Conference on 
International Food Trade Beyond 2000, which will be held in Melbourne, 
Australia, October 11-15, 1999. The co-sponsors of the September 16, 
1999, public meeting recognize the importance of providing interested 
parties the opportunity to obtain background information on this 
session and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16, 
1999, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
    The Uruguay Round Agreements have been in effect for five years now 
and a further round of multilateral trade negotiations--under the World 
Trade Organization (WTO)--will be starting in

[[Page 48138]]

the near future. In light of this new round, FAO believes it is 
opportune to hold an intergovernmental conference on the implementation 
of Codex work. The aim is to achieve the full involvement of member 
Governments in existing and proposed activities related to Codex and 
WTO.
    One objective of the Conference on International Food Trade Beyond 
2000 will be to enhance the capacity of developing countries both to 
enjoy the benefits they accrued on signing the Uruguay Round Agreements 
and to fulfill their commitments. The conference will address how food 
quality and safety issues affect trade, health, and development at both 
domestic and international levels. Pointing the way from 2000 onward, 
it will take into account recommendations of the 1991 conference, 
current needs in the field of food trade, the Uruguay Round Agreements 
and the forthcoming round of WTO negotiations.
    The Conference will review the response to the earlier FAO/WHO 
conference and the action taken by these two organizations, with WTO, 
to assist Member Governments in meeting their SPS and TBT obligations. 
This will necessarily entail a full analysis of current Codex, SPS and 
TBT the upcoming Conference on International Food Trade Beyond 2000:
    The Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which began 
in 1985 under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), for 
the first time included discussions on agriculture and agricultural 
products. The negotiations also covered sanitary and phytosanitary 
measures as well as other standards and activities that could cause 
unjustified non-tariff barriers to trade in food and agricultural 
products. When the Uruguay Round was concluded in 1994, among the final 
Agreements were those on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
    In 1991, FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly 
convened the Conference on Food Standards, Chemicals in Food and Food 
Trade, in cooperation with GATT. The occasion provided a forum for 
member Governments to discuss, among other things, the probable impact 
of the proposed SPS and TBT Agreements on international and domestic 
food trade. The conference was highly successful and the subsequent 
implementation of its recommendations on strategies and priorities 
allowed all parties concerned--FAO, WHO, Codex, GATT, national 
governments, industries, and consumers--to be better prepared for the 
food quality and safety obligations of the two Agreements in question.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 104A, Jamie L. 
Whitten Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250. 
The document website of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of 
the United Nations is http://www.fao.org/es/esn/austral/alicom99/
alicom-e.htm. Send an original and two copies of comments to: FSIS 
Docket Clerk, Docket #99-043N, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, 
SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. Please state that your comments relate 
to Docket #99-043N, and specify which issues your comments address. 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: F. Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S. 
Manager for Codex Alimentarius, 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. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other 
special accommodations should notify Ms. Yolande Mitchell, telephone 
(202) 205-7760, FAX: (202) 720-3157.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations 
has developed the following objectives for procedures and of the 
prospects for further change. Carried out within the context of an 
international conference, such a review should generate coherent 
recommendations on scientifically based approaches to promoting better-
quality and safer foods in domestic and international trade.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following specific issues are included on the published agenda 
for the Conference on International Food Trade Beyond 2000. Prior to 
the conference FAO will make papers available which will include 
recommendations on each of the issues listed. These papers will be 
available through the FAO documents website (see ADDRESSES). As the 
papers become available from FAO they will be placed on file in the 
FSIS Docket Clerk's office. These issues will be discussed during the 
public meeting:
    1. Response to the 1991 Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Standards, 
Chemicals in Food and Food Trade
    2. The Codex Alimentarius Commission
    3. Current Status of Food Trade, Including Food Quality and Safety 
Problems
    4. Review of the Implementation of the SPS/TBT Agreements
    5. Challenges for Developing Countries in Meeting the Obligations 
of the SPS/TBT/Codex
    6. Basic Approaches to Consumer Protection--FAO/WHO Model Food Act; 
Control Procedures
    7. Harmonization of Food Regulations and Food Quality/Safety 
Measures Based on Codex Standards, Guidelines and Recommendations
    8. Assuring Food Quality and Safety: Back to the Basics--Quality 
Control Throughout the Food Chain; the role of industry, governments, 
consumers and academia
    9. Prospects for the future:
    a. Emerging Technologies--Ensuring the Quality and Safety of Food
    b. Emerging Problems: Chemical/Biological
    c. Emerging Problems: Allergens
    d. Nutritional, Environmental and Sustainable Food Production 
Considerations
    (i) Changes in cultural and consumer habits
    (ii) Promoting science-based dialogue on emerging technologies and 
problems
    (iii) Nutrition, environment and sustainable food production
    10. Assuring Science-based Decisions
    a. Expert Advice and Risk Analysis--Validity of the Process and 
Dealing with Uncertainty
    b. Determining the Appropriate Level of Protection; Threshold of 
Regulations--Implementation
    11. Harmonization, Mutual Recognition and Equivalence
    a. How and what is attainable?
    b. Labelling and Nutritional Aspects--How much information is 
necessary?
    12. Technical Assistance Needs of Developing Countries and 
Mechanisms to Provide Technical Assistance

Public Meeting

    Those attending the public meeting on September 16, 1999, will hear 
brief descriptions of the issues, and will have the opportunity to pose 
questions and offer comments.

Additional Public Notification

    Pursuant to Departmental Regulation 4300-4, ``Civil Rights Impact 
Analysis,'' dated September 22, 1993, FSIS has considered the potential 
civil rights impact of this notice on minorities,

[[Page 48139]]

women, and persons with disabilities. Therefore, to better ensure that 
these groups and others are made aware of this meeting, FSIS will 
announce it and provide copies of the Federal Register publication in 
the FSIS Constituent Update.
    The Agency provides a weekly FSIS Constituent Update, which is 
communicated via fax to over 300 organizations and individuals. In 
addition, the update is available on line through the FSIS web page 
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. The update is used to provide 
information regarding Agency policies, procedures, regulations, Federal 
Register Notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls and any other types of 
information that could affect or would be of interest to our 
constituents/stakeholders. The constituent fax list consists of 
industry, trade, and farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied 
health professionals, scientific professionals and other individuals 
that have requested to be included. Through these various channels, the 
Agency is able to provide information with a much broader, more diverse 
audience. For more information and to be added to the constituent fax 
list, fax your request to the Office of Congressional and Public 
Affairs, at (202) 720-5704.

    Done at Washington, DC.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 99-22901 Filed 9-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P