[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 194 (Thursday, October 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54608-54609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26124]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-047N]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Hygiene
AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, 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
Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of
Agriculture; and the Food and Drug Administration, United States
Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring two public
meetings on October 12-13, 1999, and November 9, 1999, to provide
information and receive public comments on issues that will be
discussed at the Thirty-second Session of the Codex Committee on Food
Hygiene, which will be held in Washington, DC, on November 29-December
4, 1999.
DATES: The first public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday,
October 12-13, 1999, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The second public
meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 9, 1999, from 1 p.m. to 5
p.m.
ADDRESSES: The first public meeting will be held in Rooms 1409 and
1813, Federal Office Building 8, 200 C St. SW, Washington, DC, 20204.
The second public meeting will be held in Room 1409, Federal Office
Building 8, 200 C St. SW, Washington, DC, 20204. To receive copies of
the documents listed in the notice contact the FSIS Docket Clerk, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room
102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. The
documents will also be accessible via the World Wide Web at the
following address: http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economic/esn/
codex/ccfh32/FH99__01e.htm. When submitting comments, send an original
and two copies to the FSIS Docket Clerk and reference the Docket
# 99-047N and the appropriate document number. All comments submitted
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, FSIS, Room 4861, South
Agriculture Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20250-3700, telephone (202) 690-4042; Fax: (202) 720-3157. Persons
requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations
should notify Patrick J. Clerkin, telephone (202) 690-4042; Fax: (202)
720-3157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Codex was established in 1962 by two United Nations organizations,
the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health
Organization. Codex is the major international organization for
encouraging fair international trade in food and protecting the health
and economic interests of consumers. 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 Hygiene Issues (CCFH) was established
to draft basic provisions on food hygiene for all foods. The Government
of United States of America hosts this committee and will chair the
Thirty-second Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene Issues.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The purpose of the first meeting (October 12-13, 1999) is to
provide information and receive public comments on all issues coming
before the 32nd Session of the CCFH. Specific time periods during the
two-day period will be designated to review each issue and will be
announced on October 12. The purpose of the second meeting is to
present and receive comment on draft United States positions on all
issues coming before the 32nd Session of CCFH.
Below is a list of documents that address the issues the CCFH will
discuss at the meetings. The issue documents marked with an asterisk
are available in the FSIS docket Clerks
[[Page 54609]]
office (See ADDRESSES). The remaining documents will be available in
the docket clerks office as soon as they are published.
1. Report by the Secretariat on Matters Referred by the Codex
Alimentarius Commission and/or Other Codex Committees to the Food
Hygiene Committee including the Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert
Consultation on Risk Assessment of Microbiological Hazards in Foods
(CX/FH 99/2).
2. Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Bottled/Packed Drinking
Waters (Other than Natural Mineral Waters), (CL 1999/9-FH).
Government Comments--(CX/FH 99/3).
3. *Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for the Transport of
Foodstuffs in Bulk and Semi-Packed Foodstuffs (CX/FH 99/4).
Government Comments--(CX/FH 99/4-Add. 1).
4. *Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk
Products (CX/FH 99/5). Government Comments--(CX/FH 99/5-Add. 1).
5. *Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for the Primary
Production, Harvesting and Packaging of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
(CX/FH 99/6). Government Comments--(CX/FH 99/6-Add. 1).
6. *Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Pre-Cut Fruits
and Vegetables at Step 4 (CX/FH 99/7). Government Comments--(CX/FH
99/7-Add. 1).
7. *Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of
Microbiological Risk Management (CX/FH 99/8). Government Comments--
(CX/FH 99/8-Add. 1).
8. Discussion Paper on HACCP in Less Developed Businesses (CX/FH
99/9).
9. *Discussion Paper on Proposed Draft Recommendations for the
Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Foods in International Trade
(CX/FH 99/10).
10. Discussion Paper on Viruses in Foods (CX/FH 99/11).
11. Discussion Paper on Antibiotic Resistance in Food (CX/FH 99/
12).
12. Discussion Paper on Proposed Draft Guidelines for the
Hygienic Reuse of Processing Water in Food Plants (CX/FH 99/13).
13. *Priorities for the Revision of Codes of Hygienic Practice
(CX/FH 99/14).
Additional Public Notification
Pursuant to Department Regulation 4300-4, ``Civil Rights Impact
Analysis,'' dated September 22, 1993, FSIS has considered the potential
civil rights impact of this public meeting on minorities, women, and
persons with disabilities. FSIS anticipates that this public meeting
will not have a negative or disproportionate impact on minorities,
women, or persons with disabilities. However, public meetings generally
are designed to provide information and receive public comments on
substantive issues which may lead to new or revised agency regulations
or instructions. Public involvement in all segments of rulemaking and
policy development are important. Consequently, in an effort to better
ensure that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are made
aware of this public meeting and are informed about the mechanism for
providing their comments, FSIS will announce it and provide copies of
this Federal Register publication in the FSIS Constituent Update.
FSIS 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 FSIS 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,
FSIS 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, on October 1, 1999.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 99-26124 Filed 10-6-99; 8:45 am]
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