[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 4, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 17623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-8247]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-012N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Twenty-eighth Session of the Codex 
Committee on Food Labelling

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are 
sponsoring a public meeting on April 17, 2000, to provide information 
and receive public comments on agenda items that will be discussed at 
the Twenty-eighth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling 
(CCFL), which will be held in Ottawa, Canada, May 9-12, 2000. The Under 
Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on 
the Twenty-eighth Session of CCFL and to address items on the Agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 17, 2000, from 
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1409, Federal Office 
Building 8, 200 C Street SW, Washington, DC. (Metro Rail stop is 
Federal Center, SW.) To receive copies of the documents referenced in 
this 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. Send 
comments, in triplicate, to the FSIS Docket Clerk and reference Docket 
#00-012N. 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, Telephone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    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 
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 Labelling drafts provisions on labeling 
applicable to all foods; considers, amends if necessary, and endorses 
specific provisions on labeling prepared by the Codex Committees 
drafting standards, codes of practice and guidelines; studies specific 
labeling problems assigned to it by the Commission, and studies 
problems associated with the advertisement of food with particular 
reference to claims and misleading descriptions.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    Agenda items will be described and discussed at the April 17, 2000, 
public meeting. Attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions 
and offer comments.
    The provisional agenda items to be discussed during the public 
meeting:

1. Adoption of the Agenda
2. Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex Committees
3. Consideration of Labeling Provisions in Draft Codex Standards
4. Draft Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labeling and 
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods (Livestock Production)
5. Recommendations for the Labeling of Foods Obtained through 
Biotechnology
6. Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labeling of 
Prepackaged Foods (Class Names)
7. Proposed Draft Amendment to the Guidelines on Nutrition Labeling
8. Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Use of Health Claims
9. Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Use of the Term ``Vegetarian''
10. Other business:
    Discussion Paper on Misleading Claims
    Discussion Paper on Quantitative Ingredient
    Declaration

Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, or 
to be distributed, by the Canadian Secretariat to the Meeting. Members 
of the public may access or request copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure 
that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this 
notice, 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 
to a much broader, more diverse audience. For more information and to 
be added to the constituent fax list, fax your request to the 
Congressional and Public Affairs Office, at (202) 720-5704.

    Done at Washington, DC on March 30, 2000.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 00-8247 Filed 4-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P