[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 78 (Friday, April 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21394-21395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9987]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 78 / Friday, April 21, 2000 / 
Notices  

[[Page 21394]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-015N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Twenty-fourth Session of the Codex 
Committee on Fish and Fishery Products

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 Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), are sponsoring a public meeting on May 10, 2000, to provide 
information and receive public comments on agenda items that will be 
discussed at the Twenty-fourth Session of the Codex Committee on Fish 
and Fishery Products (CCFFP), which will be held in Alesund, Norway, 
June 5-9, 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-fourth Session of the CCFFP 
and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 10, 2000, 
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the FDA, Office of 
Seafood, Conference Room, 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 1110, 
Washington, DC 20005. 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 
# 00-015N. 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. Persons requiring a sign language interpreter or other special 
accommodations should notify Mr. Clerkin at the above number.

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 Fish and Fishery Products was established to 
elaborate codes and standards for fish and fishery products. The 
Government of Norway hosts this Committee and will chair the Committee 
meeting.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    Agenda items will be described and discussed at the May 10, 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 are:
    1. Matters Referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex committees,
    2. Weight Determination of Quick Frozen Shrimps and Prawns,
    3. Inclusion of Additional Species in the Standards for Fish and 
Fishery Products; Chilean Langostino,
    4. Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products at 
Step 4,
    5. Draft Standard for Dried Salted Anchovies; Government Comments 
at Step 7,
    6. Draft Standard for Crackers from Marine and Freshwater Fish, 
Crustacean, and Molluscan Shellfish at Step 7,
    7. Proposed Draft Standard for Salted Atlantic Herring and Salted 
Sprats at Step 4,
    8. Proposed Draft Standard for Smoked Fish at Step 4,
    9. Proposed Draft Standard for Molluscan Shellfish at Step 4,
    10. Model Certificate for Fish and Fishery Products,
    11. Discussion Paper on the Development of a Standard for Scallops,
    12. Discussion Paper on the Development of a Standard for Sturgeon 
Caviar,
    13. Discussion Paper on the Use of Chlorinated Water.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Norway Secretariat. 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

[[Page 21395]]

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: April 18, 2000.
Patrick J. Clerkin,
Associate U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 00-9987 Filed 4-20-00; 8:45 am]
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