[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 23, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51283-51284]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-21510]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00-037N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Ad Hoc 
Intergovernmental Task Force on Fruit and Vegetable Juices

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 and the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) 
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) are sponsoring a 
public meeting on Thursday, September 7, 2000, to provide information 
and receive public comments on agenda items that will be discussed at 
the First Session of the Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on 
Fruit and Vegetable Juices, which will be held in Brasilia, Brazil, on 
September 18-22, 2000. The Under Secretary and CFSAN

[[Page 51284]]

recognize the importance of providing interested parties with 
information about the Intergovernmental Task Force on Fruit and 
Vegetable Juices of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and to address 
items on the Agenda for the First Session of the Task Force.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 7, 2000, 
from 1 pm to 4 pm.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1409 of the FDA 
Building, 200 ``C'' Street, SW., Washington, DC. 20204. To receive 
copies of the documents referenced in the notice contact the FSIS 
Docket Room, 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/ccfvj01/fj00 _01e.htm Submit one original and two 
copies of written comments to the FSIS Docket Room (address above) 
Docket #00-037N and the document number. All comments received in 
response to this notice will be considered part of the public record 
and will be available for viewing in the FSIS Docket Room 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. 
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 ad hoc Intergovernmental Codex Task Force on Fruit and 
Vegetable Juices was established by the Twenty-third Session of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission to revise and consolidate the existing 
Codex Standards and guidelines for fruit and vegetable juices and 
related products; and revise and up-date the methods of analysis and 
sampling for these products. The ad hoc Task Force is chaired by 
Brazil.

Issues To Be Discussed At The Public Meeting

    Provisional agenda items to be discussed during the public meeting:
    Consideration of Proposed Draft Codex Standards at Step 4:
    (a) Proposed Draft Codex General Standard for Fruit Juices and 
Nectars;
    (b) Proposed Draft Revised Codex Standard for Vegetable Juices; and
    (c) Proposed Draft Codex Guidelines for the Labelling of Mixed 
Fruit Juices and Nectars.
    The agenda items will be described and discussed at the public 
meeting 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 
activities of the First ad hoc Task Force for Fruit and Vegetable 
Juices.

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.
Patrick J. Clerkin,
Associate U.S. Manager for Codex.
[FR Doc. 00-21510 Filed 8-22-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P