[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 237 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63668-63669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30393]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01-038N]


Codex Alimentarius: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Meat and 
Poultry Hygiene

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting, request for comments.

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

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), is sponsoring a public meeting on 
December 12, 2001, to provide information and receive public comments 
on agenda items that will be discussed at the Eighth Session of the 
Codex Committee on Meat and Poultry Hygiene, which will be held in 
Wellington, New Zealand, on February 18-22, 2002. The Under Secretary 
recognizes the importance of providing interested parties with 
information about the Codex Committee on Meat and Poultry Hygiene of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission and to address items on the Agenda 
for the 8th Session of the Committee.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 12, 
2001, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza 
Hotel in the Diplomat Room, 10 Thomas Circle, Washington, DC.
    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

[[Page 63669]]

at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/agend.htm.
    If you have comments, please send an original and two copies to the 
FSIS Docket Room at the address above and reference Docket 01-038N and 
the document number. All comments submitted will be available for 
public inspection in the 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, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission 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. In the United States, USDA, FDA, and EPA manage and 
carry out U.S. Codex activities.
    The Codex Executive Committee (CEC), at its 47th Session in 2000, 
asked that the Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene reconvene to redraft the 
existing codes on meat hygiene so that they reflect contemporary 
developments. The CEC also asked that the scope of the existing codes 
include poultry hygiene. These recommendations were confirmed by the 
24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in July 2001, and it 
was agreed that the name of the Committee would be amended to the Codex 
Committee on Meat and Poultry Hygiene (CCMPH).

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The provisional agenda items to be discussed during the public 
meeting are:

--Proposed Draft General Principles of Meat Hygiene
--Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Meat

Public Meeting

    At the December 10th public meeting, the agenda items will be 
described and discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to 
pose questions and offer comments. Written comments should state that 
they relate to activities of the 8th Session of the Codex Committee on 
Meat and Poultry Hygiene.

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 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 effect 
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.

F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 01-30393 Filed 12-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P