[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 201 (Friday, October 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59795-59796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26268]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration


Food Labels, Packaging, Restaurants, and Weight Management; 
Public Workshop

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public workshop.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with 
the Department of Health and Human Service's Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (OASPE) and FDA's Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), is announcing a public workshop 
entitled ``Exploring the Connections Between Weight Management and Food 
Labels and Packaging.'' The workshop is being held in response to the 
growing concern about obesity in the United States. It is intended to 
be a science workshop (i.e., nutrition, consumer science, economics, 
marketing and other relevant sciences) that will look at available data 
to identify options (and pros and cons) about FDA's food labeling and 
food packaging requirements that are relevant to consumer weight 
management decisions.

DATES: The public workshop will be held on November 20, 2003, from 8:30 
a.m. to 6 p.m.
    Location: The public workshop will be held at the Lister Hill 
Conference Center, National Institutes of Health Bldg. 38A, 8600 
Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amber Jessup, Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition (HFS-726), Food and Drug Administration, 5100 
Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, 301-436-1689, 
[email protected].
    Registration: There is no registration fee for the workshop; 
however, seating is limited. Therefore, interested parties are 
encouraged to register early. You may register online by clicking on 
https://secure.z-techcorp.com/cmt/ (FDA has verified the Web site 
address but is not responsible for subsequent changes to the Web site 
after this document publishes in the Federal Register). All those 
planning to preregister must register no later than Friday, November 7, 
2003. Registration will close after the workshop is filled. Onsite 
registration will be done on a space-available basis on the day of the 
public workshop beginning at 8 a.m. If you have any questions, please 
contact Karen Ellis at 301-315-2806 or via e-mail at techcorp.com">kellis@z-techcorp.com. If you need special accommodations due to a disability, 
please contact Ms. Ellis at least 7 days in advance.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The workshop is being held in response to 
the growing concern about obesity in the United States. The workshop is 
co-sponsored by FDA, CFSAN and OASPE. The workshop will be of primary 
interest to nutritionists, marketing experts, social marketing experts, 
industry, the legal community involved in food labeling and marketing 
issues, government agencies, consumer groups, and clinicians with 
obesity expertise. The goal of this science workshop is to

[[Page 59796]]

look at the available data and to identify options (pro & con) for food 
labeling and food packaging, which are relevant to consumers' weight 
management decisions. Topics to be discussed at the workshop include: 
``Current food labels and packaging: Effects on weight management and 
reduced risk of overweight and obesity'' and ``Data supporting options 
for change.'' The workshop will include sessions with expert views on 
food packaging and labeling, and on messaging in the restaurant 
environment relevant to overall weight management.
    Transcripts: Transcripts of the public workshop may be requested in 
writing from the Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857, 
approximately 15 working days after the public workshop at a cost of 10 
cents per page.

    Dated: October 8, 2003.
Jeffrey Shuren,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 03-26268 Filed 10-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S