[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 188 (Wednesday, September 29, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58125-58126]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-21774]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-030N]


Codex Alimentarius: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Residues of 
Veterinary Drugs in Foods

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice informs the public that the Office of the Under 
Secretary for Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), and the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), are sponsoring a public meeting on Tuesday, 
September 28, 2004, to provide information and receive public comments 
on agenda items that will be discussed at the Fifteenth Session of the 
Codex Committee on Residues in Veterinary Drugs in Foods, which will be 
held in Alexandria, VA, October 26-29, 2004. The Under Secretary and 
CVM recognize the importance of providing interested parties with 
information about the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs 
in Foods of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and to address items on 
the Agenda for the 15th Session of the Committee.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 28 from 
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Best Western 
Washington Gateway Hotel, 1251 West Montgomery Avenue, Rockville, MD., 
20850 (Main Ballroom). (The Hotel will provide shuttle service from the 
Rockville Metro Stop to the Hotel at 9:30 a.m.)
    FSIS invites interested persons to submit comments on this notice. 
Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
    Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand- or courier-
delivered items: Send to Docket Clerk, USDA, FSIS, 300 12th Street, 
SW., Room 102 Cotton Annex, Washington, DC, 20250.
    All submissions received must include the Agency name and docket 
number 04-030N.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice, as well as 
research and background information used by FSIS in developing this 
document, will be available for public inspection in the FSIS Docket 
Room at the address listed above between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday. The comments also will be posted on the Agency's 
Web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FRDockets.htm.
    Research and background information will also be accessible via the 
World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edith E. Kennard, Staff Officer, U.S. 
Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue 
SW., Washington, DC, 20250, Phone: (202) 720-5261, Fax: (202) 720-3157, 
E-mail: [email protected].

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 facilitating 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 the 
Environmental Protection Agency manage and carry out U.S. Codex 
activities.
    The Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods was 
established in 1985 by the 16th Session of the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission to determine priorities for the consideration of residues of 
veterinary drugs in foods and to recommend maximum levels of such 
substances; to develop codes of practice as may be required; and to 
consider methods of sampling and analysis for the determination of 
veterinary drug residues in foods. The Committee is chaired by the 
United States.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    Provisional agenda items:
    1. Draft Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Veterinary Drugs 
(Flumequine, neomycin, dicyclanil, carbodox, melengestrol acetate and 
trichlorforn (metrifonate), phoxim, cyalothrin, and cefuroxime).
    2. Proposed Draft Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs 
(Cypermethrin, alpha-cypermethrin, imidocarb, flumequine, pirlimycin, 
cypermethrin/alpha cypermethrin, doramectin, and ractopamine).
    3. Proposed Draft Code of Practice to Minimize and Contain 
Antimicrobial Resistance.
    4. Proposed Draft Revised Guidelines for the Establishment of a 
Regulatory Program for the Control of Veterinary Drug Residues in 
Foods.
    5. Proposed Draft Revised Part II ``General Consideration on 
Analytical Methods for Residue Control'' of the Codex Guidelines for 
the Establishment of a Regulatory Program for the Control of Veterinary 
Drug Residues in Foods.
    6. Discussion Paper on Risk Management Methodologies, Including 
Risk Assessment Policies, in the Codex Committee of Veterinary Drugs in 
Foods.
    7. Review of Performance-based Criteria for Methods of Analysis.
    8. Consideration of the Priority List of Veterinary Drugs Requiring 
Evaluation or Re-evaluation.

[[Page 58126]]

    9. Discussion Paper on Rounding of Acceptable Daily Intakes for 
Veterinary Drugs prior to Setting of MRLs.

Public Meeting

    At the September 28th public meeting, the agenda items will be 
described and discussed, and the U.S. draft positions will be 
presented. 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 Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in 
Foods (CCRVDF) (04-030N).

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the 
public and in particular minorities, women, and persons with 
disabilities, are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line 
through the FSIS Web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov.
    FSIS also will make copies of this Federal Register publication 
available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is used to provide 
information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal 
Register notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, and other types of 
information that could affect or would be of interest to our 
constituents and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, 
a free e-mail subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and 
farm groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, 
scientific professionals, and other individuals who have requested to 
be included. The update also is available on the FSIS Web page. Through 
Listserv and the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a 
much broader, more diverse audience.

    Done at Washington, DC on September 23, 2004.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 04-21774 Filed 9-28-04; 8:45 am]
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