[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2842-2843]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-935]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-051N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Thirty-Seventh Session of the 
Codex Committee on Food Hygiene

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Acting Under Secretary for Food Safety, 
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), United States Department of Health and Human 
Services, are sponsoring a public meeting on February 2, 2005, to 
provide information and receive public comments on agenda items that 
will be discussed at the Thirty-seventh Session of the Codex Committee 
on Food Hygiene (CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex). 
The 37th Session of the CCFH will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 
14-19 March, 2005. The Acting Under Secretary and FDA recognize the 
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain 
background information on the agenda items that will be discussed at 
this forthcoming session of the CCFH.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 2, 2005 
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Conference Room 
1A001, Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, 
College Park, MD. Documents related to the 37th Session of CCFH will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    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-ROMs, and hand- or 
courier-delivered items: Send to the FSIS Docket Clerk, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, 
SW., Room 102, Cotton Annex, Washington, DC 20730. All comments 
received must include the Agency name and docket number 04-051N.
    All comments submitted in response to this notice 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

[[Page 2843]]

Friday. The comments also will be posted on the Agency's Web site at 
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2005_Notices_Index/.

For Further Information About the 37th Session of the CCFH Contact: 
U.S. Delegate, Dr. Robert Buchanan, CFSAN Senior Science Advisor and 
Director of the CFSAN Office of Science, DHHS, FDA, CFSAN, 5100 Paint 
Branch Parkway, College Park, Maryland 20740. Phone (301) 436-2396; Fax 
(301) 436-2642, Email: [email protected].

For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Syed Amjad 
Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861, 
South Agriculture Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, 
DC 20250-3700. Phone (202) 205-7760; Fax (202) 720-3157. Persons 
requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations 
should notify Dr. Rebecca Buchner, FDA at telephone (301) 436-1486, Fax 
(301) 436-2632.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 standard-setting organization for protecting 
the health and economic interests of consumers and encouraging fair 
international trade in food. 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 (EPA) manage and carry out U.S. 
Codex activities.
    The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) was established to draft 
basic provisions on food hygiene for all foods. The Committee is 
chaired by the United States of America.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 37th Session of CCFH will 
be discussed during the public meeting:
    1. Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex Committees.
    2. Discussion paper on the management of the work of the Committee.
    3. Proposed draft guidelines on the application of general 
principles of food hygiene to the [management] of Listeria 
monocytogenes in foods.
    4. Proposed draft principles and guidelines for the conduct of 
microbiological risk management results.
    5. Proposed draft guidelines for the validation of food hygiene 
control measures.
    6. Proposed draft revision of the code of hygienic practice for egg 
products.
    7. Discussion paper on guidelines for the application of the 
general principles of food hygiene to the risk based control of 
Salmonella spp. in poultry.
    8. Discussion paper on guidelines for risk management options for 
Campylobacter in broiler chickens.
    9. Discussion paper on guidelines for the application of the 
general principles of food hygiene to the risk based control of 
Enterohemorragic E. coli in ground beef and fermented sausages.
    10. Risk profile of Vibrio spp in seafood.
    11. Reports of the ad hoc FAO/WHO expert consultations on risk 
assessment of microbiological hazards in food and related matters.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the United States Secretariat to the Meeting. 
Members of the public may access copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the February 2, 2005 public meeting, these agenda items will be 
described, discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to pose 
questions and offer comments. Written comments may be offered at the 
meeting or sent to the U.S. Delegate, for the 37th Session of the CCFH, 
Dr. Robert Buchanan (See ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that 
they relate to activities of the 37th Session of the CCFH.

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 meeting, 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 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 in Washington, DC, on: January 12, 2005.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 05-935 Filed 1-14-05; 8:45 am]
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