[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2995-2996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1102]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
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  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 12 / Wednesday, January 19, 2005 / 
Notices  

[[Page 2995]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-052N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Eleventh Session of the Codex 
Committee on Meat Hygiene

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting, request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is sponsoring a public meeting 
on January 21, 2005, to provide information and receive public comments 
on agenda items that will be discussed at the Eleventh Session of the 
Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene (CCMH). The 11th Session of the CCMH 
will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, February 14-18, 2005. The 
Acting Under Secretary recognizes 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 CCMH.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 21, 2005 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 0161, South 
Agricultural Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20250.
    Documents related to the 11th Session of the CCMH 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 04-052N.
     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 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 11th SESSION OF THE CCMH CONTACT: 
U.S. Delegate, Perfecto Santiago, DVM, Deputy Assistant Administrator, 
Office of Food Security and Emergency Preparedness, Room 3130, South 
Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Edith 
Kennard, Codex Committee Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861, 
South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-
3700, Phone: (202) 720-5261, Fax: (202) 720-3157, e-mail: 
[email protected].

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 Meat Hygiene (CCMH) elaborates worldwide 
standards and/or codes of practice as appropriate for meat hygiene. The 
Committee is chaired by New Zealand.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 11th Session of CCMH will 
be discussed during the public meeting:
    1. Matters referred from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and 
other Codex Committees.
    2. Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Meat.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the New Zealand Secretariat to the Meeting. 
Members of the public may access copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the January 21, 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 11th Session of the CCMH, 
Perfecto Santiago (see Addresses). Written comments should state that 
they relate to activities of the 11th Session of the CCMH.

Additional Public Information

    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 is available on the FSIS Web page. Through 
Listserv and the Web page,

[[Page 2996]]

FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, more diverse 
audience.

    Done at Washington, DC on January 14, 2005.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 05-1102 Filed 1-14-05; 12:36 pm]
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