[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 19 (Monday, January 31, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4814-4815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1702]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 04-047N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Twenty-seventh Session of the 
Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products

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), and the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), United States Department of Health and Human 
Services, are sponsoring a public meeting on February 9, 2005, to 
provide information and receive public comments on all agenda items 
that will be discussed at the Twenty-seventh Session of the Codex 
Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (CCFFP) of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (Codex). The 27th Session of the CCFFP will be 
held at the Arabella Sheraton Grand, 1 Lower Long Street, Cape Town, 
South Africa, February 28-March 4, 2005. The 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 CCFFP.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 9, 2005 
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 2A-047, Harvey W. 
Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD. 
Documents related to the 27th Session of the CCFFP 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 20250-3700. All Comments 
received must include the Agency name and docket number 04-047N.
    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 33rd Session of the CCFFP 
Contact: U.S. Delegate, Mr. Philip Spiller, Director, Office of 
Seafood, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug 
Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, 
Phone: (301) 436-2300, Fax: (301) 436-2599, E-mail: [email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Syed 
Amjad Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 
4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20250-3700,

[[Page 4815]]

Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157. Persons requiring a sign 
language interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Ms. 
Melissa Ellwanger, at telephone (301) 436-1401 or Fax (301) 436-2601.

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 ensuring fair 
practices in 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 Fish and Fishery Products was established to 
elaborate codes and standards for fish and fishery products. The 
Committee is chaired by Norway.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 27th Session of the CCFFP 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
    1. Matters arising from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex committees.
    2. Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard for Salted Fish and 
Dried Salted Fish.
    3. Proposed Draft Standard for Scallops Adductor Muscle Meat.
    4. Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products 
(Sections 2 (Definitions), 6 (Aquaculture Production), 7 (Live and 
[Raw] Bivalve Molluscs), 11 (Processing of Salted Fish), 12 (Processing 
of Smoked Fish), 13 (Processing of Lobsters and Crabs), 14 (Processing 
of Shrimps and Prawns), 15 (Processing of Cephalopods), 17 (Transport), 
and 18 (Retail).
    5. Proposed Draft Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs.
    6. Proposed Draft Standard for Smoked Fish.
    7. Proposed Draft Standard for Granular Sturgeon Caviar.
    8. Revision of the Procedure for Inclusion of New Species.
    9. Discussion paper on new work to amend the Proposed Draft Code of 
Practice for Fish and Fishery Products, Section 10 (Processing of Quick 
Frozen Fish Products) to include molluscan shellfish and shrimp.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Norwegian Secretariat to the Meeting. 
Members of the public may access copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the February 9, 2005 public meeting, these agenda items will be 
described, and 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 27th Session of the 
CCFFP, Philip Spiller (See ADDRESSES). Written comments should state 
that they relate to activities of the 27th Session of the CCFFP.

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/regulations/2005 Notices Index/.
    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 at Washington, DC, on: January 25, 2005.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 05-1702 Filed 1-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P