[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 1, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10468-10469]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-2830]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0003]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: 34th Session of the Codex 
Committee on Food Labelling

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, 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) are sponsoring a public meeting on April 7, 2006 
to provide draft U.S. positions and receive public comments on agenda 
items that will be discussed at the 34th Session of the Codex Committee 
on Food Labelling (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), 
which will be held in Ottawa, Canada on May 1-5, 2006. The Under 
Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda items that will be 
discussed at this forthcoming Session of the CCFL.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 7, 2006, from 
9 a.m. to 12 noon.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1A-003, FDA Harvey 
W. Wiley Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD. 
Documents related to the 34th Session of the CCFL 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:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: This Web site provides the 
ability to type short comments directly into the comment field on this 
Web page or attach a file for lengthier comments. FSIS prefers to 
receive comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to http://www.regulations.gov and, in the ``Search for Open Regulations'' box, 
select ``Food Safety and Inspection Service'' from the agency drop-down 
menu, then click on ``Submit.'' In the Docket ID column, select the 
Federal Docket Management System Docket Number FSIS-2006-0003 to submit 
or view public comments and to view supporting and related materials 
available electronically.
     Mail, including floppy disks or CD-ROM's, and hand- or 
courier-delivered items to Docket Clerk, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, SW., 
Room 102 Cotton Annex Building, Washington, DC 20250.
     Electronic mail: [email protected]. 
All submissions received must include the Agency name and docket number 
FSIS-2006-0003. All comments submitted in response to this notice, as 
well as research and background information used by FSIS in developing 
this document, will be posted to the regulations.gov Web site. The 
background information and comments also 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.
    Participation by Conference Call: A call-in number has been 
arranged: 1-800-857-9091, participant code 60357.
    For Further Information About the 34th Session of the CCFL Contact: 
U.S. Delegate, Dr. Barbara Schneeman,

[[Page 10469]]

Director, Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary 
Supplements, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, 5100 
Paint Branch Parkway (HFS-004), College Park, MD 20740, Phone: (301) 
436-2373, Fax: (301) 436-2636. E-mail: [email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Ellen 
Matten, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety 
and Inspection Service, Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 
720-3157.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius (Codex) was established in 1963 by two 
United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization 
(FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Codex is the major 
international 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 Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) manage and carry out U.S. Codex activities.
    The Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) drafts provisions on 
labeling applicable to all foods; considers, amends, if necessary, and 
endorses specific provisions on labeling of draft standards, codes of 
practice, and guidelines prepared by other Codex committees; studies 
specific labeling problems assigned to it by the Commission; and 
studies problems associated with the advertisement of food with 
particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions. The 
Committee is chaired by Canada.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 34th Session of the CCFL 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters referred to the Committee from other Codex bodies.
     Endorsement of labeling provisions of draft commodity 
standards.
     Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and 
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods: Draft Revised Annex 2, Tables 
1 and 3, and consideration of the process for evaluating substances in 
Annex 2.
     Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Labelling of Foods 
Obtained Through Certain Techniques of Genetic Modification/Genetic 
Engineering: Labelling Provisions and Definitions.
     Proposed Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the 
Labelling of Prepackaged Foods (Quantitative Declaration of 
Ingredients).
     Proposed Draft Definition of Trans-Fatty Acids.
     Discussion Paper on Advertising.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Canadian Secretariat to the Meeting. 
Members of the public may access or request copies of these documents 
(see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the April 7, 2006 public meeting, draft U.S. positions on 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 34th 
Session of CCFL, Dr. Barbara Schneeman, (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 34th 
Session of the CCFL.

Additional 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/index.asp.
    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.
    In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail subscription service which 
provides an automatic and customized notification when popular pages 
are updated, including Federal Register publications and related 
documents. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription/ subscription/ and allows FSIS customers to 
sign up for subscription options across eight categories. Options range 
from recalls to export information to regulations, directives and 
notices.
    Customers can add or delete subscriptions themselves and have the 
option to password protect their account.

    Done at Washington, DC, on February 23, 2006.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E6-2830 Filed 2-28-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P