[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 209 (Monday, October 30, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63280-63281]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18145]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0032]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Sixth Session of the Codex ad hoc 
Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived From Biotechnology

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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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 November 14, 
2006 to discuss the agenda items coming before the Sixth Session of the 
Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from 
Biotechnology (FBT) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and 
present draft U.S. positions on the agenda items. The Sixth Session of 
the FBT will be held in Chiba, Japan, November 27-December 1, 2006. The 
Under Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda items that 
will be debated at this forthcoming Session of the FBT.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 14, 2006 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 107A, Jamie Whitten 
Building, 1400 Independence Ave. SW., Washington, DC. Documents related 
to the Sixth Session of the FBT will be accessible via the World Wide 
Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    For Further Information About the Sixth Session of the FBT, 
Contact: U.S. Delegate, Dr. Eric Flamm, Senior Advisor, Office of the 
Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration (HF-23), Parklawn Building, 
Rockville, MD 20857, Phone (301) 827-0591, Fax (301) 827-4774, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Edith 
Kennard, Staff Officer, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection 
Service, 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 (Codex) was established in 1962 by two 
United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization and 
the World Health Organization. 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 protect the health of consumers and ensure fair 
practices in trade. In the United States, USDA, FDA, and the 
Environmental Protection Agency manage and carry out U.S. Codex 
activities.
    The Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from 
Biotechnology was established by the 23rd Session of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission in 1999 to elaborate standards, guidelines, or 
other principles as relates to foods derived from biotechnology. The 
Task Force completed its mandates within its four-year timeframe and 
was dissolved by the 26th Session of the Commission. The 27th Session 
re-established the Task Force for another four-year period. The Task 
Force is hosted by the government of Japan.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the Sixth Session of the FBT 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters referred to the Committee from other Codex bodies.
     Review of the Work by International Organizations on the 
Evaluation of the Safety and Nutrition Aspects of Foods Derived from 
Biotechnology.
     Proposed Draft Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety 
Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals.
     Proposed Draft Annex (scoping document) to the Guideline 
for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from 
Recombinant-DNA Plants; Food Safety Assessment of Food Derived from 
Recombinant-DNA Plants Modified for Nutritional or Health Benefits.
     Discussion Paper on Comparative Food Composition Analysis 
of Staple Foods.
     Discussion Paper on Sanitary Surveillance after Placing on 
the Market Foods Derived from Biotechnology.
     Discussion Paper on Safety Assessment of Foods Derived 
from Animals Exposed to Protection against Disease through Gene Therapy 
or Recombinant-DNA Vaccines.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Japanese Secretariat to the Meeting. 
Members of the public may access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/ current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the November 14, 2006 public meeting, draft U.S. positions on 
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 of 
the FBT, Dr. Eric Flamm at [email protected]. Written

[[Page 63281]]

comments should state that they relate to activities of the Sixth 
Session of the FBT.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that 
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/2006--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 meetings, recalls, and other types of 
information that could affect or would be of interest to constituents 
and stakeholders. The update is communicated via Listserv, a free 
electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade and farm 
groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, and 
other individuals who have asked to be included. The update is 
available on the FSIS Web page. Through the Listserv and Web page, FSIS 
is able to provide information to a much broader and more diverse 
audience. In addition, FSIS offers an e-mail subscription service which 
provides automatic and customized access to selected food safety news 
and information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and --events/email--subscription/. 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: October 25, 2006.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E6-18145 Filed 10-27-06; 8:45 am]
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