[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 242 (Monday, December 18, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75708-75709]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-21371]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2006-0041]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Fats and Oils

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are 
sponsoring a public meeting on January 23, 2007. The objective of the 
public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on 
agenda items and draft United States positions that will be discussed 
at the Twentieth Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) 
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in 
London, United Kingdom, from February 19-23, 2007. The Under Secretary 
for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on 
the 20th Session of CCFO and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 23, 2007 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the rear of the 
Cafeteria, South Agriculture Building, United States Department of 
Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250. 
Documents related to the 20th Session of the CCFO will be accessible 
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 20th Session of the CCFO, Dr. Dennis Keefe 
of FDA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments 
electronically to the following e-mail address 
([email protected]).

Registration

    There is no need to pre-register for this meeting. To gain 
admittance to this meeting, individuals must present a photo ID for 
identification. When arriving for the meeting, please enter the South 
Building through the Second Wing entrance on ``C'' Street SW.
    For Further Information About the 20th Session of the CCFO Contact: 
Dr. Dennis Keefe, the U.S. Delegate to the 20th Session of the CCFO, 
FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Harvey W. Wiley 
Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-
3835, Phone: (301) 436-1284, Fax: (301) 436-2972. E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Amjad 
Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex

[[Page 75709]]

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 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 that fair 
practices are used in trade.
    The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils was established to elaborate 
codes, standards and related texts for fats and oils. The Committee is 
hosted by the United Kingdom.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the Agenda for the 20th Session of the 
Committee will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee from the Other Codex 
Bodies.
     Draft Standard for Fat Spreads and Blended Spreads: 
Section on Food Additives.
     Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils: 
Inclusion of Rice Bran Oil.
     Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils: 
Amendment to Total Carotenoids in Unbleached Palm Oil.
     Code of Practice for Storage and Transport of Edible Fats 
and Oils in Bulk: Draft List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes.
     Consideration of the Linolenic Acid Level in Section 3.9 
of the Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils.
     Consideration of Proposals for Amendments to the Standard 
for Named Vegetable Oils: Palm Kernel Stearin and Palm Kernel Olein.
     Criteria for the Revision of the Standard for Named 
Vegetable Oils.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the Meeting. Members 
of the public may access or request copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the January 23, 2007 public meeting, draft U.S. positions on the 
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 20th 
Session of CCFO, Dr. Dennis Keefe (see ADDRESSES). Written comments 
should state that they relate to activities of the 20th Session of the 
CCFO.

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 December 12, 2006.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E6-21371 Filed 12-15-06; 8:45 am]
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