[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 8, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44485-44486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15396]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 2007-0025]


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

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, Food Safety and 
Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture.

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 September 6, 
2007, to discuss the agenda items coming before the Seventh Session of 
the Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from 
Biotechnology (FBT) and to present draft U.S. positions on the agenda 
items. The Seventh Session of the FBT will be held in Chiba, Japan, 
September 24-28, 2007. 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 FBT.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 6, 2007, 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 0161 South 
Agriculture Building (Basement), 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC (please enter at Wing One). Documents related to the 
Seventh 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 Seventh 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 (FSIS), Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 720-5261, Fax: (202) 720-3157, 
E-mail: [email protected]. A call-in number can be provided 
upon request.

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). 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 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 related 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 Seventh 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 Intergovernmental 
Organizations Related to Foods Derived from Biotechnology.
     Summary of the Report of the FAO/WHO Expert. Consultation 
on the Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals.
     Proposed Draft Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety 
Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals.
     Proposed Draft Annex to the Guideline for the Conduct of 
Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants: 
Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA plants 
Modified for Nutritional or Health Benefits.
     Proposed Draft Annex to the Guideline for the Conduct of 
Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants 
with Low-level Presence of Recombinant-DNA Plant Material.
    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 September 6, 2007, 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 comments 
should state that they relate to activities of the Seventh 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/2007_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

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option to password protect their account.

    Done at Washington, DC on: August 2, 2007.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
 [FR Doc. E7-15396 Filed 8-7-07; 8:45 am]
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