[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54639-54640]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-4757]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0036]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Food Hygiene

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, are sponsoring a 
public meeting on September 26, 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 
Thirty-ninth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Delhi, 
India, from October 30-November 4, 2007. The Under Secretary for Food 
Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties 
with the opportunity to obtain background information on the 39th 
Session of the CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 26, 
2007, 3-5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the rear of the 
cafeteria, South Agriculture Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250. Documents related to the 39th Session of the 
CCFH will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following 
address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 39th Session of the CCFH, Dr. Robert 
Buchanan 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

[[Page 54640]]

arriving for the meeting, please enter the South Agriculture Building 
through the Second Wing entrance on C Street, SW.
    For Further Information About the 39th Session of the CCFH Contact: 
Rebecca Buckner, Alternate to the U.S. Delegate to the CCFH, FDA, 
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Harvey W. Wiley Federal 
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, 
Phone: (301) 436-1486, Fax: (301) 436-2632. E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Amjad 
Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and 
Inspection Service, Room 4861, South Agriculture 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 fair 
practices are used in trade.
    The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene was established to elaborate 
codes, standards and related texts for food hygiene. The Committee is 
hosted by the United States.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 39th Session of the CCFH 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee on Food Hygiene from the 
other Codex bodies.
     Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Powdered 
Formulae for Infants and Young Children.
     Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Validation of Food 
Safety Control Measures.
     Microbiological Criteria for Listeria monocytogenes in 
Ready-to-Eat Foods.
     Discussion Paper on the Proposed Draft Guidelines for the 
Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella spp. in Broiler (Young Bird) 
Chicken Meat.
     Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of 
Microbiological Risk Management: Annex II: Guidance on Microbiological 
Risk Management Metrics.
     Discussion of the Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group for 
Establishment of CCFH Work Priorities.
    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 September 26, 2007, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on 
the 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 39th Session of the CCFH, Dr. Robert Buchanan (see ADDRESSES). 
Written comments should state that they relate to activities of the 
39th Session of the CCFH.

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 online through the FSIS Web page located 
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2007_Notices_Index/. FSIS 
will also 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, 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 groups, 
consumer interest groups, health professionals, and other individuals 
who have asked to be included. The Update is also available on the FSIS 
Web page. Through Listserv and the Web page, FSIS is able to provide 
information to a much broader and more diverse audience. In addition, 
FSIS offers an electronic 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 accounts.

    Done at Washington, DC, on: September 24, 2007.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 07-4757 Filed 9-24-07; 12:06 pm]
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