[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2441-2442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-533]


 ========================================================================
 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
 appearing in this section.
 
 ========================================================================
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 15, 2008 / 
Notices  

[[Page 2441]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0050]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting on the Ad Hoc Codex 
Intergovernmental Task Force on the Processing and Handling of Quick 
Frozen Foods

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 February 5, 2008. 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 First Session of Ad Hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on 
the Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods (TFQFF) of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Bangkok, 
Thailand on February 25-29, 2008.
    The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the 
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain 
background information on the First Session of TFQFF and to address 
items that will be on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5, 2008 
from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1B-042, Food and 
Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 
Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, 
MD 20740. The following call-in number will be provided for the 
meeting: 1-866-859-5767, passcode 3258684. Codex documents related to 
the First Session of the TFQFF will be accessible via the World Wide 
Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the First Session of TFQFF, Dr. Donald Zink, 
FDA, invites interested U.S. parties to submit their comments 
electronically to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    Registration: You may register electronically to the same e-mail 
address above. Early registration is encouraged because it will 
expedite entry into the building and its parking area. If you require 
parking, please include the vehicle make and tag number, if known, when 
you register. Because the meeting will be held in a Federal building, 
you should also bring photo identification (ID) and plan for adequate 
time to pass through security screening systems.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE TFQFF CONTACT: 
Donald Zink, U.S. Delegate to the TFQFF, Office of Food Safety, Center 
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway 
(HFS-317), College Park, MD 20740, Phone: (301)436-1692, Fax: (301) 
436-1692, E-mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Syed Ali, 
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) 720-0574, Fax: (202) 720-3157, E-
mail: [email protected].

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.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The items to be discussed during the public meeting will include 
the Proposed Draft Recommended for the International Code of Practice 
for the Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods, with attention 
to outstanding quality and safety provisions, such as the Defect Action 
Point Analysis concept and the retention of an annex with specific 
information on temperature monitoring and control in the food chain. 
These issues will be fully described in documents distributed, or to be 
distributed, by the Thai Secretariat prior to the meeting. Members of 
the public may access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the February 5, 2008, 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 First Session of TFQFF, Dr. Donald Zink, at 
[email protected]. Written comments should state that they relate 
to activities of the First Session of the TFQFF.

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/2008_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

[[Page 2442]]

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 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 January 9, 2008.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-533 Filed 1-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P