[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 31 (Thursday, February 14, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8645-8646]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-2760]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0001]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS)

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) are sponsoring a public meeting on February 28, 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 29th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods 
of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission 
(Codex), which will be held in Budapest, Hungary on March 10-14, 2008. 
The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of 
providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background 
information on the 29th Session of the CCMAS and to address items on 
the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 28, 2008, 
from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Conference Room 1A 001 of 
the Harvey W. Wiley Building located at 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, 
College Park, Maryland. Documents related to the 29th Session of the 
CCMAS will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following 
address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 29th session of the CCMAS, Dr. Gregory 
Diachenko, FDA, invites interested U.S. parties to submit their 
comments electronically to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected].

Registration

    To gain admittance to this meeting, individuals must present a 
photo ID for identification and also are required to pre-register. In 
addition, no cameras or videotaping equipment will be permitted in the 
meeting room. To pre-register, please send the following information to 
this e-mail address: [email protected] by February 25, 
2008:
Your Name--------------------------------------------------------------

Organization-----------------------------------------------------------

Mailing Address--------------------------------------------------------

Phone number-----------------------------------------------------------

E-mail address---------------------------------------------------------

    For Further Information About the 29th Session of the CCMAS 
Contact: Dr. Gregory Diachenko, Director, Division of Analytical 
Chemistry, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-705), FDA, 
Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, 
Maryland 20740. Phone (301) 436-1898; Fax (301) 436-2634, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Syed 
Amjad Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety 
and Inspection Service (FSIS), Room 4861, South Agriculture Building, 
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. Phone (202) 
205-7760; Fax (202) 720-3157.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 CCMAS was established to perform multiple functions; define 
criteria appropriate for Codex methods of analysis and sampling; 
specify reference methods of analysis and sampling; endorse methods of 
analysis and sampling proposed by Codex Committees; elaborate sampling 
plans; and consider specific sampling and analysis problems. The 
Committee is hosted by Hungary.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 29th Session of the CCMAS 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
 Matters Referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and 
other Codex Committees
 Proposed Draft Guidelines for Evaluating Acceptable Methods of 
Analysis
 Proposed Draft Guidelines for Settling Disputes on Analytical 
(Test) Results
 Proposed Draft Guidelines on Analytical Terminology for Codex 
Use
 Criteria for Methods of Detection and Identification of Foods 
Derived from Biotechnology
 Conversion of the Methods for Trace Elements into Criteria
 Guidance on Measurement Uncertainty and Uncertainty of 
Sampling

    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 these documents on the World Wide Web (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the February 28, 2008, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on 
the

[[Page 8646]]

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 29th 
Session of the CCMAS (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state 
that they relate to activities of the 29th Session of the CCMAS.

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 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 February 8, 2008.
Karen L. Hulebak,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
 [FR Doc. E8-2760 Filed 2-13-08; 8:45 am]
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