[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 42 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11384-11385]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4056]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0005]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Contaminants in Foods

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 March 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 2nd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods 
(CCCF) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held 
in The Hague, The Netherlands, from March 31-April 4, 2008.
    The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the 
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain 
background information on the 2nd Session of the CCCF and to address 
items that will be on the agenda.

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

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Harvey Wiley Federal 
Building Auditorium, FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition 
(CFSAN), 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740. Codex 
documents related to the 2nd Session of the CCCF are accessible via the 
World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the CCCF, Dr. Nega Beru, invites interested 
U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the following 
e-mail address: [email protected].
    Registration: 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 and plan for adequate time to pass through 
security screening systems.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 2nd SESSION OF THE CCCF CONTACT: Dr. 
Henry Kim, Office of Food Safety, CFSAN, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway 
(HFS-317), College Park, MD 20740, Phone: (301) 436-2023, Fax: (301) 
436-2651, 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].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 CCCF was established by the Commission in 2006 as a separate 
Committee to establish or endorse maximum levels for contaminants and 
naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed; to prepare priority 
lists of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants for risk 
assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives 
(JECFA); to consider methods of analysis and sampling for determination 
of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed; to 
consider and elaborate

[[Page 11385]]

standards or codes of practice for related subjects; and to consider 
other matters assigned to it by the Commission in relation to 
contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed. The 
Committee is hosted by The Netherlands.

Issues to be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 2nd Session of the CCCF 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee from other Codex Bodies
     Matters of Interest arising from FAO and WHO
     Matters of Interest of the 68th JECFA
     Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in 
Foods (GSCTF)--Proposed Draft Revision to the Preamble
     Draft Maximum Levels for 3-MCPD in Liquid Condiments 
Containing Acid-HVP (Excluding Naturally Fermented Soy Sauce)
     Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of 
Chloropropanols during the Production of Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable 
Proteins (HVPs) and Products that Contain Acid-HVPs
     Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of 
Acrylamide in Food
     Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of 
Contamination of Food with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) from 
Smoking and Direct Drying
     Draft Maximum Level for Ochratoxin A in Wheat, Barley and 
Rye
     Draft Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in Almonds, 
Hazelnuts and Pistachios that are ``For Further Processing'' and 
``Ready-to-Eat''
     Proposed Draft Sampling Plan for Aflatoxin Contamination 
in Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Hazelnuts and Pistachios
     Discussion Paper on Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in 
``Ready-to-Eat'' Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios
     Discussion Paper on Aflatoxin Contamination in Brazil Nuts
     Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and 
Reduction of Aflatoxin Contamination in Dried Figs
     Discussion Papers on Ochratoxin A in Coffee and Cocoa
     Priority List of Contaminants and Naturally Occurring 
Toxicants Proposed for Evaluation by JECFA
    Each item listed above will be fully described in documents 
distributed, or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the 
March 31-April 4, 2008, meeting in The Hague. Members of the public may 
access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the March 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, Dr. Henry Kim, at 
[email protected]. Written comments should state that they relate 
to activities of the 2nd Session of the CCCF.

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 27, 2008.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-4056 Filed 2-29-08; 8:45 am]
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