[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 42 (Monday, March 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11385-11386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-4060]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0006]


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

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 March 12, 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 40th 
Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Beijing, China, 
on April 21-25, 2008. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA 
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information on the 40th Session of the 
CCFA and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 2008, 
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the auditorium (Room 
1A003), Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, FDA, Center for Food Safety 
and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), 5100 Paint Branch Highway, College Park 
MD 20740. Documents related to the 40th Session of the CCFA are 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the CCFA, Dr. Dennis Keefe, invites interested 
U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the following 
e-mail address: [email protected].

Registration

    Attendees may register electronically to the same e-mail address 
above by March 10, 2008. 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

[[Page 11386]]

photo identification and plan for adequate time to pass through 
security screening systems.

For Further Information About the 40th Session of the CCFA Contact: 
Dennis Keefe, Office of Food Additive Safety (HFS-205), CFSAN, FDA, 
5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740. Phone: (301) 436-
1284, Fax: (301) 436-2972, e-mail: [email protected].

For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen Chen-
Moulec, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety 
and Inspection Service (FSIS), Room 4865, South Building, 1400 
Independence Ave, SW., Washington, DC 20250. Phone: (202) 720-4063, 
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 (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 CCFA was formed in 2006 from the division of the Codex 
Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants. It was established to set 
or endorse maximum levels for individual food additives; prepare 
priority lists of food additives for risk assessment by the Joint FAO 
and WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA); assign functional 
classes to individual food additives; recommend specifications of 
identity and purity for food additives for adoption by the Commission; 
consider methods of analysis for the determination of additives in 
food; and consider and elaborate standards or codes for related 
subjects, including the labeling of food additives when sold as such. 
The Committee is hosted by the People's Republic of China.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 40th Session of the CCFA 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee from the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission and other Codex Bodies
     Matters of Interest arising from the FAO, WHO, and the 
JECFA
     Endorsement or Revision of Maximum Levels for Food 
Additives and Processing Aids in Codex Standards
     Consideration of the Codex General Standard for Food 
Additives (GSFA)
     Proposed Draft Revision of the Food Category System of the 
GSFA
     Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Use of Flavorings
     Discussion Paper on Guidelines and Principles for the Use 
of Processing Aids
     International Numbering System (INS) for Food Additives
     Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food 
Additives
     Priority List of Food Additives Proposed for Evaluation by 
the JECFA
    Each item listed above will be fully described in documents 
distributed, or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the 
April 21-25, 2008, meeting in Beijing, China. Members of the public may 
access these documents from http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the March 12, 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 sent electronically to the U.S. Delegate for the CCFA, Dr. 
Dennis Keefe at [email protected]. Written comments should state 
that they relate to activities of the 40th Session of the CCFA.

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. E8-4060 Filed 2-29-08; 8:45 am]
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