[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 183 (Friday, September 19, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54361-54362]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22080]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0032]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: 2nd Session of the Codex ad hoc 
Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on September 25, 
2008, to discuss the agenda items coming before the 2nd session of the 
Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance 
(AMR) and to present draft U.S. positions on the agenda items. The 2nd 
session of the AMR will be held in Seoul, Korea, October 20-24, 2008. 
The Under Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda items that 
will be discussed at this forthcoming session of AMR.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 
2008, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at FDA, 7519 Standish Place, 
Room 152, Rockville, MD.
    Documents related to the 2nd session of the AMR will be accessible 
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

For Further Information About the 2nd Session of the AMR Contact:
    U.S. Delegate, Dr. David White, Director, National Antimicrobial 
Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS), FDA, Center for Veterinary 
Medicine, Office of Research, 8401 Muirkirk Rd., Laurel, MD 20798, 
Phone: (301) 210-4181, 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 (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 Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on AMR was 
established by the 29th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 
2006 to develop science-based guidance to be used to assess the risks 
to human health associated with the presence in food and feed, 
including aquaculture, and the transmission through food and feed of 
antimicrobial resistant microorganisms and antimicrobial resistance 
genes. The AMR Task Force would also consider appropriate risk 
management options to reduce such risk. The Task Force is hosted by the 
Republic of Korea.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 2nd session of the AMR 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee from Other Codex Bodies
     Information on the Work by FAO, WHO, and the World 
Organization for Animal Health on Antimicrobial Resistance
     Proposed Draft Risk Assessment Guidance Regarding 
Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms (Report of the Working 
Group)
     Proposed Draft Guidance on Creating Risk Profiles for 
Antimicrobial Resistant Foodborne Microorganisms for Setting Risk 
Assessment and Management Priorities (Report of the Working Group)
     Proposed Draft Risk Management Guidance to Contain 
Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistant Microorganisms (Report of the Working 
Group)
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Korean Secretariat to the meeting. Members 
of the public may access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the September 25, 2008, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on 
these 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.

[[Page 54362]]

Delegate to the Task Force on AMR, Dr. David White, at 
[email protected]. Written comments should state that they relate 
to activities of the 2nd session of the Task Force on AMR.

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 e-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 they have the option to password protect 
their accounts.

    Done at Washington, DC, on September 16, 2008.
Karen Hulebak,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-22080 Filed 9-17-08; 4:15 pm]
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