[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 201 (Thursday, October 16, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61394-61395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-24464]


 ========================================================================
 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. 201 / Thursday, October 16, 2008 / 
Notices  

[[Page 61394]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0020]


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

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 October 30, 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 Hygiene (CCFH) of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in 
Guatemala City, Guatemala, from December 1-5, 2008. The Under Secretary 
for Food Safety and the FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition (CFSAN), recognize the importance of providing interested 
parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 40th 
Session of the CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 30, 2008, 
2 p.m.-4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Rm. 1A001, Harvey W. 
Wiley Building, FDA, CFSAN, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 
20740. Documents related to the 40th Session of the CCFH will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Co-Alternate Delegates to the 40th Session of the CCFH, 
Dr. Rebecca Buckner of FDA and Dr. Kerry Dearfield of USDA, invite U.S. 
interested parties to submit their comments electronically to the 
following e-mail address: [email protected].

Registration

    If you are interested in attending the public meeting, please pre-
register (name and affiliation) with Ms. Tiffany Paulsin at 
[email protected] or 301-436-2380. Visitor parking is 
available, but you must indicate you will be driving when you pre-
register.
    For Further Information About the 40th Session of the CCFH Contact: 
Rebecca Buckner, Co-Alternate to the U.S. Delegate to the CCFH, FDA, 
CFSAN, Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, 
College Park, MD 20740-3835, Phone: (301) 436-1486, Fax: (301) 436-
2632. 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, Phone: (202) 205-
7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157.

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 Committee on Food Hygiene was established to elaborate 
codes, standards, and related texts for food hygiene. The Committee is 
hosted by the United States.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 40th Session of the CCFH 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee on Food Hygiene from the 
Other Codex Bodies.
     Progress Report on the Joint FAO/WHO Expert meetings on 
Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) and Related Matters.
     Information from the World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE).
     Microbiological Criteria for Powdered Follow-up Formula 
and Formulas for Special Medical Purposes for Young Children (Annex to 
the Code of Hygienic Practice for Powdered Formulae for Infants and 
Young Children).
     Proposed Draft Microbiological Criteria for Control of 
Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods.
     Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter 
and Salmonella spp. in Chicken Products.
     Proposed Draft Annex on Leafy Green Vegetables, including 
Leafy Herbs, to the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits & 
Vegetables.
     Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Vibrio spp. 
in Seafood.
     Discussion of the New Work Proposals submitted to the Ad 
Hoc Working Group for Establishment of CCFH Work Priorities.
    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 or request copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the October 30th 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 Co-Alternate to the U.S. 
Delegate for the 40th Session of the CCFH, Dr. Rebecca Buckner (see 
ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that they relate to 
activities of the 40th Session of CCFH.

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

[[Page 61395]]

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 October 9, 2008.
Paulo Almeida,
Associate Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-24464 Filed 10-15-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P