[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 244 (Thursday, December 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77003-77004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30004]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0041]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Fats and Oils

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 January 26, 2009. 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 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (CCFO) of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Kota 
Kinabalu, Malaysia, from February 16-20, 2009. The Under Secretary for 
Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested 
parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 21st 
Session of the CCFO and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, January 26, 2009, 
1-4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the rear of the 
cafeteria, South Agriculture Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250. Documents related to the 21st Session of the 
CCFO will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following 
address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 21st Session of the CCFO, Dr. Dennis Keefe 
of FDA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments 
electronically to the following e-mail address 
([email protected]).

Registration

    There is no need to pre-register for this meeting. To gain 
admittance to this meeting, individuals must present a photo ID for 
identification. When arriving for the meeting, please enter the South 
Agriculture Building through the second wing entrance on C Street, SW.
    For Further Information About the 21st Session of the CCFO Contact: 
Dr. Dennis Keefe, U.S. Delegate to the CCFO, FDA, Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition, Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, 5100 
Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835, Phone: (301) 436-
1284, Fax: (301) 436-2972, e-mail: [email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Amjad 
Ali, International Issues Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and 
Inspection Service, 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 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 fair 
practices are used in trade.
    The CCFO was established to elaborate codes, standards and related 
texts for fats and oils. The Committee is being hosted by Malaysia.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 21st Session of the CCFO 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters referred to the Committee from the other Codex 
bodies.
     Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils: 
Inclusion of Rice Bran Oil.
     Draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils: 
Amendment to Total Carotenoids in Unbleached Palm Oil.
     Proposed Draft Criteria for Acceptable Previous Cargoes to 
the Code of Practice for Storage and Transport of Edible Fats and Oils 
in Bulk.
     Draft List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes at Step 6.
     Proposed Draft List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes at Step 
3.
     Consideration of the Linolenic Acid and Campesterol Levels 
in Section 3.9 of the Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils.
     Consideration of Proposals for Amendments to the Standard 
for Named Vegetable Oils: Palm Kernel Stearin and Palm Kernel Olein.
     Criteria for the Revision of the Standard for Named 
Vegetable Oils.
    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 copies of these documents (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the January 26, 2009, 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 U.S. Delegate for 
the 21st Session of the CCFO, Dr. Dennis Keefe (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 21st 
Session of the CCFO.

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

[[Page 77004]]

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 have the option to 
password protect their accounts.

    Done at Washington, DC on December 12, 2008.
Paulo Almeida,
Associate U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
 [FR Doc. E8-30004 Filed 12-17-08; 8:45 am]
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