[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 16 (Tuesday, January 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4731-4732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1726]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2008-0042]


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 February 10, 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 
41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Shanghai, 
China, on March 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 41st Session of the 
CCFA and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2009, 
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 41st 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 February 6, 2009. 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 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 41st 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) 250-7760, Fax: 
(202) 720-3157, e-mail: doreen.chen-moulec@fsis. usda.gov.

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 CCFA 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 such as 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 41st 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 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);
     Discussion Paper on the Scope of Certain Food Categories 
of the GSFA;
     Discussion Paper on the Identification of Problems and

[[Page 4732]]

Recommendations Related to Inconsistent Presentation of Food Additive 
Provisions in Codex Commodity Standards;
     Discussion Paper on Inconsistencies in the Names of 
Compounds in the Codex Specifications for Identity and Purity of Food 
Additives and in the International Numbering System for Food Additives;
     Proposed Draft Guidelines and Principles for Substances 
Used as Processing Aids;
     International Numbering System (INS) for Food Additives;
     Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food 
Additives; and
     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 Codex Secretariat prior to 
the March 16-20, 2009, meeting in Shanghai, China. Members of the 
public may access copies of these documents from http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Public Meeting

    At the February 10, 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 CCFA, Dr. Dennis Keefe at [email protected]. Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 41st 
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/2009_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: January 22, 2009.
Paulo Almeida,
U.S. Associate Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
 [FR Doc. E9-1726 Filed 1-26-09; 8:45 am]
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