[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 68 (Friday, April 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16353-16354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8181]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2009-0010]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food

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

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food 
Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Food and 
Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine, are 
sponsoring a public meeting on April 29, 2009. The objective of the 
public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on 
agenda items and draft U.S. positions that will be discussed at the 
18th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in 
Foods (CCRVDF) which will be held in Natal, Brazil from May 11-15, 
2009. The Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA 
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information on the 18th CCRVDF session 
and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 29, 2009, 
from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the USDA, J.L. Whitten 
Building, Room 107-A, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20250.
    Documents related to the 18th session of the CCRVDF will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 18th Session of the CCRVDF, Dr. Steven 
Vaughn, and the FDA invite U.S. interested parties to submit their 
comments electronically to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the 18th Session of the CCRVDF 
Contact: Steven Vaughn, D.V.M., Director, Office of New Animal Drug 
Evaluation, Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA, 7500 Standish Place, 
Rockville, MD 20855 Telephone: (240) 276-8300, Fax: (240) 276-8242, e-
mail: [email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Jasmine 
Matthews, Program Analyst, USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 
U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4861, 
Washington, DC 20250. Telephone: (202) 690-1124, 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 CCRVDF is responsible for determining priorities for the 
consideration of residues of veterinary drugs in foods; to recommend 
maximum levels of such substances; to develop codes of practice as may 
be required; and to consider methods of sampling and analysis for the 
determination of veterinary drug residues in foods.
    The Committee is hosted by the United States.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 18th Session of the 
CCRVDF will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and 
Other Codex Committees and Task Forces.
     Matters Arising from FAO and WHO and from the 70\th 
\Meeting of the Joint FAO and WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives 
(JECFA).
     Report of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) 
Activities, Including the Harmonization of Technical Requirements for 
Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products.
     Draft Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for Veterinary Drugs 
(at Step 7).
     Proposed draft MRLs for Veterinary Drugs (at Step 3).
     Draft Guidelines for the Design and Implementation of 
National Regulatory Food Safety Assurance Programs Associated with the 
Use of Veterinary Drugs in Food Producing Animals.
     Discussion Paper on Consideration of Methods of Analysis 
and Sampling in the CCRVDF (Report of the Electronic Working Group on 
Methods of Analysis and Sampling).
     Draft Priority List of Veterinary Drugs Requiring 
Evaluation or Re-Evaluation by JECFA and the Working Document Listing 
Veterinary Drugs of Potential Interest (Report of the Electronic 
Working Group on the Priority List of Veterinary Drugs Requiring 
Evaluation or Re-evaluation).
     Discussion Paper on Current Practices and Needs for 
Further Work by the Committee (Report of the Electronic Working Group 
on Risk Management Topics and Options).
    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 April 29, 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 18th 
Session of the CCRVDF, Dr. Steven Vaughn (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 18th 
session of the CCRVDF.

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

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customized access to selected food safety news and information. This 
service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/e-mail_subscription/. Options range from recalls to export information 
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subscriptions themselves, and have the option to password protect their 
accounts.

    Done at Washington, DC on: April 6, 2009.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
 [FR Doc. E9-8181 Filed 4-9-09; 8:45 am]
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