[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 204 (Friday, October 23, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54777-54778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25527]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2009-0030]


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

AGENCY: Office of the Acting 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 Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are 
sponsoring a public meeting on October 28, 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 
41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in San Diego, 
California, from November 16 through November 20, 2009. The Acting 
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 CCFH and to address items on the 
agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at FDA, Harvey Wiley Federal 
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, Room 1A-003 (Auditorium), College 
Park, MD 20740. Documents related to the 41st 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. Delegate to the 41st Session of the CCFH invites 
interested U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the 
following e-mail address [email protected].
    Registration: All visitors must pass through security screening in 
the front lobby of the building and will be directed to the auditorium. 
Visitors who wish to come to the building via automobile may park in 
the FDA parking lot next to the building. Those parking in the FDA lot 
will need to pass through the guard station at the River Road entrance. 
To expedite entry to the parking lot, it is recommended that visitors 
who drive to the meeting contact Jasmine Matthews in the U.S. Codex 
Office and provide their name, vehicle make, model, color, and license 
plate number, by close of business on October 23, 2009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 41ST SESSION OF THE CCFH CONTACT: 
Barbara McNiff, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4870, Washington, 
DC 20250, (202) 690-4719, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Jasmine 
Matthews, Program Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
Room 4861, Washington, DC 20250, (202) 690-1124, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The 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 CCFH was established to draft basic provisions on food hygiene 
applicable to all food; to consider, amend if necessary, and endorse 
provisions on hygiene prepared by Codex commodity committees and 
contained in Codex codes of practice unless, in specific cases, the 
Codex has decided otherwise; to draft provisions on hygiene applicable 
to specific food items or food groups, whether coming within the terms 
of reference of a Codex commodity committee or not; to consider 
specific hygiene problems assigned to it by the Codex; to suggest and 
prioritize areas where there is a need for microbiological risk 
assessment at the international level; to develop questions to be 
addressed by the risk assessors; and to consider microbiological risk 
management matters in relation to food hygiene, including food 
irradiation, and in relation to the risk assessment of FAO and WHO.
    The CCFH is hosted by the United States of America.

Issues to be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 41st Session of the CCFH 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred by the Codex and Other Codex Committees 
to the CCFH;
     Matters Arising from the Work of FAO, WHO, and Other 
International Intergovernmental Organizations:
    (a) Progress Report on the Joint FAO and WHO Expert Meetings on 
Microbiological Risk Assessment and Related Matters
    (b) Information from the World Organization for Animal Health
     Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter 
and Salmonella spp. in Chicken Products at Step 4;

[[Page 54778]]

     Proposed Draft Annex on Leafy Green Vegetables, Including 
Leafy Herbs, to the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and 
Vegetables at Step 4;
     Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Vibrio spp. 
in Seafood at Step 4;
     Proposed Draft Annex on Control Measures for Vibrio 
parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus in Molluscan Shellfish;
     Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Control of 
Viruses in Food at Step 4;
     Inconsistencies Arising in Documents Elaborated by the 
CCFH and Adopted by the Codex;
     Discussion of the Report of 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 copies of these documents (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the October 28, 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 41st Session of the CCFH, Donald Zink (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 41st 
Session of the 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/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 FSIS Constituent 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 FSIS Constituent 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 October 20, 2009.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E9-25527 Filed 10-22-09; 8:45 am]
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