[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 57 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14418-14419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6559]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2010-0009]


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

AGENCY: Office of Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Food Safety, United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are 
sponsoring a public meeting on April 7, 2010. 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 38th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (CCFL) of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Quebec 
City, Canada, May 3-7, 2010. The Office of Food Safety and the FDA 
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information on the 38th Session of the 
CCFL and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for April 7, 2010, from 2 to 5 
p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the USDA, Jamie L. 
Whitten Building, Room 107-A, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20250. Documents related to the 38th Session of the CCFL 
will be accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: 
http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 38th Session of the CCFL, Barbara 
Schneeman, and the FDA invite interested U.S. parties to submit their 
comments electronically to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    Registration:
    If you would like to participate in the public meeting by telephone 
conference, please use the following call-in number and passcode: Call-
in Number: 1-866-692-3158. Passcode: 5986642.
    For Further Information About the 38th Session of the CCFL Contact: 
Doreen Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection 
Service (FSIS), Room 4861, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen 
Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, FSIS, Room 4861, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 
720-3157, E-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    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 CCFL is responsible for drafting provisions on labeling 
applicable to all foods; considering, amending if necessary, and 
endorsing draft specific provisions on labeling of draft standards, 
codes of practice and guidelines prepared by other Codex Committees; 
studying specific labeling problems assigned to it by the Codex 
Commission; and studying problems associated with the advertisement of 
food with particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions.
    The Committee is chaired by Canada.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 38th Session of the CCFL 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee by other Codex Bodies
     Consideration of Labeling Provisions in Draft Codex 
Standards
     Implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, 
Physical Activity, and Health
    (a) Proposed Draft Revision of the Guidelines on Nutrition Labeling 
Concerning the List of Nutrients that are always Declared on a 
Voluntary or Mandatory Basis
    (b) Discussion Paper on Issues Related to Mandatory Nutrition 
Labeling
    (c) Proposed Draft Criteria and Principles for Legibility and 
Readability of Nutrition Labels
    (d) Discussion Paper on Labeling Provisions Dealing with the Food 
Ingredients Identified in the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical 
Activity, and Health
     Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labeling and 
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods:
    Annex 1: Inclusion of Ethylene for Other Products
     Labeling of Foods and Food Ingredients Obtained through 
Certain Techniques of Genetic Modification/Genetic Engineering
    (a) Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labeling of 
Prepackaged Foods: Definitions
     Discussion Paper on the Need to Amend the General Standard 
for the

[[Page 14419]]

Labeling of Prepackaged Foods in line with the International 
Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML) Recommendations Regarding the 
Declaration of the Quantity of Product in Prepackages.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat prior to the CCFL 
meeting. Members of the public may access these documents on the World 
Wide Web (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the April 7, 2010, 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, Barbara 
Schneeman (See ADDRESSES), for the 38th Session of the CCFL. Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 38th 
Session of the CCFL.

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_&_Policies/2010_Notices_Index/index.asp. 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 in Washington, DC, March 17, 2010.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2010-6559 Filed 3-24-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P