[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 19, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27981-27982]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-12005]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2010-0013]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission

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, U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), is sponsoring a public meeting on June 8, 2010. The objective 
of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public 
comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions that 
will be discussed at the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission (CAC), which will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, July 5-9, 
2010. The Office of Food Safety recognizes the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on 
the 33rd Session of the CAC and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for June 8, 2010, from 1 p.m. to 
4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at USDA, Room 107-A, Jamie 
L. Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20250. Documents related to the 33rd Session of the CAC will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 33rd Session of the CAC invites interested 
U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the following 
e-mail address [email protected].

Conference Call-in Number

    There will be a conference call-in number to the CAC public 
meeting. The call-in information is as follows: please call 1-866-692-
3158, when asked for the conference code, please enter: 5986642.
    For Further Information About the 33rd Session of the CAC and About 
the Public Meeting Contact: Barbara McNiff, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Room 4861-S, Washington, DC 20250, Telephone: 
(202) 690-4719, Fax: (202) 720-3157, E-mail: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 implementation by 
governments, Codex seeks to protect the health of consumers and ensure 
fair practices in food trade; and promote coordination of all food 
standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-
governmental organizations. The CAC will finalize standards developed 
in Codex Committees, and publish them in a Codex Alimentarius either as 
regional or worldwide standards.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 33rd Session of the CAC 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Amendments to the Codex Procedural Manual
     Draft Standards and Related Texts Submitted to the 
Commission for Adoption
     Proposed Draft Standards and Related Texts Submitted at 
Step 5
     Existing Codex Standards and Related Texts whose 
Revocation is Recommended
     Proposals for the Elaboration of New Standards and Related 
Texts
     Financial and Budgetary Matters
     Strategic Planning of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
     General Matters Arising from the Reports of Codex 
Committees and Task Forces
     FAO/WHO Project and Trust Fund for Enhanced Participation 
in Codex
    Each issue on the CAC agenda will be described in documents 
distributed by the Secretariat prior to the meeting. Members of the 
public may access

[[Page 27982]]

copies of these documents (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the June 8, 2010, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on the 
agenda items will be described 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 33rd Session of the 
CAC, Karen Stuck, U.S. Codex Manager (see ADDRESSES). Written comments 
should state that they relate to activities of the 33rd session of the 
CAC.

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 at Washington, DC on May 13, 2010.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2010-12005 Filed 5-18-10; 8:45 am]
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