[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 13 (Thursday, January 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3601-3603]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1143]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2010-0044]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Pesticide Residues

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 Office of Pesticide Programs, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are sponsoring a public 
meeting on February 24, 2011. 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 43rd 
Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Beijing, 
P.R. China April 4-9, 2011. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the 
EPA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information on the 43rd Session of the 
CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for February 24, 2011, from 1 
p.m. to 3 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at EPA, One Potomac Yard, 
Room S-7100, 2777 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202.
    Documents related to the 43rd Session of the CCPR will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    Lois Rossi, U.S. Delegate to the 43rd Session of the CCPR and the 
EPA, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments 
electronically to the following e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    Call in Number:
    If you wish to participate in the public meeting for the 43rd 
Session of the CCPR by conference call, please use the following call 
in number and participant code listed below.
    Call in Number (United States): 1-866-299-3188
    Call in Number (International): 1-706-758-1822
    Participant code: 7033056463
    For Further Information About the 43rd Session of the CCPR Contact: 
Lois

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Rossi, Director of Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs, 
EPA, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 
20460, Phone: (703) 305-5447, Fax: (703) 305-6920, E-mail: 
[email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Doreen 
Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Room 
4861, 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 CCPR is responsible for establishing maximum limits for 
pesticide residues in specific food items or in groups of food; 
establishing maximum limits for pesticide residues in certain animal 
feeding stuffs moving in international trade where this is justified 
for reasons of protection of human health; preparing priority lists of 
pesticides for evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide 
Residues (JMPR); considering methods of sampling and analysis for the 
determination of pesticide residues in food and feed; considering other 
matters in relation to the safety of food and feed containing pesticide 
residues; and establishing maximum limits for environmental and 
industrial contaminants showing chemical or other similarity to 
pesticides, in specific food items or groups of food.
    The Committee is hosted by China.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 43rd Session of the CCPR 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred to the Committee by Codex and Codex 
Committees
     Report on Items of General Consideration by the 2010 JMPR
     Report on the 2010 JMPR Response to Specific Concerns 
Raised by the CCPR
     Draft and Proposed Draft Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) for 
Pesticides in Foods and Feeds at Steps 7 and 4
     Discussion Paper on the Application of Proportionality in 
Selecting Data for MRL Estimation
     Draft Revision of the Codex Classification of Foods and 
Animal Feeds at Step 7: Tree Nuts, Herbs and Spices
     Proposed Draft Revision of the Codex Classification of 
Foods and Animal Feeds at Step 4: Assorted Tropical and Sub-Tropical 
Fruits-Edible Peel; Assorted Tropical and Subtropical Fruits-Inedible 
Peel; Leafy Vegetables (including Brassica Leafy Vegetables); and 
Brassica (Cole or Cabbage) Vegetables, Cabbage, Head and Flowerhead 
Cabbages
     Draft Principles and Guidance for the Selection of 
Representative Commodities for the Extrapolation of MRL for Pesticides 
for Commodity Groups at Step 7
     Proposed Draft Annexes to the Draft Principles and 
Guidance for the Selection of Representative Commodities for the 
Extrapolation of MRL for Pesticides for Commodity Groups at Step 4
     Discussion Paper on the Guidance to Facilitate the 
Establishment of MRL for Pesticides for Minor Use and Specialty Crops
     Proposed Draft Revision of the Guidelines on the 
Estimation of Uncertainty of Results for the Determination of Pesticide 
Residues at Step 4
     Discussion Paper on How To Address Methods of Analysis for 
Pesticide Residues by the CCPR
     Revision of the Risk Analysis Principles Applied by the 
CCPR
     Establishment of Codex Priority Lists of Pesticides
     Consideration of the Status of Codex MRL for Lindane
     Discussion Paper on JMPR Resource Issues in the Provision 
of Scientific Advice to the CCPR
     Assessment of MRL for Pesticides in Tea
    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 February 24, 2011, 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 43rd session of the CCPR, Lois Rossi (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 43rd 
session of the CCPR.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

    USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on 
the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, 
disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or 
family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, 
etc.) should contact USDA's Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and 
TTY).
    To file a written complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office 
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice and TTY). 
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that the 
public and in particular minorities, women, and persons with 
disabilities, are aware of this notice, FSIS will announce it on-line 
through the FSIS Web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_Register_Notices/index.asp.
    FSIS also will 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 our constituents and 
stakeholders. The Update is communicated via Listserv, a free e-mail 
subscription service consisting of industry, trade, and farm groups, 
consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific 
professionals, and other individuals who have requested to be included. 
The Update also is available on the FSIS Web page. Through Listserv and 
the Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, 
more diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an e-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_&_Events/Email_Subscription/.
    Options range from recalls, export information, regulations, 
directives, and notices. Customers can add or delete

[[Page 3603]]

subscriptions themselves, and have the option to password protect their 
accounts.

    Done at Washington, DC, on January 12, 2011.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2011-1143 Filed 1-19-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P