[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 23 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5483-5484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-2449]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2012-0001]


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

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 Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a 
public meeting on February 13, 2012. 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 44th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in 
Hangzhou, China March 12-16, 2012. USDA and FDA recognize the 
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain 
background information on the 44th Session of the CCFA and to address 
items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 13, 2012, 
from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Rooms 1A-001 and 1A-002, 
FDA, Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College 
Park, MD 20740.
    Documents related to the 44th Session of the CCFA will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org.
    The U.S. Delegate to the 44th Session of the CCFA, Dennis Keefe, 
and FDA, invite interested U.S. parties to submit their comments 
electronically to the following email address: [email protected].
    Registration: Attendees may register electronically at the same 
email address provided above by February 8, 2012. Early registration is 
encouraged because it will expedite entry into the building and its 
parking area. If you require parking, please include the vehicle make 
and tag number when you register. Because the meeting will be held in a 
Federal building, you should also bring photo identification and plan 
for adequate time to pass through security screening systems. Attendees 
that are not able to attend the meeting in-person but wish to 
participate may do so by phone. Those wishing to participate by phone 
should request the call-in number and conference code when they 
register for the meeting.

For Further Information About the 44TH Session of the CCFA Contact:  
Dennis M. Keefe, Ph.D., Director, Office of Food Additive Safety, 
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition CFSAN/FDA, HFS-205, 5100 
Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, Telephone: (240) 402-
1200, Fax: (301) 436-2972, email: [email protected].

For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Jannavi R. 
Srinivasan, Ph.D., Chemistry Reviewer, Division of Biotech and GRAS 
Notice Review, Office of Food Additive Safety CFSAN/FDA HFS-255, 5100 
Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, telephone: (240) 402-
1199, fax: (301) 436-2965, email: [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 implementation by governments, Codex seeks to protect 
the health of consumers and ensure that fair practices are used in 
trade.
    The CCFA establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels for 
individual additives; prepares priority lists of food additives for 
risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives 
(JECFA); assigns functional classes to individual food additives; 
recommends specifications of identity and purity for food additives for 
adoption by Codex; considers methods of analysis for the determination 
of additives in food; and considers and elaborates standards or codes 
for related subjects such as labeling of food additives when sold as 
such. The CCFA is hosted by China.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 44th Session of the CCFA 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred by Codex and other Codex Committees and Task 
Forces (CX/FA 12/44/2)
 Draft risk analysis principles applied by the CCFA (CX/FA 12/
44/3)

[[Page 5484]]

 Matters of interest arising from FAO/WHO and from the 74th 
Meeting of the JECFA (CX/FA 12/44/4)
 Endorsement or revision of maximum levels for food additives 
and processing aids in Codex standards (CX/FA 12/44/5)
 Discussion paper on the alignment of the food additive 
provisions of the standards for meat products and relevant provisions 
of the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) (CX/FA 12/44/6)
 Pending draft and proposed draft food additives provisions and 
related matters (CX/FA 12/44/7)
 Comments and information on several food additives (replies to 
CL 2011/4-FA, Part B, points 9, 10 and 11 and CL 2011/17-FA) (CX/FA 12/
44/8)
 Draft and proposed draft food additive provisions (provisions 
in Table 1 and 2 of Table 3 food additives with ``acidity regulators'' 
or ``emulsifier, stabilizer and thickener'' function) (CX/FA 12/44/9) 
and the proposed horizontal approach for consideration of these 
provisions (CX/FA 12/44/9 Add. 1)
 Provisions for aluminum-containing food additives in the GSFA 
(CX/FA 12/44/10)
 Discussion paper on description of food category 16.0 of the 
GSFA (CX/FA 12/44/11)
 Discussion paper on use of Note 161 in the GSFA (CX/FA 12/44/
12)
 Draft revision of the Standard for Food Grade Salt (CODEX STAN 
150-1985) (N08-2010) (REP11/FA App. IX)
 Proposals for changes or additions to the International 
Numbering System for Food Additives (CX/FA 12/44/14)
 Specifications for the identity and purity of food additives 
arising from the 74th JECFA Meeting (CX/FA 12/44/15)
 Proposals for additions and changes to the priority list of 
food additives proposed for evaluation by JECFA (replies to CL 2011/8-
FA) (CX/FA 12/44/16)
 Discussion paper on mechanisms for re-evaluation of substances 
by JECFA (CX/FA 12/44/17)

    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Executive Secretariat prior to the 
meeting. Members of the public may also access these documents at 
http://www.codexalimentarius.org.

Public Meeting

    At the February 13, 2012, 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 44th Session of the CCFA, Dr. Dennis Keefe, (see ADDRESSES). 
Written comments should state that they relate to activities of the 
44th Session of the CCFA.

Additional Public Notification

    FSIS will announce this notice online through the FSIS Web page 
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_Register_Notices/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. 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_&_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.

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, and 
audiotape) 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.

    Done at Washington, DC, on January 27, 2012.
Doreen Chen-Moulec,
U.S. Office for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2012-2449 Filed 2-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P