[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 197 (Thursday, October 11, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61736-61737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-25001]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 197 / Thursday, October 11, 2012 / 
Notices  

[[Page 61736]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2012-0042]


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

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 (HHS), are 
sponsoring a public meeting on October 23, 2012. The objective of the 
public meeting is to provide information, 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 Hygiene 
(CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held 
in New Orleans, Louisiana, from November 12-16, 2012. The Under 
Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on 
the 44th Session of the CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for October 23, 2012, from 1 
p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Jamie L. Whitten 
Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 107-A, Washington, 
DC 20250.
    Documents related to the 44th Session of the CCFH will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org.
    Jenny Scott, U.S. Delegate to the CCFH, invites U.S. interested 
parties to submit their comments electronically to the following email 
address: [email protected].
    Call-In Number: If you wish to participate in the public meeting 
for the 44th session of the CCFH by conference call, please use the 
call-in number and participant code listed below. Call-in Number: 1-
888-858-2144. Participant Code: 6208658.
    For Further Information About the 44th Session of the CCFH Contact: 
Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety, Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, HFS-300, 
Room 3B-014, College Park, MD 20740-3835, Telephone: (240) 402-2166, 
Fax: (202) 436-2632, Email: [email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Barbara 
McNiff, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 4861, 
Washington, DC 20250, Telephone: (202) 690-4719, Fax: (202) 720-3157, 
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 adoption and implementation by governments, Codex seeks 
to protect the health of consumers and ensure that fair practices are 
used in the food trade.
    The CCFH is responsible for:
    (a) Drafting basic provisions on food hygiene applicable to all 
food;
    (b) Considering, amending if necessary, and endorsing provisions on 
hygiene prepared by Codex commodity committees and contained in Codex 
commodity standards;
    (c) Considering, amending if necessary, and endorsing provisions on 
hygiene prepared by Codex commodity committees and contained in Codex 
codes of practice unless, in specific cases, Codex has decided 
otherwise;
    (d) Drafting 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;
    (e) Considering specific hygiene problems assigned to it by Codex;
    (f) Suggesting and prioritizing areas where there is a need for 
microbiological risk assessment at the international level and to 
develop questions to be addressed by the risk assessors; and
    (g) Considering microbiological risk management matters in relation 
to food hygiene, including food irradiation, and in relation to the 
risk assessment of FAO/WHO.
    The CCFH is hosted by the United States.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 44th Session of the CCFH 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters Referred by Codex and/or Other Codex Committees 
and Task Forces to the Food Hygiene Committee
     Draft Regional Code of Practice for Street-Vended Foods 
(Near East)
     Matters Arising from the Work of FAO, WHO and Other 
International Intergovernmental Organizations
    (a) Progress Report on the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meetings on 
Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA) and Related Matters
    (b) Information from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)
     Proposed Draft Revision of Principles for the 
Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods at 
Step 4
     Practical Examples on the Application and Establishment of 
Microbiological Criteria
     Proposed Draft Guidelines for Control of Specific Zoonotic 
Parasites in Meat: Trichinella spiralis and Cysticercus bovis at Step 4
     Proposed Draft Revision of the Code of Hygienic Practice 
for Spices and Dried Aromatic Plants at Step 4
     Proposed Draft Annex on Berries to the Code of Hygienic 
Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables at Step 4
     Discussion Paper on a Code of Hygienic Practice for Low 
Moisture Food
     Discussion Paper on New Work and Periodic Review/Revision 
of Codes of Hygienic Practice
     CCFH Work Priorities
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat prior to the CCFH 
meeting. Members of the public may access these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

[[Page 61737]]

Public Meeting

    At the October 23, 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 CCFH, Jenny Scott (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 44th 
Session of the CCFH.

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, or 
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: October 1, 2012.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2012-25001 Filed 10-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P