[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 158 (Friday, August 15, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48113-48114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-19448]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2014-0018]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Food Hygiene (CCFH)

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, 2014. 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 46th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene 
(CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in Lima, Peru, 
November 17-21, 2014. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA 
recognize the importance of providing interested parties the 
opportunity to obtain background information on the 46th Session of 
CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for October 23, 2014, from 1:00-
4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the Jamie L. Whitten 
Building, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 1400 
Independence Avenue SW., Room 107-A, Washington, DC 20250.
    Documents related to the 46th Session of the CCFH will be 
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/.
    Jenny Scott, U.S. Delegate to the 46th Session of 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 46th 
Session of the CCFH by conference call, please use the call in number 
listed below.
    Call in Number: 1-888-844-9904.
    The participant code will be listed on the following link closer to 
the meeting date. http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/international-affairs/us-codex-alimentarius/public-meetings.
    For Further Information About the 46th Session of CCFH Contact: 
Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, Office of Food Safety, Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5100 
Paint Branch Parkway, HFS-300, Room 3B-014, College Park, MD 20740-
3835, Phone: (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 Ave SW., Room 4861, 
Washington, DC, 20250, Phone: (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 and the World Health 
Organization. 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, the Commission 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 the 
Commission;
    (f) Suggesting and prioritizing areas where there is a need for 
microbiological risk assessment at the international level and 
developing 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 46th Session of the CCFH 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Low-Moisture Foods
 Draft Guidelines for Control of Specific Zoonotic Parasites in 
Meat: Trichinella spp.
 Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Control of Non typhoidal 
Salmonella spp. In Beef and Pork Meat
 Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Application of General 
Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Foodborne Parasites.
 Proposed Draft Annex on statistical and mathematical 
considerations to the Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment 
and Application of Microbiological criteria Related to Foods
 Discussion paper on the need to revise the Code of Hygienic 
Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
 Proposals for new work

    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the Committee 
meeting. Members of

[[Page 48114]]

the public may access or request copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the October 23, 2014, 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 46th Session of the CCFH, Jenny Scott (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 46th 
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/wps/portal/fsis/topics/regulations/fsis-notices.
    FSIS also will make copies of this Federal Register publication 
available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which provides 
information on FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register 
notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls, 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 and farm 
groups, consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, and 
other individuals who have asked to be included. The Update is 
available on the FSIS Web page. Through the Listserv and the FSIS Web 
page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader and more 
diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email 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/wps/portal/fsis/programs-and-services/email-subscription-service. 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 
account.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (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.

    Done at Washington, DC, on August 12, 2014.
Mary Frances Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2014-19448 Filed 8-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P