[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 36 (Tuesday, February 24, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9689-9690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03732]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2015-0008]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Pesticide Residues (CCPR)

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), Food Safety and Inspection Service 
(FSIS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are 
sponsoring a public meeting on March 16, 2015. The objective of the 
public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on 
agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed 
at the 47th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) 
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Beijing, 
China, April 13-18, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety 
and the EPA recognize the importance of providing interested parties 
the opportunity to obtain background information on the 47th Session of 
CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 16, 2015, from 
2:00-4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA), Room S-7100, One Potomac Yard South, 2777 
South Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202.
    Documents related to the 47th Session of CCPR will be accessible 
on-line at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/.
    Barbara Madden, U.S. Delegate to the 47th Session of the CCPR, the 
EPA, and the USDA, invite 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 47th 
Session of the CCPR by conference call on March 16, 2015, please use 
the call-in numbers and participant codes listed below:

United States Call-in Number: 1-866-299-3188
International Call-in Number: 1-706-758-1822
Participant Code: 7033056463#
    Registration:
    Attendees may register by emailing [email protected] by March 
13, 2015. Early registration is encouraged because it will expedite 
entry into the building. 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.
    For Further Information About the 47th Session of the CCPR Contact: 
Barbara Madden, Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., 
Washington, DC 20460, Phone: (703) 305-6463, Fax: (703) 305-6920, 
Email: [email protected].
    For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Marie 
Maratos, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 4861, 
Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 205-7760, 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 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 47th Session of CCPR will 
be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred to the committee by Codex and other 
subsidiary bodies
 Matters of interest arising from FAO and WHO
 Matters of interest arising from other international 
organizations
 Draft Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides
 Draft Revision to the Classification of Food and Feed (CFF) 
(vegetable commodity groups: Group 016--Roots and Tubers)

[[Page 9690]]

 Proposed draft revision to the CFF (vegetable commodity 
groups: Group 015--Pulses)
 Proposed draft MRL's for Pesticides
 Proposed draft Guidance on Performance criteria for methods of 
analysis for the determination of Pesticide residues
 Proposed draft revision to the CFF (vegetable commodity 
groups: Groups 011 Fruiting vegetables, cucurbits and Group 014 Legume 
vegetables)
 Proposed draft revision to the CFF--other commodity groups
 Proposed draft Table 2: Examples of Selection of 
Representative Commodities--Vegetable commodity groups and other 
commodity groups
 Establishment of Codex schedules and priority list of 
Pesticides for evaluation by JMPR
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the Committee 
meeting. Members of the public may access or request copies of these 
documents (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the March 16, 2015, 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 Barbara Madden, U.S. Delegate 
for the 47th Session of the CCPR (see ADDRESSES). Written comments 
should state that they relate to activities of the 47th Session of the 
CCPR.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal 
Register publication on-line through the FSIS Web page located at: 
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register.
    FSIS also will make copies of this 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 available on the FSIS Web page. Through the 
Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, 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/subscribe. Options range from recalls to export 
information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or 
delete subscriptions themselves, and have the option to password 
protect their accounts.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement

    No agency, officer, or employee of the USDA shall, on the grounds 
of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual 
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, 
income derived from a public assistance program, or political beliefs, 
exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or subject to 
discrimination any person in the United States under any program or 
activity conducted by the USDA.

How To File a Complaint of Discrimination

    To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program 
Discrimination Complaint Form, which may be accessed on-line at http://www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2012/Complain_combined_6_8_12.pdf, or write a letter signed by you or your 
authorized representative.
    Send your completed complaint form or letter to USDA by mail, fax, 
or email:

Mail

    U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410.

Fax

    (202) 690-7442.

Email

    [email protected].
    Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for 
communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), should contact 
USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

    Done at Washington, DC on: February 19, 2015.
Marie Maratos,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2015-03732 Filed 2-23-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P