[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 43 (Tuesday, March 7, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12784-12785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04451]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2017-0006]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Codex Committee on Pesticide 
Residues (CCPR)

AGENCY: Office of Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of 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 April 4, 2017. 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 49th Session of 
the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Beijing, China April 
24-29, 2017. The Administrator and Acting Deputy Under Secretary, 
Office of Food Safety and the EPA recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on 
the 49th Session of the CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, 2017, from 
1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Room S-7100, One Potomac Yard South, 
2777 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA, 22202.
    Documents related to the 49th Session of the CCPR are accessible 
via Internet at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/.
    Captain David Miller, U.S. Delegate to the 49th Session of the 
CCPR, and the EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, invite 
interested U.S. 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 49th Session of the CCPR by conference call, please use the 
call-in-number and participant listed below:
    Call-in-Number: 1-888-844-9904.
    Participant Code: 5125092.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE 49th SESSION OF THE CCPR CONTACT: 
Captain David Miller, Chief, Chemistry & Exposure Branch and Acting 
Chief, Toxicology & Epidemiology Branch, Health Effects Division, Ariel 
Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460, 
Telephone: (703) 305-5352, Fax: (703) 305-5147; 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, Telephone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157, 
Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The 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, the 
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 CCPR is hosted by China, The United States attends this 
committee as a member country of the Codex Alimentarius.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the Agenda for the 49th Session of the CCPR 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters referred to the Committee Codex or other 
subsidiary bodies;
     Matters of interest arising from the FAO and WHO;
     Matters of interest arising from other international 
organizations;
     Report on items of general consideration by the 2016 JMPR;
     Report on 2016 JMPR responses to specific concerns raised 
by CCPR;
     Draft and proposed draft maximum residue limits for 
pesticides in food and feed at steps 7 and 4;
     Draft and proposed revision of the Classification of Food 
and Feed at Steps 7 and 4: Vegetable commodity groups;
     Draft revision of the Classification of Food and Feed at 
Step 7: Selected commodity groups Group 020--Grasses of cereal grains);
     Proposed draft revision of the Classification of Food and 
Feed at Step 4: Selected commodity groups (Group 021--Grasses for 
sugars or syrup production);
     Proposed draft revision of the Classification of Food and 
Feed at Step 4: Selected commodity groups (Group 024--Seeds for 
beverages and sweets);
     Proposed draft Tables--Examples of selection of 
representative commodities (vegetable and other commodity groups) (for 
inclusion in the Principles and guidance for the selection of 
representative commodities for the extrapolation of maximum residue 
limits for pesticides to commodity groups) at Step 4;
     Draft Guidelines on performance criteria for methods of 
analysis for the determination of pesticide residues in food at Step 7;
     Discussion paper on the possible revision of the 
International Estimated Short Term Intake equations;
     Establishment of Codex Schedules and Priority Lists of 
Pesticides; and
     Other Business and Future Work.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or

[[Page 12785]]

to be distributed, by the Secretariat before to the Meeting. Members of 
the public may access or request copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the April 4, 2017 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 Captain David Miller, U.S. 
Delegate for the 49th Session of the CCPR. (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 49th 
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 online 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: March 2, 2017.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2017-04451 Filed 3-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P