[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 240 (Friday, December 15, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59576-59577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27096]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2017-0046]


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

AGENCY: Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Deputy 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, 2018. 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 
50th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Xiamen, Fujian, 
Province China, March 26-30, 2018. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food 
Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested 
parties with the opportunity to obtain background information on the 
50th Session of the CCFA and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 
from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5001 Campus Drive, 
Rooms 1A-001 and 1A-002, College Park, MD 20740.
    Documents related to the 50th Session of the CCFA will be 
accessible via the internet at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/.
    Paul Honigfort, U.S. Delegate to the 50th Session of the CCFA and 
the FDA invite U.S. interested parties to submit their comments 
electronically to the following email address: [email protected].
    Registration: Attendees may register to attend the public meeting 
by emailing [email protected] by February 9, 2018. Early registration is 
encouraged as it will expedite entry into the building and parking 
area. If you require parking, please include the vehicle make and tag 
number when you register. The meeting will be held in a Federal 
building. Attendees should bring photo identification and plan for 
adequate time to pass through the security screening systems. Attendees 
who are not able to attend the meeting in person, but wish to 
participate, may do so by phone. Attendees who plan to participate by 
phone should request the call-in number and participant code when they 
register for the meeting.

 For Further Information About the 50th Session of the CCFA Contact:
    Paul Honigfort, Ph.D., Consumer Safety Officer, Division of Food 
Contact Notifications, Office of Food Additive Safety, FDA, 5001 Campus 
Drive, College Park, MD 20740, Telephone: (240) 402-1206, Fax: (301) 
436-2965, Email: [email protected].

For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Daniel E. 
Folmer, Ph.D., Review Chemist, Division of Petition Review, Office of 
Food Additive Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 
FDA, HFS-265, 5001 Campus Drive, College Park, MD 20740, Telephone: 
(240) 402-1269, Fax: (301) 436-2972, 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 trade.
    The CCFA establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels for 
individual food additives; prepares priority lists of food additives 
for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food 
Additives (JECFA); assigns functional classes and International 
Numbering System (INS) numbers 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 50th Session of the CCFA 
will be discussed during the public meeting:
     Matters referred by the Codex and other subsidiary bodies;
     Matters of Interest arising from FAO/WHO and from the 84th 
Meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)
     Proposed draft specifications for identity and purity of 
food additives arising from the 84th JECFA meeting
     Endorsement and/or revision of maximum levels for food 
additives and processing aids in Codex Standards
     Alignment of the food additive provisions of commodity 
standards/Report of the EWG on Alignment;

[[Page 59577]]

     General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA): Report of the 
EWG on the GSFA;
     General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA): Proposals for 
new and/or revision of food additive provisions
     Discussion paper on the use of nitrates and nitrites
     Discussion paper on the use of the terms ``unprocessed'' 
and ``plain'' in the GSFA
     Proposed draft revision to the International Numbering 
System (INS) for Food Additives
     Proposals for additions and changes to the Priority List 
of Substances Proposed for evaluation by JECFA
     Discussion paper on ``Future Strategies for CCFA''
     Other Business and Future Work.
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat before the meeting. 
Members of the public may access these documents at http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings-reports.

Public Meeting

    At the February 13, 2018 public meeting, draft U.S. positions on 
the agenda items will be described, 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 50th 
Session of the CCFA, Paul Honigfort, Ph.D. at the following address: 
[email protected]. Written comments should state that they relate to 
activities of the 50th Session of the CCFA.

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: December 12, 2017.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2017-27096 Filed 12-14-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P