[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60697-60698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27631]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2017-0047]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Contaminants in Food

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 22, 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 
12th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in the 
Netherlands, March 12-16, 2018. The Office of 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 12th Session of the CCCF and to address items on the 
agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, February 22, 2018, 
1:00-4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the Food and Drug 
Administration (FDA), Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5001 Campus Drive, Room 1A-001, College 
Park, MD 20740.
    Documents related to the 12th Session of the CCCF will be 
accessible via the internet at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/.
    Dr. Lauren Posnick Robin, U.S. Delegate to the 12th Session of the 
CCCF and the FDA invite 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 12th 
Session of the CCCF by conference call. Please use the call-in-number 
and the participant code below.
    Call-in-Number: 1-888-844-9904.
    Participant Code: 5126092.

Registration

    Attendees may register to attend the public meeting by emailing 
[email protected] by February 20, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    About the 12th session of the CCCF--Dr. Lauren Posnik Robin, Branch 
Chief, Plant Products Branch, Division of Plant Products and Beverages, 
Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, HFS-317, 5001 Campus 
Drive, College Park, MD 20740, Telephone: (240) 402-1639, Email: 
[email protected].
    About the public meeting--Dr. Lauren Posnik Robin, Branch Chief, 
Plant Products Branch, Division of Plant Products and Beverages, Office 
of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, HFS-317, 5001 Campus Drive, 
College Park, MD 20740, Telephone: (240) 402-1639, 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, 
Codex seeks to protect the health of consumers and ensure that fair 
practices are used in the food trade.
    The CCCF is responsible for:
    (a) Establishing or endorsing permitted maximum levels, and where 
necessary revising existing guideline levels for contaminants and 
naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed;
    (b) Preparing priority lists of contaminants and naturally 
occurring

[[Page 60698]]

toxicants for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on 
Food Additives (JECFA);
    (c) Considering and elaborating methods of analysis and sampling 
for the determination of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants 
in food and feed;
    (d) Considering and elaborating standards or codes of practice for 
related subjects; and
    (e) Considering other matters assigned to it by Codex in relation 
to contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.
    The Committee is hosted by the Netherlands.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the Agenda for the 12th Session of the CCCF 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred to the Committee by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission and/or its subsidiary bodies
 Matters of interest arising from FAO and WHO (Including JECFA)
 Matters of interest arising from other international 
organizations
 Proposed draft and draft maximum levels of lead in selected 
commodities in the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food 
and Feed
 Proposed draft maximum levels for cadmium in chocolate and 
cocoa-derived products
 Proposed draft maximum levels for methylmercury in fish 
including associated sampling plans
 Proposed draft revision of the Code of practice for the 
prevention and reduction of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in food and 
feed
 Proposed draft Code of practice for the reduction of 3-
monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters and glycidyl esters in refined oils 
and products made with refined oils, especially infant formula
 Proposed draft maximum level for total aflatoxins in ready-to-
eat peanuts and associated sampling plan
 Proposed draft maximum levels for total aflatoxins and 
ochratoxin A in nutmeg, chili and paprika, ginger, pepper and turmeric 
and associated sampling plans
 Proposed draft guidelines for risk analysis of chemicals 
inadvertently present in food at low levels
 Discussion paper on maximum levels for hydrocyanic acid in 
cassava and cassava-based products and mycotoxin contamination in these 
products
 Discussion paper on future work on maximum levels for lead for 
inclusion in the General Standard for Contaminants and toxins in Food 
and Feed
 Discussion paper on aflatoxins and sterigmatocystin 
contamination in cereals
 Discussion paper on the development of a Code of Practice for 
the prevention and reduction of cadmium contamination in cocoa
 Priority list of contaminants and naturally occurring 
toxicants for evaluation by JECFA
 Other business and future work

    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Secretariat before the Meeting. Members of 
the public may access or request copies of these documents (see 
ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the February 22, 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 emailed to Dr. Lauren Posnick Robin 
(see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that they relate to 
activities of the 12th Session of the CCCF.

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 19, 2017.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2017-27631 Filed 12-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P