[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 173 (Thursday, September 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45207-45208]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19323]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

U.S. Codex Office

[Docket No. FSIS-2018-0035]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS)

AGENCY: U.S. Codex Office.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Codex Office is sponsoring a public meeting on 
September 26, 2018. The objective of the public meeting is to provide 
information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft 
United States positions to be discussed at the 24th Session of the 
Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification 
Systems (CCFICS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking 
place in Brisbane, Australia, October 22-26, 2018. The U.S. Manager for 
Codex Alimentarius and the Under Secretary, Office of Trade and Foreign 
Agricultural Affairs, recognize the importance of providing interested 
parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 24th 
Session of the CCFICS and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 26, 
from 2:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the United States 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Jamie L. Whitten Building, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 107-A, Washington, DC 20250.
    Documents related to the 24th Session of the CCFICS will be 
accessible via the internet at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en.
    Mary Stanley, U.S. Delegate to the 24th Session of the CCFICS 
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 24th Session of the CCFICS by conference call, please use the 
call-in-number listed below:
    Call-In-Number: 1-888-844-9904.
    The participant code will be posted on the web page below: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/international-affairs/us-codex-alimentarius/public-meetings.
    Registration: Attendees may register to attend the public meeting 
by emailing [email protected] by September 22, 2018. Early 
registration is encouraged because it will expedite entry into the 
building. The meeting will take place 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 who wish to participate, may do so by 
phone, as discussed above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: About the 24th Session of the CCFICS--
Mary Stanley, Senior Advisor, Office of International Coordination, 
Food Safety and Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 2925, South Agriculture Building, 
Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 720-0287, Fax: (202) 720-4929, 
Email: [email protected].
    About the public meeting--Kenneth Lowery, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 4861, South Agriculture Building, 
Washington, DC 20250 Phone: (202) 690-4042, 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 fair practices in the 
food trade.
    The CCFICS is responsible for:
    (a) Developing principles and guidelines for food import and export 
inspection and certification systems, with a view to harmonizing 
methods and procedures that protect the health of consumers, ensure 
fair trading practices, and facilitate international trade in 
foodstuffs;
    (b) Developing principles and guidelines for the application of

[[Page 45208]]

measures by the competent authorities of exporting and importing 
countries to provide assurance, where necessary, that foodstuffs comply 
with requirements, especially statutory health requirements;
    (c) Developing guidelines for the utilization, as and when 
appropriate, of quality assurance systems to ensure that foodstuffs 
conform with requirements and to promote the recognition of these 
systems in facilitating trade in food products under bilateral/
multilateral arrangements by countries;
    (d) Developing guidelines and criteria with respect to format, 
declarations and language of such official certificates as countries 
may require with a view towards international harmonization;
    (e) Making recommendations for information exchange in relation to 
food import/export control;
    (f) Consulting as necessary with other international groups working 
on matters related to food inspection and certification systems; and
    (g) Considering other matters assigned to it by the Commission in 
relation to food inspection and certification systems.
    The CCFICS is hosted by Australia. The United States attends CCFICS 
as a member country of Codex.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the Agenda for the 24th Session of the 
CCFICS will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its 
subsidiary bodies
 Information on activities of FAO and WHO and other 
international organizations relevant to the work of CCFICS
 Proposed draft guidance on the use of systems equivalence
 Proposed draft guidance on paperless use of electronic 
certificates (revision of the Guidelines for Design, Production, 
Issuance and Use of Generic Official Certificates)
 Proposed draft guidance on regulatory approaches to third 
party assurance schemes in food safety and fair practices in the food 
trade
 Discussion paper on food integrity and food authenticity
 Discussion paper on consideration of emerging issues and 
future directions for the work of CCFICS
 Assessment of the experimental approach for intersessional 
Physical Working Groups (PWGs)
 Other businesses and future work

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

Public Meeting

    At the September 26, 2018, 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 Mary Stanley, U.S. 
Delegate for the 24th Session of the CCFICS (see ADDRESSES). Written 
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 24th 
Session of the CCFICS.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, the U.S. Codex Office will 
announce this Federal Register publication on-line through the FSIS web 
page located at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register. The U.S. 
Codex Office also 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 August 15, 2018.
Mary Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2018-19323 Filed 9-5-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P