[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 183 (Thursday, September 20, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47603-47604]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20442]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

U.S. Codex Office


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Food Hygiene (CCFH)

AGENCY: U.S. Codex Office, USDA.

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 October 
9, 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 Hygiene (CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission 
in Panama City, Panama on November 12--16, 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 50th 
Session of the CCFH and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9, 2018 
from 1:00 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 50th Session of the CCFH will be accessible via the 
internet at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en.
    Jenny Scott, U.S. Delegate to the 50th Session of the CCFH, 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 50th Session of the CCFH 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 
    About the 50th Session Of The CCFH: Jenny Scott, Senior Advisor, 
Office of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Drive HFS-300, Room 3B-
014. College Park, MD 20740-3835 Phone: +1 (240) 402-2166. Fax: +1 
(301) 436-2632. Email: [email protected].
    About the Public Meeting: Barbara McNiff, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 
Independence Avenue SW, Room 4861, South Agriculture Building, 
Washington, DC 20250 Phone: (202) 690-4719, Fax: (202) 720-3157, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Registration

    Attendees may register to attend the public meeting by emailing 
[email protected] by October 3, 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.

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 CCFH is responsible for:
     Developing basic provisions on food hygiene, applicable to 
all food or to specific food types;
     Considering and amending or endorsing provisions on food 
hygiene contained in Codex commodity standards and codes of practice 
developed by Codex commodity committees;
     Considering specific food hygiene problems assigned to it 
by the Commission;
     Suggesting and prioritizing areas where there is a need 
for microbiological risk assessment at the international level and 
developing questions to be addressed by the risk assessors; and
     Considering microbiological risk management matters in 
relation to food hygiene and in relation to the FAO/WHO risk 
assessments.
    The CCFH is hosted by the United States. The 50th Session will be 
co-hosted by Panama and will convene in Panama City.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the Agenda for the 50th Session of the CCFH 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its 
subsidiary bodies to the Food Hygiene
 Matters arising from the Work of FAO and WHO, including the 
Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment (JEMRA)
 Information from the World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE)
 Proposed draft revision of the General Principles of Food 
Hygiene (CXC 1-1969) and its HACCP Annex
    [cir] Comments in reply to CL 2018/69-FH
     Revision to the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery 
Products (CXC 52-2003): Placement for the guidance on histamine 
control; amendments to other sections, and revisions to the section on 
sampling, examination and analyses related to histamine food safety
    [cir] Comments in reply to CL 2018/70-FH
     Proposed draft code of practice on food allergen 
management for food business operators
    [cir] Comments in reply to CL 2018/71-FH
     Proposed draft guidance for the management of (micro) 
biological foodborne crises/outbreaks
    [cir] Comments in reply to CL 2018/72-FH
 Discussion paper on future on work on Shiga toxin-producing 
Escherichia coli (STEC)
 Other business and Future Work
    [cir] Proposals in reply to CL 2018/35-FH)
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed by the Secretariat before the Committee meeting. 
Members of the public may access or request copies of these documents 
(see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the October 9 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

[[Page 47604]]

meeting or sent to Jenny Scott, U.S. Delegate for the 50th Session of 
the CCFH (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that they 
relate to activities of the 50th Session of the CCFH.

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 September 15th, 2018.
Mary Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2018-20442 Filed 9-19-18; 8:45 am]
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