[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 34 (Wednesday, February 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5049-5050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-02743]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

U.S. Codex Office


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

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 April 
1, 2019. 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 13th Session of the Codex 
Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) of the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, April 29-May 3, 2019. The U.S. 
Manager for Codex Alimentarius and the Under Secretary for Trade and 
Foreign Agricultural Affairs recognize the importance of providing 
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on 
the 13th Session of the CCCF and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for April 1, 2019, from 1:00 
p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place in Meeting Room 1A003 at 
the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug 
Administration, 5001 Campus Drive, College Park, MD, 20740-3835. 
Documents related to the 13th Session of the CCCF will be accessible 
via the internet at the following address: http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings-reports/en.
    Dr. Lauren Posnick Robin, U.S. Delegate to the 13th Session of the 
CCCF, 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 13th Session of the CCCF by conference call, please register in 
advance by emailing [email protected]. To call in, you may use the 
call-in-number: 1-877-465-7975 and participant code 906 083 160.
    You may also join by Webex, using the link: Join Webex meeting; 
meeting number/access code: 906 083 160; and meeting password: 
rTEQAMG4.
    Registration: Attendees may register to attend the public meeting 
by emailing [email protected] by March 25, 2019. 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 or 
Web, as discussed above.
    For Further Information about the 13th Session of the CCCF: Please 
contact Henry Kim, Ph.D., FDA, at [email protected], or Doreen 
Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, at [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 Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (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 toxicants for risk assessment by the joint FAO/WHO Expert 
Committee on Food Additives (JEFCA).
    (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 the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission in relation to contaminants and naturally 
occurring toxicants in food and feed.
    The Committee is chaired by the Netherlands.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the Agenda for the 13th Session of the CCCF 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Matters referred to CCCF by the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission and its subsidiary bodies
 Matters of interest arising from FAO and WHO (including 
JECFA)
 Matters of interest arising from other international 
organizations
 Proposed draft maximum levels (MLs) for lead in selected 
commodities in the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in 
Food and Feed (GSCTFF) (CXS 193-1995)
 Proposed draft MLs for cadmium in chocolate and cocoa-
derived products
 Draft Code of practice for the reduction of 3-
monochloropropane-1,2-diol esters (3-MCPDEs) and glycidyl esters 
(GEs) in refined oils and food products made with refined oils
 Proposed draft MLs for total aflatoxins in ready-to-eat 
peanuts and associated sampling plan

[[Page 5050]]

 Proposed draft MLs for total aflatoxins and ochratoxin A in 
nutmeg, dried chili and paprika, ginger, pepper and turmeric and 
associated sampling plans
 Draft Guidelines for risk analysis of instances of 
contaminants in food where there is no regulatory level or risk 
management framework established
 Establishment of new MLs for lead in commodities according 
to a prioritization approach
 Lead and cadmium in quinoa
 Revision of the Code of Practice for the Prevention and 
Reduction of Lead Contamination in Foods (CXC 56-2004)
 Development of a code of practice for the prevention and 
reduction of cadmium contamination in cocoa
 Establishment of MLs for methylmercury in additional fish 
species
 Establishment of MLs for HCN in cassava and cassava-based 
products and occurrence of mycotoxins in these products
 Establishment of MLs for total aflatoxins in cereals 
(wheat, maize, sorghum and rice), flour and cereal-based foods for 
infants and young children
 General guidance on data analysis for ML development
 Priority list of contaminants and naturally occurring 
toxicants for evaluation by JECFA
 Follow-up work to the outcome of JECFA evaluations
 Forward workplan for CCCF
 Other business and future work

Public Meeting

    At the April 1, 2019, 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 Henry Kim at 
[email protected].

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 USDA 
Codex web page located at: http://www.usda.gov/codex, a link that also 
offers an email subscription service providing access to information 
related to Codex. Customers can add or delete their 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 February 13, 2019.
Mary Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2019-02743 Filed 2-19-19; 8:45 am]
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