[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 59 (Wednesday, March 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11485-11486]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05768]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
U.S. Codex Office
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Labelling
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
9, 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 45th Session of the Codex
Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius
Commission, in Ottawa, Canada, May 13-17, 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 45th
Session of the CCFL and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for April 9, 2019, from 1-5 p.m.
EST.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place in Meeting Room 107A of
the Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250.
Documents related to the 45th Session of the CCFL will be accessible
via the internet at the following address: http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/%E2%80%8Bmeetings-reports/%E2%80%8Ben.
Douglas Balentine, U.S. Delegate to the 45th Session of the CCFL,
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 45th Session of the CCFL by conference call, please use the
call-in-number: 888-844-9904 and participant code 5126092.
Registration: Attendees may register to attend the public meeting
by emailing [email protected] by April 3, 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, as
discussed above.
For Further Information about the 45th Session of the CCFL, contact
U.S. Delegate, Douglas Balentine, Director, Office of Nutrition and
Food Labelling, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food
and Drug Administration, 5001 Campus Drive (HFS-830), College Park, MD
20740. Telephone: (240) 402-2373, Email: [email protected].
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: U.S.
Codex
[[Page 11486]]
Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 4861, South Agriculture
Building, Washington, DC 20250. Phone 202-720-7760, 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 and the World Health
Organization. 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 Terms of Reference of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling
(CCFL) are:
(a) To draft provisions on labelling applicable to all foods;
(b) to consider, amend if necessary, and endorse draft specific
provisions on labelling prepared by other Codex Committees drafting
standards, codes of practice and guidelines;
(c) to study specific labelling problems assigned to it by the
Commission; and,
(d) to study problems associated with the advertisement of food
with particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions.
The CCFL is hosted by Canada. The United States attends CCFL as a
member country of Codex.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the Agenda for the 45th Session of the CCFL
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters referred to the Committee by the CAC and Codex
subsidiary bodies
Matters of interest from FAO and WHO
Consideration of labelling provisions in draft Codex standards
Proposed draft Guidance for the Labelling of Non-Retail
Containers
Proposed draft Guidelines of Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling
internet sales/e-commerce
Innovation--use of technology in food labelling
Labelling of alcoholic beverages
Criteria for the definition of ``high in'' nutritional
descriptors for fats, sugars, and sodium
Labelling of foods in joint presentation and multipack formats
Future work and direction of CCFL
Other Business
Public Meeting
At the April 9, 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 Douglas Balentine, U.S.
Delegate for the 45th Session of the CCFL (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 45th
Session of the CCFL.
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 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 subscription 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 March 21, 2019.
Mary Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2019-05768 Filed 3-26-19; 8:45 am]
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