[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20466-20467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07170]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
 and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, 
 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 66 / Thursday, April 6, 2023 / 
Notices  

[[Page 20466]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

U.S. Codex Office


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Pesticide Residues

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 May 25, 
2023. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and 
receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions to be 
discussed at the 54th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide 
Residues (CCPR) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which will 
convene in Beijing, China from June 26-July 1, 2023. 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 54th 
Session of the CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for May 25, 2023, from 2-4 p.m. 
EDT.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place via Video Teleconference 
only. Documents related to the 54th Session of the CCPR will be 
accessible via the internet at the following address: https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings/detail/en/?meeting=CCPR&session=54. Mr. Aaron Niman, U.S. Delegate to the 54th 
Session of the CCPR, invites interested U.S. parties to submit their 
comments electronically to the following email address: 
[email protected].
    Registration: Attendees must register to attend the public meeting 
at the following link: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItdOurpz8vEw74qzY2IOC-3PUkfxxyf2w.
    After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing 
information about joining the meeting.
    For further information about the 54th Session of the CCPR, contact 
U.S. Delegate, Mr. Aaron Niman, [email protected], (202) 566-2177. 
For further information about the public meeting contact the U.S. Codex 
Office by email 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 Terms of Reference of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues 
(CCPR) are:
    (a) to establish maximum limits for pesticide residues in specific 
food items or in groups of food;
    (b) to establish maximum limits for pesticide residues in certain 
animal feeding stuffs moving in international trade where this is 
justified for reasons of protection of human health;
    (c) to prepare priority lists of pesticides for evaluation by the 
Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR);
    (d) to consider methods of sampling and analysis for the 
determination of pesticide residues in food and feed;
    (e) to consider other matters in relation to the safety of food and 
feed containing pesticide residues; and,
    (f) to establish maximum limits for environmental and industrial 
contaminants showing chemical or other similarity to pesticides, in 
specific food items or groups of food.
    The CCPR is hosted by China. The United States attends the CCPR as 
a member country of Codex.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items from the forthcoming Agenda for the 54th 
Session of the CCPR will be discussed during the public meeting:

 Adoption of the Agenda
 Appointment of Rapporteurs
 Matters referred to CCPR by CAC and/or other subsidiary bodies
 Matters of interest arising from FAO and WHO
 Matters of interest arising from other international 
organizations
 Report on items of general consideration arising from the 2022 
JMPR regular meeting
 Report on responses to specific concerns raised by CCPR 
arising from the 2022 JMPR regular meeting
 Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides in food and feed
 Revision of the Classification of Food and Feed (CXM 4/1989) 
on the following:
(i) Class B--Primary Food Commodities of Animal Origin and Class E--
Processed Foods of Animal Origin (All Types)
(ii) Tables on examples of representative commodities for commodity 
groups in different types under Class B and Class E (for inclusion in 
the Principles and Guidance for the Selection of Representative 
Commodities for the Extrapolation of MRLs for Pesticides to Commodity 
Group (CXG 84-2012))
(iii) Portion of the commodity to which the MRLs apply, and which is 
analyzed for Group 006 Assorted tropical and sub-tropical fruits--
inedible peel and Group 023 Oilseeds (Australia)
(iv) Review the Guidelines on portion of commodities to which MRLs 
apply and which is analyzed (CXG 41-1993)
 Coordination of work between CCPR and CCRVDF: Joint CCPR/
CCRVDF Working Group on Compounds for Dual Use--Status of work
 Management of unsupported compounds without public health 
concern scheduled for periodic review
 National registrations of pesticides (National Registration 
Database for Pesticides for Periodic Review by JMPR)
 Establishment of Codex Schedules and Priority Lists of 
Pesticides for Evaluation/Re-Evaluation by JMPR
 Discussion paper on monitoring the purity and stability of 
certified reference material of multi-class pesticides during prolonged 
storage
 Discussion Paper on the Enhancement of the Operational 
Procedures of CCPR and JMPR

[[Page 20467]]

 Other Business and Future Work

Public Meeting

    At the May 25, 2023, 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 Mr. Aaron Niman, U.S. Delegate 
for the 54th Session of the CCPR (see ADDRESSES). Written comments 
should state that they relate to activities of the 54th Session of the 
CCPR.

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: https://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 https://www.usda.gov/oascr/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer, 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.
Mary Frances Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2023-07170 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
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