[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 160 (Thursday, August 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53837-53838]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-17036]
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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
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 91, No. 160 / Thursday, August 20, 2026 /
Notices
[[Page 53837]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
U.S. Codex Office
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems
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
September 10, 2026. 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 28th Session of the Codex Committee on
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS28)
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). CCFICS28 will be held in
Perth, Australia, from October 12-17, 2026. 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 28th Session of the
CCFICS and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for September 10, 2026, from
2:00-4:00 p.m. ET.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place via video teleconference
only. Documents related to the 28th Session of the CCFICS will be
accessible via the internet at the following address: https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings/detail/en/?meeting=CCFICS&session=28.
Dr. Maria Esteras, U.S. Delegate to the 28th Session of the CCFICS
invites interested U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically
to the following email address: [email protected]. Comments should state
that they relate to the activities of the 28th Session of the CCFICS.
Registration: Attendees may register to attend the public meeting
at the following link: https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/5zjMfDMpRM2QIpTQZoPQXg. After registering, you will receive a
confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For further information about the 28th Session of the CCFICS,
contact the U.S Delegate, Dr. Maria Esteras, at [email protected]. For
additional information regarding the public meeting, contact the U.S.
Codex Office by email at: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Codex Alimentarius Commission was established in 1963. 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 Import and
Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) are:
(a) to develop principles and guidelines for food import and export
inspection and certification systems with a view to harmonising methods
and procedures which protect the health of consumers, ensure fair
trading practices and facilitate international trade in foodstuffs;
(b) to develop principles and guidelines for the application of
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) to develop guidelines for the utilisation, 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) to develop 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) to make recommendations for information exchange in relation to
food import/export control;
(f) to consult as necessary with other international groups working
on matters related to food inspection and certification systems; and,
(g) to consider other matters assigned to it by the Commission in
relation to food inspection and certification systems. Quality
assurance means all those planned and systematic actions necessary to
provide adequate confidence that a product or service will satisfy
given requirements for quality (ISO-8402 Quality--Vocabulary)
The CCFICS is hosted by Australia. The United States attends the
CCFICS as a member country of Codex.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items from the agenda for the 28th Session of the
CCFICS will be discussed during the public meeting:
Adoption of the Agenda
Matters arising from the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its
subsidiary bodies
Information on activities of international organizations
relevant to the work of CCFICS
Draft guidelines on the prevention and control of food fraud
Draft Consolidated Codex guidelines related to equivalence
Draft revised Principles for traceability/product tracing as a
tool within a food inspection and certification system (CXG 60-2006)
Draft guidance on appeals mechanism in the context of
rejection of imported food
Draft guidance on the standardization of sanitary requirements
Draft guidance on establishment listings
Draft principles on digitalisation of national food control
systems
Review and update of Appendix A--List of emerging global
issues
Other Business
Public Meeting
At the September 10, 2026, public meeting, agenda items and draft
U.S. positions 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 U.S Delegate, Dr. Maria
Esteras, at
[[Page 53838]]
[email protected]. Written comments should state that they relate to
activities of the 28th 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 USDA
Codex web page located at: https://www.usda.gov/codex.
(Authority: 19 U.S.C. 2578; Pres. Proc. 6780; 7 CFR part 2.602.)
Done at Washington, DC, on August 18, 2026.
Julie A. Chao,
Deputy U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2026-17036 Filed 8-19-26; 8:45 am]
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