[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 5120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2134]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-046N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Sixth Session of the Codex 
Committee on Milk and Milk Products

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection, Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, and the 
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), of the 
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), are sponsoring a public 
meeting on April 13, 2004, to review the technical content of the 
agenda item documents and receive comments on all issues coming before 
the Sixth Session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products, 
which will be held in Auckland, New Zealand, April 26-30, 2004.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 13, 2004, 
from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 3501, South 
Agriculture Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14th Street and 
Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250.
    To receive copies of documents relevant to this notice, contact the 
Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Docket Room, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, FSIS, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street SW., 
Washington, DC 20250-3700. The documents will also become accessible 
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.fao.org/codexalimentarius.net. Send comments, in triplicate, to the FSIS Docket 
Room and reference Docket <greek-i>03-046N. All comments submitted in 
response to this notice will be available for public inspection in the 
FSIS Docket Room between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Syed Amjad Ali, International Issues 
Analyst; Telephone: (202) 205-7760; Fax: (202) 720-3157. Persons 
requiring a sign language interpreter or other special accommodations 
should notify Mr. Ali at the above number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Codex was established in 1962 by two United Nations organizations, 
the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health 
Organization. Codex is the major international organization for 
encouraging fair international trade in food and protecting the health 
and economic interests of consumers. 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 ensure that the world's food supply is 
sound, wholesome, free from adulteration and correctly labeled.
    The Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products was established to 
elaborate codes and standards for Milk and Milk Products. The 
Government of New Zealand hosts this committee and will chair the 
committee meeting.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following specific issues will be discussed during the public 
meeting:
    1. Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other 
Codex committees.
    2. Review of the Proposed Draft and Draft Revised Standards: Dairy 
Spreads; Processed Cheese; Individual Cheeses; and Whey Cheeses.
    3. Proposed Standards for Products in Which Milkfat is Substituted 
for by Vegetable Fat.
    4. Model Export Certificate for Milk Products.
    5. Review of Proposals for New Standards for ``Parmesan'', 
Fermented Milk Drinks/Products, ``Cheese Specialities'', and a proposal 
to revise the Codex Standard for Extra Hard Grating Cheese.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to better ensure 
that minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this 
notice, FSIS will announce it and make copies of this Federal Register 
publication available through the FSIS Constituent Update. FSIS 
provides a weekly Constituent Update, which is communicated via 
Listserv, a free e-mail subscription service. In addition, the update 
is available on-line through the FSIS web page located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov. The update is used to provide information regarding 
FSIS policies, procedures, regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS 
public meetings, recalls, and any other types of information that could 
affect or would be of interest to our constituents/stakeholders. The 
constituent Listserv consists of industry, trade, and farm groups, 
consumer interest groups, allied health professionals, scientific 
professionals, and other individuals that have requested to be 
included. Through the Listserv and web page, FSIS is able to provide 
information to a much broader, more diverse audience.
    For more information contact the Congressional and Public Affairs 
Office, at (202) 720-9113. To be added to the free e-mail subscription 
service (Listserv) go to the ``Constituent Update'' page on the FSIS 
web site at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/update/update.htm. Click on the 
``Subscribe to the Constituent Update Listserv'' link, then fill out 
and submit the form.

    Done at Washington, DC, on January 29, 2004.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 04-2134 Filed 2-2-04; 8:45 am]
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