[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 22 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5119-5120]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-2133]



[[Page 5119]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 03-045N]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Thirty-sixth Session of the Codex 
Committee on Food Hygiene

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, of the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA), of the Department of Health and Human Services, are sponsoring a 
public meeting on February 24, 2004, to present and receive comment on 
draft United States positions on all issues coming before the Thirty-
sixth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), which will 
be held in Washington, DC, March 29-April 3, 2004.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 24, 2004, 
from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Harvey Wiley Federal 
Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD, 20740, in 
Conference Room 1A003.
    To receive copies of the documents relevant to this notice, contact 
the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Docket Clerk, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 
102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. The 
documents will also be accessible via the World Wide Web at the 
following address: http://www.fao.org/codexalimentarius.net.
    Send comments, (an original and two copies) to the FSIS Docket 
Clerk and reference Docket <greek-i>03-045N. 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 A. Ali, International Issues 
Analyst, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 
4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20250-3700, 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 numbers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Codex Alimentarius Commission (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 Food Hygiene was established 
to draft basic provisions on food hygiene for all foods. The Government 
of the United States 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/or 
Other Codex Committees to the Food Hygiene Committee.
    2. Endorsement of Hygiene Provisions in the Codex Standards and 
Codes of Practice:
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and 
Fishery Products: Section 2.2 and 2.6 of Definitions, Section 6--
Aquaculture and Section 10--Processing of Quick-Frozen Coated Fish 
Products.
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Draft Standard for Salted Atlantic Herring and 
Salted Sprat.
    3. Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk 
Products at Step 7.
    4. Discussion Papers on the Management of the Work of the 
Committee:
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Proposed Draft Process by which the Committee on 
Food Hygiene Could Undertake its Work in Microbiological Risk 
Assessment/Risk Management.
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Discussion Paper on the Development of Process, 
Procedures and Criteria to Establish Priorities for the Work of the 
Codex Committee on Food Hygiene.
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Discussion Paper on the Development of Options 
for a Cross-Committee Interaction Process.
    5. Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of 
Microbiological Risk Management at Step 4.
    6. Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Application of General 
Principles of Food Hygiene to the [Management] of Listeria 
Monocytogenes in Foods at Step 4.
    7. Proposed Draft Revision of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Egg 
Products (CAC/RCP 15-1976, amended 1985) at Step 4.
    8. Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Validation of Food Hygiene 
Control Measures at Step 4.
    9. Reports of the ad hoc Expert Consultations on Risk Assessment of 
Microbiological Hazards in Food and Related Matters:
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Discussion Paper on Risk Management Strategies 
for Campylobacter ssp. In Poultry.
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Risk Profile for Enterohemorragic E. coli 
Including the Identification of the Commodities of Concern, Including 
Sprouts, Ground Beef and Pork.
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Discussion Paper on Risk Management Strategies 
for Samonella ssp. In Poultry.
    10. Discussion Paper on the Proposed Draft Revision of the 
Recommended International Code of Hygienic Practice for Foods for 
Infants and Children.
    <bullet<ls-thn-eq> Risk Profile for E. sakazakii.
    11. Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Hygienic Reuse of Processing 
Water in Food Plants.
    12. Discussion Paper on Proposed Draft Guidelines for Evaluating 
Objectionable Matter in Food.

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 FSIS 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,

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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. 04-2133 Filed 2-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P