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.

Notices Federal Register

49279 

Vol. 79, No. 161 

Wednesday, August 20, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Agricultural Marketing Service 

[Document No. AMS–FV–14–0025, FV–14– 

327] 

United States Standard of Identity for 

Honey 

AGENCY: Agricultural Marketing Service, 

USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing 

Service (AMS) of the Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting 

comments on how a Federal standard of 

identity for honey would be in the 

interest of consumers, the honey 

industry, and U.S. agriculture. 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

September 19, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are 

invited to submit written comments via 

the Internet at http://

www.regulations.gov or to Brian E. 

Griffin, Standardization Branch, 

Specialty Crops Inspection Division, 

Fruit and Vegetable Program, 

Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., Room 0709- 

South Building; STOP 0247, 

Washington, DC 20250; telephone (202) 

720–5021; fax (202) 690–1527, email 

brian.griffin@ams.usda.gov. Comments 

should make reference to the date and 

page number of this issue of the Federal 

Register and will be made available for 

public inspection at the above office 

during regular business hours. 

Please be advised that all comments 

submitted in response to this notice will 

be included in the record and will be 

made available to the public on the 

Internet via http://www.regulations.gov. 

Also, the identity of the individuals or 

entities submitting the comments will 

be made public. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian E. Griffin, Standardization 

Branch, Specialty Crops Inspection 

Division, Agricultural Marketing 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

telephone (202) 720–5021or fax (202) 

690–1527. 

Background 

Section 10012 of the Agricultural Act 

of 2014 (Pub. L. 113–79), the 2014 Farm 

Bill, charged the Secretary with 

developing a report describing how a 

Federal standard of identity for honey 

would be in the interest of consumers, 

the honey industry, and U.S. 

agriculture. Section 10012 specifically 

states, ‘‘In preparing the report required 

under subsection (a), the Secretary shall 

take into consideration the March 2006, 

Standard of Identity citizens petition 

filed with the Food and Drug 

Administration, including any current 

industry amendments or clarifications 

necessary to update that petition.’’ 

In 2006, members of the honey 

producing, packing, and importing 

industries petitioned the FDA to 

develop a standard of identity for 

honey. A copy of the petitioner’s request 

is available as a supporting document 

for this notice at-http://

www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2006-P-0207- 

0008. 

The FDA is the agency responsible for 

developing a standard of identity for 

commodities such as honey. The Food 

Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) directs 

the FDA to establish definitions and 

standards for food (21 U.S.C. § 341). In 

an effort to promote honesty and fair 

dealing for the benefit of consumers, the 

FDA is authorized to establish, by 

regulation, a common or usual name, a 

reasonable definition and standard of 

identity, a reasonable standard of 

quality, and reasonable standards of fill 

of the container for any food. The 

petitioners contended that ‘‘the 

proposed standard will promote honesty 

and fair dealing not only in the interest 

of consumers, but in the interest of the 

honey industry as well.’’ The petitioners 

also stated that ‘‘a compositional 

standard for honey will serve as a tool 

to help combat the economic 

adulteration of honey.’’ The petitioners 

requested that the Commissioner of 

Food and Drugs adopt certain 

provisions of the Codex Standard for 

Honey (CODEX STAN 12–1981, Rev.2 

(2001)). 

On October 5, 2011, FDA denied the 

petition concluding that no standard of 

identity for honey was necessary 

(http://www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2006-P-0207- 

0007). The FDA recently published draft 

guidance for industry on proper labeling 

of honey and honey products in the 

April 9, 2014 Federal Register Docket 

No. FDA–2006–P–0207. In this notice, 

the FDA addresses the 2006 petition by 

the American Beekeeping Federation 

and several other honey-related 

associations. The FDA believes that the 

petitioners’ goals can be achieved by 

FDA’s existing authorities and that a 

standard of identity for honey would 

not promote honesty and fair dealing in 

the interest of consumers. To address 

the labeling issues relevant to the 

petition, the FDA developed the draft 

guidance to advise the regulated food 

industry on the proper labeling of honey 

and honey products to help ensure that 

honey and honey products are not 

adulterated or misbranded under 

sections 402 and 403 of the Federal 

Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

342 and 343, respectively). 

There are currently several standards 

for the inspection and grading of honey. 

The U.S. Standards for Grades of 

Extracted Honey, effective date May 23, 

1985, and the U.S. Standards for Grades 

of Comb Honey, effective date May 24, 

1967, are voluntary U.S. grade standards 

issued under the authority of the 

Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

(Act). The Act provides for the 

development of official U.S. grades to 

designate different levels of quality. 

These grade standards are available for 

use by producers, suppliers, buyers, and 

consumers. Like all standards for grades 

of fresh and processed fruits, vegetables, 

and specialty crops, these standards are 

designed to facilitate orderly marketing 

by providing a convenient basis for 

buying and selling, for establishing 

quality control programs, and for 

determining loan values. The standards 

also serve as a basis for the inspection 

and grading of commodities by the 

Federal inspection service. Copies of the 

current U.S. grade standards for 

extracted honey and comb honey are on 

the USDA Web site at www.ams.usda 

.gov/scihome. 

To provide an acceptable amount of 

guidance to help prevent the economic 

adulteration of honey at some level, 

many states have adopted, and/or are 

proposing to adopt, state-level standards 

of identity for honey. While some are 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
49280 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 161 / Wednesday, August 20, 2014 / Notices 

following the 2006 honey industry 

petition and using an amended version 

of the Codex Standard for Honey, 

CODEX standard 12–1981, Rev. 2 

(2001), variations in the state standards 

of identity for honey are inevitable. The 

end result could lead to an assortment 

of standards that vary from state to state 

and impede interstate commerce. 

AMS is seeking comments on the 

petitioner’s request for a standard of 

identity for honey and, specifically, the 

adoption of deviations as defined in the 

petitioner’s request, and draft proposal. 

This notice provides for a 30 day period 

for interested parties to comment on the 

petitioners’ request, and on how an 

appropriate Federal standard for the 

identity of honey would be in the 

interest of consumers, the honey 

industry, and United States agriculture. 

Authority: Section 10012 of the 

Agricultural Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113–79). 

Dated: August 15, 2014. 

Rex A. Barnes, 

Associate Administrator, Agricultural 

Marketing Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19770 Filed 8–19–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–02–P 

UNITED STATES ARCTIC RESEARCH 

COMMISSION 

102nd Commission Meeting 

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. 

Arctic Research Commission will hold 

its 102nd meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, 

on September 15–16, 2014. The 

business sessions, open to the public, 

will convene at 1:30 p.m. on September 

15 and 8:30 a.m. on September 16. 

The Agenda items include: 

(1) Call to order and approval of the 

agenda 

(2) Approval of the minutes from the 

101st meeting 

(3) Commissioners and staff reports 

(4) Discussion and presentations 

concerning Arctic research 

activities 

The focus of the meeting will be 

Arctic research activities in Anchorage, 

as well as reports and updates on other 

programs and research projects affecting 

the Arctic. 

If you plan to attend this meeting, 

please notify us via the contact 

information below. Any person 

planning to attend who requires special 

accessibility features and/or auxiliary 

aids, such as sign language interpreters, 

must inform the Commission of those 

needs in advance of the meeting. 

Contact person for further 

information: John Farrell, Executive 

Director, U.S. Arctic Research 

Commission, 703–525–0111 or TDD 

703–306–0090. 

Dated: August 13, 2014. 

John Farrell, 

Executive Director. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19643 Filed 8–19–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting 

of the California Advisory Committee 

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to 

the provisions of the rules and 

regulations of the U.S. Commission on 

Civil Rights (Commission), and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

(FACA), which a meeting of the 

California Advisory Committee 

(Committee) to the Commission will 

convene on Friday, September 12, 2014, 

at 1:00 p.m. and adjourn at 

approximately 2:30 p.m. The meeting 

will be held by teleconference. The 

purpose of the meeting is for the 

Committee to plan its project for the 

2015 program year. 

This meeting is available to the public 

through the following toll-free call-in 

number: 877–446–3914, conference ID: 

8563590. Any interested member of the 

public may call this number and listen 

to the meeting. Callers can expect to 

incur charges for calls they initiate over 

wireless lines, and the Commission will 

not refund any incurred charges. Callers 

will incur no charge for calls they 

initiate over land-line connections to 

the toll-free telephone number. Persons 

with hearing impairments may also 

follow the proceedings by first calling 

the Federal Relay Service at 1–800–977– 

8339 and providing the Service with the 

conference call number and conference 

ID number. 

Members of the public are entitled to 

submit written comments. The 

comments must be received in the 

Western Regional Office by October 12, 

2014. The mailing address is Western 

Regional Office, U.S. Commission on 

Civil Rights, 300 N. Los Angeles St., 

Suite 2010, Los Angeles, CA 90012. 

Persons wishing to email their 

comments may do so to atrevino@

usccr.gov. Persons that desire additional 

information should contact Angelica 

Trevino, Civil Rights Analyst, Western 

Regional Office, at (213) 894–3437. 

Hearing-impaired persons who will 

attend the meeting and require the 

services of a sign language interpreter 

should contact the Regional Office at 

least ten (10) working days before the 

scheduled date of the meeting. 

Records generated from this meeting 

may be inspected and reproduced at the 

Western Regional Office, as they become 

available, both before and after the 

meeting. Persons interested in the work 

of this Committee are advised to go to 

the Commission’s Web site, 

www.usccr.gov, or to contact the 

Western Regional Office at the above 

email or street address. 

The meeting will be conducted 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the Commission and 

FACA. 

Dated August 15, 2014. 

David Mussatt, 

Chief, Regional Programs Unit. 

[FR Doc. 2014–19726 Filed 8–19–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

Census Scientific Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census 

(U.S. Census Bureau) is giving notice of 

a meeting of the Census Scientific 

Advisory Committee (C–SAC). The C– 

SAC will meet in a plenary session from 

September 18–19, 2014. The Committee 

will address policy, research, and 

technical issues relating to a full range 

of Census Bureau programs and 

activities, including communications, 

decennial, demographic, economic, 

field operations, geographic, 

information technology, and statistics. 

Last minute changes to the agenda are 

possible, which could prevent giving 

advance public notice of schedule 

adjustments. 

DATES: September 18–19, 2014. On 

September 18, the C–SAC meeting will 

begin at approximately 8:30 a.m. and 

adjourn at approximately 5:15 p.m. On 

September 19, the meeting will begin at 

approximately 8:30 a.m. and adjourn at 

approximately 12:30 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the U.S. Census Bureau Auditorium, 

4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, 

Maryland 20746. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeri 

Green, Committee Liaison Officer, 

Department of Commerce, U.S. Census 

Bureau, Room 8H182, 4600 Silver Hill 

Road, Washington, DC 20233, telephone 

301–763–6590. For TTY callers, please 

use the Federal Relay Service 1–800– 

877–8339. For further information by 

email, please use the following address: 

census.scientific.advisory.committee@

census.gov. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES