[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 43 (Friday, March 5, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10206-10207]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-4694]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. FSIS-2010-0007]


Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on 
Contaminants in Food

AGENCY: Office of Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring a public meeting on 
March 29, 2010. The objective of the public meeting is to provide 
information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft 
United States (U.S.) positions that will be discussed at the 4th 
Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Izmir, 
Turkey, April 26-30, 2010. The Office of Food Safety and FDA recognize 
the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to 
obtain background information on the 4th Session of the CCCF and to 
address items on the agenda.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 29, 2010, from 
10 a.m.-12 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at Harvey W. Wiley Federal 
Building, Room 1A-001, FDA, Center for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition (CFSAN), 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740. 
Documents related to the 4th Session of the CCCF will be accessible via 
the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.
    The U.S. Delegate to the CCCF, Dr. Nega Beru, invites interested 
U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the following 
e-mail address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#024a676c707b2c496b6f426466632c6a6a712c656d74"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a9e1ccc7dbd087e2c0c4e9cfcdc887c1c1da87cec6df">[email protected]</span></a>.
    Registration: Register electronically to the same e-mail address 
above. Early registration is encouraged because it will expedite entry 
into the building and its parking area. If you require parking, please 
include the vehicle make and tag number, if known, when you register. 
Because the meeting will be held in a Federal building, you should also 
bring photo identification and plan for adequate time to pass through 
the security screening system.
    If you would like to participate in the public meeting for the 4th 
session of the CCCF by telephone conference, please use the following 
call in number and passcode:
    Call In Number: 1-866-859-5767.
    Passcode: 2225276.
    For Further Information about the 4th Session of the CCCF Contact: 
Dr. Henry Kim, Office of Food Safety, CFSAN, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch 
Parkway (HFS-317), College Park, MD 20740, Phone: 301-436-2023, Fax: 
301-436-2651, E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4a022f243833640123270a2c2e2b64222239642d253c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="aae2cfc4d8d384e1c3c7eacccecb84c2c2d984cdc5dc">[email protected]</span></a>.
    For Further Information about the Public Meeting Contact: Dr. Henry 
Kim, Office of Food Safety, CFSAN, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway (HFS-
317), College Park, MD 20740, Phone: 301-436-2023, Fax: 301-436-2651, 
E-mail: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6e260b001c17402507032e080a0f4006061d40090118"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9f1dcd7cbc097f2d0d4f9dfddd897d1d1ca97ded6cf">[email protected]</span></a>.

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 that fair practices are 
used in trade.
    The CCCF establishes and endorses permitted maximum levels (MLs) 
for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed; 
prepares a priority list of contaminants and naturally occurring 
toxicants for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on 
Food Additives (JECFA); considers methods of analysis and sampling for 
the determination of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in 
food and feed; considers and elaborates standards or codes of practice 
for related subjects; and considers other matters assigned to it by the 
Commission in relation to contaminants and naturally occurring 
toxicants in food and feed.
    The Committee is chaired by the Netherlands.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting

    The following items on the agenda for the 4th Session of the CCCF 
will be discussed during the public meeting:

[[Page 10207]]

    <bullet> Matters Referred to the CCCF by Codex and other Codex 
Committees and Task Forces
    <bullet> Matters of Interest Arising from FAO and WHO (including 
JECFA)
    <bullet> Matters of Interest Arising from other International 
Organizations--International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
    <bullet> Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Ethyl 
Carbamate in Stone Fruit Distillates
    <bullet> Proposed Draft Maximum Levels for Melamine in Food and 
Feed
    <bullet> Proposed Draft Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in 
Brazil Nuts
    <bullet> Proposed Draft Revision of the Code of Practice for the 
Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin in Tree Nuts (Additional Measures 
for Brazil Nuts)
    <bullet> Proposed Draft Maximum Levels for Fumonisins in Maize and 
Maize Products and Associated Sampling Plans
    <bullet> Discussion Paper on Mycotoxins in Sorghum
    <bullet> Priority List of Contaminants and Naturally Occurring 
Toxicants Proposed for Evaluation by JECFA
    Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, 
or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the meeting. Members 
of the public may access copies of these documents (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

    At the March 29, 2010, 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 Dr. Henry Kim for the 4th 
Session of the CCCF (see ADDRESSES). Written comments should state that 
they relate to activities of the 4th Session of the CCCF.

Additional Public Notification

    Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy 
development is important. Consequently, in an effort to ensure that 
minorities, women, and persons with disabilities are aware of this 
notice, FSIS will announce it online through the FSIS Web page located 
at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/2010_Notices_Index/index.asp. FSIS will also make copies of this Federal Register 
publication available through the FSIS Constituent Update, which is 
used to provide information regarding FSIS policies, procedures, 
regulations, Federal Register notices, FSIS public meetings, and other 
types of information that could affect or would be of interest to 
constituents and stakeholders. The Update is communicated via Listserv, 
a free electronic mail subscription service for industry, trade groups, 
consumer interest groups, health professionals, and other individuals 
who have asked to be included. The Update is also available on the FSIS 
Web page. Through the Listserv and Web page, FSIS is able to provide 
information to a much broader and more diverse audience. In addition, 
FSIS offers an electronic mail subscription service which provides 
automatic and customized access to selected food safety news and 
information. This service is available at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/news_and_events/email_subscription/. Options range from recalls to 
export information to regulations, directives and notices. Customers 
can add or delete subscriptions themselves, and have the option to 
password protect their accounts.

    Done in Washington, DC on March 1, 2010.
Karen Stuck,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2010-4694 Filed 3-4-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P


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