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

3650

Vol. 65, No. 15

Monday, January 24, 2000

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

The Emergency Food Assistance

Program, Availability of Commodities

for Fiscal Year 2000

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the

surplus and purchased commodities

that the Department expects to make

available for donation to States for use

in providing food assistance to the

needy under the Emergency Food

Assistance Program (TEFAP) in Fiscal

Year (FY) 2000. The commodities made

available under this notice shall, at the

discretion of the State, be distributed to

organizations for use in preparing

meals, and/or for distribution to

households for home consumption.

EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lillie Ragan, Assistant Branch Chief,

Household Programs Branch, Food

Distribution Division, Food and

Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, 3101 Park Center Drive,

Alexandria, Virginia 22302–1594 or

telephone (703) 305–2662.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Need for Action

Surplus Commodities

Surplus commodities donated for

distribution under TEFAP are

Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)

commodities determined to be available

for donation by the Secretary of

Agriculture under the authority of

section 416 of the Agricultural Act of

1949, 7 U.S.C. 1431 (section 416) and

commodities purchased under the

surplus removal authority of section 32

of the Act of August 24, 1935, 7 U.S.C.

612c (section 32). The types of

commodities typically made available

under section 416 include dairy, grains,

oils, and peanut products. The types of

commodities purchased under section

32 include meat, poultry, fish,

vegetables, dry beans, juices and fruits.

Donations of surplus commodities were

initiated in 1981 as part of the

Department’s efforts to reduce

stockpiles of government-owned

commodities, such as cheese, flour,

butter, and cornmeal, which had been

acquired under section 416. These

donations responded to concern over

the costs to taxpayers of storing large

quantities of foods, while at the same

time there were persons in need of food

assistance. The authority to donate

surplus commodities for distribution

through TEFAP is currently codified in

Section 202 of the Emergency Food

Assistance Act of 1983, 7 U.S.C. 7502

(EFAA).

The supply of surplus commodities

has been drastically reduced from the

levels available in the early 1980s.

These reductions are the result of

changes in the agricultural commodity

loan programs which have brought

supply and demand into better balance,

and accelerated donations and sales.

However, this trend reversed itself

beginning in FY 1997. In FY 1999, the

Department purchased over $106.4

million worth of surplus commodities.

The large surpluses were the result of

the reduction in foreign sales due

primarily to the Asian economic

downturn. The following surplus

commodities were purchased for

donation in FY 1999 but will be

delivered in the first quarter of FY 2000,

because they did not become available

for purchase until late in the year:

frozen bison and instant nonfat dried

milk. In addition to delivering these

products for distribution in FY 2000, the

Department anticipates that there will

be sufficient quantities of nonfat dry

milk available for donation under

section 416, and salmon, pork, walnut

pieces, trailmix, and canned chicken

purchased under section 32, to support

the donation of these commodities for

distribution through TEFAP in FY 2000.

The Department would like to point out

that commodity acquisitions are based

on changing agricultural market

conditions; therefore, the availability of

commodities is subject to change.

Purchased Commodities

Congress responded to the reduced

availability of surplus commodities with

section 104 of the Hunger Prevention

Act of 1988, Pub. L. 100–435, which

added sections 213 and 214 to the

EFAA. Those sections require the

Secretary to purchase commodities for

distribution to States in addition to

those surplus commodities which

otherwise might be provided to States

for distribution under TEFAP. Pursuant

to section 871(d) of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104–

193, Congress repealed the

authorization of funds for food

purchases under section 214 of the

EFAA. In addition, section 871(g) added

a new section 27 to the Food Stamp Act

of 1977, 7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq. (FSA),

under which the Secretary is required to

use $100 million from the funds made

available to carry out the FSA for each

of FYs 1997 through 2002 to purchase

a variety of nutritious and useful

commodities and distribute the

commodities to States for distribution

through TEFAP. However, Pub. L. 106–

78 (An Act making appropriations for

the Agriculture, Rural Development,

Food and Drug Administration, and

Related Agencies programs for the fiscal

year ending September 30, 2000, and for

other purposes), limits the amount of

funds available to purchase TEFAP

commodities in FY 2000 to $98 million.

A separate administrative funding

appropriation of $45 million, as divided

among the States, may be used, in whole

or in part, at the discretion of each State,

by the Department for the purchase of

additional commodities for TEFAP.

For FY 2000, the Department

anticipates purchasing the following

commodities for distribution through

TEFAP: fresh apples, peanut butter,

roasted peanuts, rice, macaroni,

spaghetti, egg noodles, oats, fortified

cereal, bakery mix, egg mix, dehydrated

potatoes, corn syrup, vegetable oil, dry

bagged beans, raisins, prunes, the

following canned foods: apple juice,

applesauce, peaches, pears, plums,

vegetarian beans, refried beans, green

beans, potatoes, tomatoes, tomato sauce,

vegetarian and tomato reduced-sodium

soups, spaghetti sauce, tomato juice,

corn, orange juice, grapefruit juice,

pineapple juice, pork, tuna, beef, and

chicken, as well as the following frozen

foods: ground beef, whole chicken,

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 15 / Monday, January 24, 2000 / Notices 3651

ground turkey, and turkey roasts. The

amounts of each item purchased will

depend on the prices the Department

must pay, as well as the quantity of each

item requested by the States. Changes in

agricultural market conditions may

result in the availability of additional

types of commodities or the nonavailability of one or more types listed

above. State officials will be responsible

for determining how to allocate the

commodities each State receives among

eligible organizations. States have full

discretion in determining the amount of

commodities that will be made available

to organizations for distribution to

needy households for use in homeprepared meals or for providing

prepared meals to the needy at

congregate feeding sites.

Dated: January 11, 2000.

Samuel Chambers, Jr.,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 00–1575 Filed 1–20–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–U

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 00–002N]

Codex Alimentarius: 4th Session of the

Codex Committee on Milk and Milk

Products

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection

Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting,

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Agricultural Marketing

Service and the Food Safety and

Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S.

Department of Agriculture; and the

Food and Drug Administration, U.S.

Department of Health and Human

Services, are sponsoring a public

meeting on February 15, 2000, to

provide information and receive public

comments on agenda items that will be

discussed at the 4th Session of the

Codex Committee on Milk and Milk

Products, which will be held in

Wellington, New Zealand, on February

28–March 3, 2000.

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled

for Tuesday, February 15, 2000, from

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held in Room 0745, South Agriculture

Building, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, 14th Street and

Independence Avenue, SW,

Washington, DC 20250. To receive

copies of the documents referenced in

the notice contact the 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/waicent/faoinfo/economic/

esn/codex/ccmmp4/MM00 01E.htm.

When submitting comments, send an

original and two copies to the FSIS

Docket Clerk and reference the Docket #

00–002N and the appropriate document

number. All comments submitted will

be available for public inspection in the

Docket Clerk’s Office between 8:30 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick J. Clerkin, Associate U.S.

Manager for Codex, FSIS, Room 4861,

South Agriculture 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 Patrick J.

Clerkin, telephone (202) 205–7760; Fax

(202) 720–3157.

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 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. Draft Standard for Unripened

Cheeses including Fresh Cheese at Step

7.

3. Review of the Proposed Draft and

Draft Revised Standards: Cream;

Fermented Milk Products; Dairy

Spreads; Processed Cheese; Individual

Cheeses; Whey Powders; and Edible

Casein Products; at Step 4.

4. Heat Treatment Definitions.

5. Model Export Certificate for Milk

Products.

6. Review of Proposals for New

Standards for ‘‘Parmesan’’ and ‘‘Cheese

Speciality’’.

Each issue listed will be fully

described in documents distributed, or

to be distributed, by the New Zealand

Secretariat to the Meeting. Members of

the public may access or request copies

of these documents (see ADDRESSES).

Additional Public Notification

Public awareness of all segments of

rulemaking and policy development are

important. Consequently, in an effort to

better ensure that minorities, women,

and persons with disabilities are aware

of this public meeting, FSIS will

announce it and provide copies of this

Federal Register publication in the FSIS

Constituent Update. FSIS provides a

weekly FSIS Constituent Update, which

is communicated via fax to over 300

organizations and individuals. 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 fax list

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

these various channels, FSIS is able to

provide information to a much broader,

more diverse audience. For more

information and to be added to the

constituent fax list, fax your request to

the Congressional and Public Affairs

Office, at (202) 720–5704.

Done at Washington, DC on: January 19,

2000.

F. Edward Scarbrough,

U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

[FR Doc. 00–1662 Filed 1–21–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P