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

89362 

Vol. 88, No. 247 

Wednesday, December 27, 2023 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2023–0022] 

Movement of Organisms Modified or 

Produced Through Genetic 

Engineering; Notice of Proposed 

Exemptions; Reopening of Comment 

Period 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Reopening of comment period. 

SUMMARY: We are reopening the 

comment period for our notice that 

proposes to add five new types of 

genetic modifications a plant can 

contain and be exempt from the 

regulations for the movement of 

organisms modified or produced 

through genetic engineering because 

such modifications could otherwise be 

achieved through conventional breeding 

methods. This action will allow 

interested persons additional time to 

prepare and submit comments. 

DATES: The comment period for the 

notice published on November 15, 2023 

(88 FR 78285–78291) is reopened. We 

will consider all comments that we 

receive on or before January 19, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS– 

2023–0022 in the Search field. Select 

the Documents tab, then select the 

Comment button in the list of 

documents. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2023–0022, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at Regulations.gov or in 

our reading room, which is located in 

room 1620 of the USDA South Building, 

14th Street and Independence Avenue 

SW, Washington, DC. Normal reading 

room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. To be sure someone is there to 

help you, please call (202) 799–7039 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Neil Hoffman, Science Advisor, 

Biotechnology Regulatory Services, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 98, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238; 

Neil.E.Hoffman@usda.gov; (301) 851– 

3947. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

On November 15, 2023, we published 

in the Federal Register (88 FR 78285– 

78291, Docket No. APHIS–2023–0022) a 

proposal that would add five new types 

of genetic modifications a plant can 

contain and be exempt from the 

regulations for the movement of 

organisms modified or produced 

through genetic engineering because 

such modifications could otherwise be 

achieved through conventional breeding 

methods. 

Comments on the notice were 

required to be received on or before 

December 15, 2023. We are reopening 

the comment period on Docket No. 

APHIS–2023–0022 until January 19, 

2024. This action will allow interested 

persons additional time to prepare and 

submit comments. We will also consider 

all comments received between 

December 16, 2023 (the day after the 

close of the original comment period) 

and the date of this notice. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701–7772 and 

7781–7786; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 

2.80, and 371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of 

December 2023. 

Michael Watson, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28545 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

U.S. Codex Office 

Codex Alimentarius Commission: 

Meeting of the Codex Committee on 

Food Hygiene 

AGENCY: U.S. Codex Office, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Codex Office is 

sponsoring a public meeting on 

February 5, 2024. The objective of the 

public meeting is to provide information 

and receive public comments on agenda 

items and draft U.S. positions to be 

discussed at the 54th Session of the 

Codex Committee on Food Hygiene 

(CCFH) of the Codex Alimentarius 

Commission (CAC). CCFH54 will be 

held in Nairobi, Kenya, from March 11– 

March 15, 2024. The U.S. Manager for 

Codex Alimentarius and the Under 

Secretary for Trade and Foreign 

Agricultural Affairs recognize the 

importance of providing interested 

parties the opportunity to obtain 

background information on the 54th 

Session of the CCFH and to address 

items on the agenda. 

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled 

for February 5, 2024, from 2:00–4:00 

p.m. EST. 

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will 

take place via Video Teleconference 

only. Documents related to the 54th 

Session of the CCFH will be accessible 

via the internet at the following address: 

https://www.fao.org/fao-whocodexalimentarius/meetings/detail/en/ 

?meeting=CCFH&session=54. 

Dr. Benjamin Warren, U.S. Delegate to 

the 54th Session of the CCFH, invites 

interested U.S. parties to submit their 

comments electronically to the 

following email address: 

benjamin.warren@fda.hhs.gov. 

Registration: Attendees may register 

to attend the public meeting here: 

https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/ 

register/vJItc-6qqzMuH510Gf6u

Xw7xtk9Jq-9tGis#/registration. After 

registering, you will receive a 

confirmation email containing 

information about joining the meeting. 

For further information about the 54th 

Session of the CCFH, contact U.S. 

Delegate, Dr. Benjamin Warren, Senior 

Science Advisor for Food Safety, Office 

of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety 

and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and 

Drug Administration, benjamin.warren@

fda.hhs.gov, 1–240–645–7004. For an 

additional information regarding the 

public meeting, contact the U.S. Codex 

Office by email at: uscodex@usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 247 / Wednesday, December 27, 2023 / Notices 89363 

Background 

The Codex Alimentarius Commission 

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 fair practices in the food 

trade. 

The Terms of Reference of the Codex 

Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) 

are: 

(a) to draft basic provisions on food

hygiene applicable to all food; 

(b) to consider, amend if necessary

and endorse provisions on hygiene 

prepared by Codex commodity 

committees and contained in Codex 

commodity standards, and 

(c) to consider, amend if necessary,

and endorse provisions on hygiene 

prepared by Codex commodity 

committees and contained in Codex 

codes of practice unless, in specific 

cases, the Commission has decided 

otherwise, or 

(d) to draft provisions on hygiene

applicable to specific food items or food 

groups, whether coming within the 

terms of reference of a Codex 

commodity committee or not; 

(e) to consider specific hygiene

problems assigned to it by the 

Commission; 

(f) to suggest and prioritize areas

where there is a need for 

microbiological risk assessment at the 

international level and to develop 

questions to be addressed by the risk 

assessors; and, 

(g) to consider microbiological risk

management matters in relation to food 

hygiene and in relation to the risk 

assessment of FAO and WHO. 

(h) (The term ‘‘hygiene’’ includes,

where necessary, microbiological 

specifications for food and associated 

methodology.) 

The CCFH is hosted by the United 

States, and the 54th Session of the 

CCFH will be co-hosted with Kenya. 

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public 

Meeting 

The following items from the 

forthcoming Agenda for the 54th 

Session of the CCFH will be discussed 

during the public meeting: 

• Matters referred to the Committee by

the Codex Alimentarius

Commission and/or its subsidiary 

bodies 

• Matters arising from the work of FAO

and WHO (including the FAO/

WHO Joint Expert Meetings on 

Microbiological Risk Assessments 

(JEMRA) 

• Information from the World

Organization for Animal Health

(WOAH) 

• Guidelines for the Control of Shiga

Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli

(STEC) in Raw Beef, Fresh Leafy 

Vegetables, Raw Milk and Raw Milk 

Cheeses, and Sprouts 

Æ Proposed draft Annex II on Fresh 

Leafy Vegetables at Step 4 

Æ Proposed draft Annex IV on Sprouts 

at Step 4 

• Guidelines for the Safe Use and Reuse

of Water in Food Production

(Annex II on Fishery Products at 

Step 4 and Annex III on Dairy 

Products at Step 4 

• Proposed draft revision on the

Guidelines on the Application of

General Principles of Food Hygiene

to the Control of Pathogenic Vibrio

Species in Seafood (CXG 73–2010)

at Step 4

• Proposed draft Guidelines for Food

Hygiene Control Measures in

Traditional Markets for Food at

Step 4

• Alignment of Codex texts developed

by CCFH with the revised General 

Principles of Food Hygiene (CXC 1– 

1969) 

• Revision of the Guidelines on the

Application of General Principles of

Food Hygiene to the Control of 

Viruses in Food (CXG 79–2012) 

• Discussion paper on the Revision of

Guidelines for the Control of

Campylobacter and Salmonella in 

Chicken Meat (CXG 78–2011) 

• Discussion paper on the revision of

Guidelines on the Application of

General Principles of Food Hygiene 

to the Control of Listeria 

monocytogenes in Foods (CXG 61– 

2007) 

• Other business and future work

Æ New work/Forward workplan

(Proposals in reply to CL 2023/30– 

FH) 

Public Meeting 

At the February 5, 2024, 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. 

Benjamin Warren, U.S. Delegate to the 

54th Session of the CCFH, at 

benjamin.warren@fda.hhs.gov. Written 

comments should state that they relate 

to activities of the 54th Session of the 

CCFH. 

Additional Public Notification 

Public awareness of all segments of 

rulemaking and policy development is 

important. Consequently, the U.S. 

Codex Office will announce this Federal 

Register publication on-line through the 

USDA Codex web page located at: 

http://www.usda.gov/codex, a link that 

also offers an email subscription service 

providing access to information related 

to Codex. Customers can add or delete 

their subscriptions themselves and have 

the option to password protect their 

accounts. 

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement 

No agency, officer, or employee of the 

USDA shall, on the grounds of race, 

color, national origin, religion, sex, 

gender identity, sexual orientation, 

disability, age, marital status, family/ 

parental status, income derived from a 

public assistance program, or political 

beliefs, exclude from participation in, 

deny the benefits of, or subject to 

discrimination any person in the United 

States under any program or activity 

conducted by the USDA. 

How To File a Complaint of 

Discrimination 

To file a complaint of discrimination, 

complete the USDA Program 

Discrimination Complaint Form, which 

may be accessed online at https://

www.usda.gov/oascr/filing-programdiscrimination-complaint-usdacustomer, or write a letter signed by you 

or your authorized representative. Send 

your completed complaint form or letter 

to USDA by mail, fax, or email. Mail: 

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, 

DC 20250–9410; Fax: (202) 690–7442; 

Email: program.intake@usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

Done at Washington, DC, on December 21, 

2023. 

Julie Chao, 

Deputy U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28533 Filed 12–26–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meetings of the New 

Mexico Advisory Committee to the U.S. 

Commission on Civil Rights 

AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil 

Rights. 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1