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

13037

Vol. 66, No. 42

Friday, March 2, 2001

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01–006N]

Codex Alimentarius Commission: 29th

Session of the Codex Committee on

Food Labelling

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary

for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under

Secretary for 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

two public meetings, on Friday, March

16, 2001, and one on Wednesday, April

11, 2001. The purpose of this meeting is

to provide information and receive

public comments on agenda items that

will be discussed at the 29th Session of

the Codex Committee on Food Labelling

(CCFL), which will be held in Ottawa,

Canada, April 30 to May 4, 2001. The

Under Secretary and FDA recognize the

importance of providing interested

parties the opportunity to obtain

background information on the 29th

Session of the Codex Committee on

Food Labelling and address items on the

agenda.

DATES: The public meetings are

scheduled for Friday, March 16, 2001

from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and

Wednesday, April 11, 2001 from 2:00

p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be

held in Room 1813, Federal Office

Building 8, Food and Drug

Administration, 200 C. St. SW.,

Washington, DC 20204. To receive

copies of the documents referenced in

this notice, contact the FSIS Docket

Room, 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/ccfl29/

fl01_01e.htm. Submit one original and

two copies of written comments to the

FSIS Docket Room at the address above

and reference docket number 01–006N.

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:

Patrick J. Clerkin, Associate U.S.

Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office,

Food Safety and Inspection Service,

Room 4861, South Building, 1400

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250. 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 (FAO) and

the World Health Organization (WHO).

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

Labelling drafts provisions on labelling

applicable to all foods; considers and

endorses draft specific provisions on

labelling prepared by the Codex

Committees drafting standards, codes of

practice, and guidelines; studies

problems associated with the

advertisement of food with particular

reference to claims and misleading

descriptions; and responds to specific

labeling problems assigned to it by the

Commission. The Committee is chaired

by Canada.

Issues To Be Discussed at the First

Public Meeting

The provisional agenda items to be

discussed during the public meeting on

March 16, 2001:

1. Matters Referred from other Codex

Committees

2. Consideration of Labelling Provisions

in Draft Codex Standards

3. Guidelines for the Production,

Processing, Labelling and Marketing

of Organically Produced Foods:

(a) Sections on Bees and on Additives

(b) Proposed Draft Amendment: Table

1: Substances for Use in Soil

Fertilizing and Conditioning

4. Draft Amendment to the General

Standard for the Labelling of

Prepackaged Foods (Class Names)

5. Proposed Draft Amendment to the

Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling

(Section 3.2 Listing of Nutrients)

6. Proposed Draft Recommendations for

the Use of Health Claims

7. Proposed Draft Amendment to the

General Standard for the Labelling of

Prepackaged Foods: Quantitative

Declaration of Ingredients

8. Discussion Paper on Country of

Origin Labeling

Issues To Be Discussed at the Second

Public Meeting

The provisional agenda items to be

discussed during the public meeting on

April 11, 2001:

1. Draft Recommendations for the

Labelling of Foods obtained through

Certain Techniques of Genetic

Modification/Genetic Engineering

(Proposed Draft Amendment to the

General Standard for the Labelling of

Prepackaged Foods): Definitions

2. Draft Recommendations for the

Labelling of Foods obtained through

Certain Techniques of Genetic

Modification/Genetic Engineering

(Proposed Draft Amendment to the

General Standard for the Labelling of

Prepackaged Foods): Section 5—

Additional Mandatory Labelling

Each issue listed will be fully

described in documents distributed, or

to be distributed, by the Canadian

Secretariat to the Meeting. Members of

the public may access or review copies

of these documents (see ADDRESSES).

Public Meeting

At the March 16th public meeting, the

CCFL agenda items other than those

pertaining to Labelling of Foods

13038 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Notices

obtained through Certain Techniques of

Genetic Modification/Genetic

Engineering will be described,

discussed, and attendees will have the

opportunity to pose questions and offer

comments. At the April 11th public

meeting, the agenda items pertaining to

Labelling of Foods obtained through

Certain Techniques of Genetic

Modification/Genetic Engineering will

be described, discussed, and attendees

will have the opportunity to pose

questions and offer comments. Written

comments should state that they relate

to activities of the 29th CCFL.

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

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 February 6,

2001.

F. Edward Scarbrough,

U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

[FR Doc. 01–5036 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01–004N]

Codex Alimentarius Commission: 2nd

Session, Ad Hoc Intergovernmental

Task Force on Foods Derived From

Biotechnology

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary

for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under

Secretary for 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

two public meetings, on Tuesday,

February 13, and on Wednesday, March

7, 2001. The purpose of these meetings

is to provide information and receive

public comments on draft United States’

positions and agenda items that will be

discussed at the 2nd Session of the Ad

Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on

Foods Derived From Biotechnology,

which will be held in Chiba, Japan,

March 25–29, 2001. The Under

Secretary and FDA recognize the

importance of providing interested

parties the opportunity to obtain

background information on the 2nd

Session, Ad Hoc Intergovernmental

Task Force on Foods Derived From

Biotechnology, and address items on the

agenda.

DATES: The public meetings are

scheduled for Tuesday, February 13,

2001, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and on

Wednesday, March 7, 2001, 1 p.m. to 4

p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held in Conference Room 1409, Federal

Office Building 8, Food and Drug

Administration, 200 C Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20204. Reference

documents will be available for review

in the FSIS Docket Room, 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/ccfbt2/

bt01_01e.htm. Submit one original and

two copies of written comments to the

FSIS Docket Room at the address above

and reference docket number 01–004N.

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:

Patrick J. Clerkin, Associate U.S.

Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office,

Food Safety and Inspection Service,

Room 4861, South Building, 1400

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250. Telephone (202)

205–7760, Fax (202) 720–3157. Persons

requiring a sign language interpreter or

other special accommodations should

notify Mr. Clerkin at the above number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Codex Alimentarius Commission

(Codex) was established in 1962 by two

United Nations Organizations, the Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and

the World Health Organization (WHO).

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.

Codex, at its 23rd Session, established

the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task

Force on Foods Derived From

Biotechnology to develop standards,

guidelines, or recommendations, as

appropriate, for foods derived from

biotechnology or traits introduced into

foods by biotechnology, on the basis of

scientific evidence, risk analysis and

having regard, where appropriate, to

other legitimate factors relevant to the

health of consumers and the promotion

of fair trade practices. The Task Force is

chaired by the government of Japan.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public

Meetings

The provisional agenda items and the

relevant documents to be discussed

during the public meetings:

1. Adoption of the Agenda, Document

CX/FBT 01/1

2. Matters Referred to the Task Force by

Other Codex Committees, Document

CX/FBT 01/2

3. Matters of Interest from Other

International Organizations with

respect to the Evaluation of the Safety

and Nutrition Aspects of Foods

Derived from Biotechnology,

Document CX/FBT 01/3

4. Consideration of Proposed Draft

General Principles for the Risk

Analysis of Foods Derived from

Modern Biotechnology at Step 4,

Document CX/FBT 01/4, and