[Federal Register: January 15, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 10)]
[Notices]
[Page 2441-2442]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15ja08-17]
========================================================================
Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
========================================================================
[[Page 2441]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2007-0050]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting on the Ad Hoc Codex
Intergovernmental Task Force on the Processing and Handling of Quick
Frozen Foods
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 a public meeting on February 5, 2008. The objective of the
public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on
agenda items and draft United States positions that will be discussed
at the First Session of Ad Hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on
the Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods (TFQFF) of the Codex
Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Bangkok,
Thailand on February 25-29, 2008.
The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the
importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain
background information on the First Session of TFQFF and to address
items that will be on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 5, 2008
from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 1B-042, Food and
Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition,
Harvey Wiley Federal Building, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park,
MD 20740. The following call-in number will be provided for the
meeting: 1-866-859-5767, passcode 3258684. Codex documents related to
the First Session of the TFQFF will be accessible via the World Wide
Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
The U.S. Delegate to the First Session of TFQFF, Dr. Donald Zink,
FDA, invites interested U.S. parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following e-mail address:
donald.zink@fda.hhs.gov.
Registration: You may 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 (ID) and plan for adequate
time to pass through security screening systems.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE FIRST SESSION OF THE TFQFF CONTACT:
Donald Zink, U.S. Delegate to the TFQFF, Office of Food Safety, Center
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway
(HFS-317), College Park, MD 20740, Phone: (301)436-1692, Fax: (301)
436-1692, E-mail: donald.zink@fda.hhs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC MEETING CONTACT: Syed Ali,
Staff Officer, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and Inspection Service
(FSIS), Room 4861, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 720-0574, Fax: (202) 720-3157, E-
mail: syed.ali@fsis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Codex Alimentarius (Codex) was established in 1963 by two
United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization and
the World Health Organization. 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.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The items to be discussed during the public meeting will include
the Proposed Draft Recommended for the International Code of Practice
for the Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods, with attention
to outstanding quality and safety provisions, such as the Defect Action
Point Analysis concept and the retention of an annex with specific
information on temperature monitoring and control in the food chain.
These issues will be fully described in documents distributed, or to be
distributed, by the Thai Secretariat prior to the meeting. Members of
the public may access copies of these documents at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp
.
Public Meeting
At the February 5, 2008, 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 the U.S. Delegate for
the First Session of TFQFF, Dr. Donald Zink, at
Donald.Zink@fda.hhs.gov. Written comments should state that they relate
to activities of the First Session of the TFQFF.
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/2008_Notices_Index/. 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
[[Page 2442]]
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 at Washington, DC, on January 9, 2008.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. E8-533 Filed 1-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P