Congressional and Public Affairs
(202) 720-9113
Bridgette Keefe

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2006 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced a public meeting to provide information and receive comments on agenda items to be discussed at the 23rd Session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV), in Arlington, Va., October 16-21, 2006.

The public meeting will be held on Thursday, September 7 from 10 a.m. until noon in Room 3074 of the USDA South Building, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. Agenda items for the meeting and documents relating to the 23rd Session of the CCPFV can be found at https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081106102924/http://www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

The CCPFV elaborates standards for various processed fruits and vegetables including certain dried and canned products. This committee does not cover standards for fruit and vegetable juices. The Committee is chaired by the United States of America.

Codex was created in 1963 by two United Nations organizations: the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. Codex develops food standards, guidelines and codes of practice in order to protect the health of consumers, ensure fair food trade practices and promote coordination of food standards undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations.

The public is invited to submit comments on this meeting notice. Comments may be submitted by mail or electronic mail and will be posted on FSIS' Web site at https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081106102924/http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations/2006_notices_index/.

For further information concerning the 23rd Session of the CCPFV, contact Dorian Lafond, international standards coordinator, AMS, at (202) 690-4944, by fax at (202) 720-0016 or by e-mail at Dorian.Lafond@usda.gov.

Persons requesting a sign language interpreter or any other special accommodations for the public meeting should contact Ellen Matten, U.S. Codex Office, at (202) 720-7760 or by fax at (202) 720-3157.