[Federal Register: December 10, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 237)]
[Notices]
[Page 63668-63669]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10de01-27]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 01-038N]
Codex Alimentarius: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Meat and
Poultry Hygiene
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting, request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), is sponsoring a public meeting on
December 12, 2001, to provide information and receive public comments
on agenda items that will be discussed at the Eighth Session of the
Codex Committee on Meat and Poultry Hygiene, which will be held in
Wellington, New Zealand, on February 18-22, 2002. The Under Secretary
recognizes the importance of providing interested parties with
information about the Codex Committee on Meat and Poultry Hygiene of
the Codex Alimentarius Commission and to address items on the Agenda
for the 8th Session of the Committee.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, December 12,
2001, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Washington Plaza
Hotel in the Diplomat Room, 10 Thomas Circle, Washington, DC.
To receive copies of the documents referenced in the 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
[[Page 63669]]
at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.net/agend.htm.
If you have comments, please send an original and two copies to the
FSIS Docket Room at the address above and reference Docket 01-038N and
the document number. All comments submitted will be available for
public inspection in the 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, Phone: (202) 205-7760, Fax: (202) 720-3157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Codex Alimentarius Commission 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. In the United States, USDA, FDA, and EPA manage and
carry out U.S. Codex activities.
The Codex Executive Committee (CEC), at its 47th Session in 2000,
asked that the Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene reconvene to redraft the
existing codes on meat hygiene so that they reflect contemporary
developments. The CEC also asked that the scope of the existing codes
include poultry hygiene. These recommendations were confirmed by the
24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission in July 2001, and it
was agreed that the name of the Committee would be amended to the Codex
Committee on Meat and Poultry Hygiene (CCMPH).
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The provisional agenda items to be discussed during the public
meeting are:
--Proposed Draft General Principles of Meat Hygiene
--Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Meat
Public Meeting
At the December 10th public meeting, the agenda items will be
described and discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to
pose questions and offer comments. Written comments should state that
they relate to activities of the 8th Session of the Codex Committee on
Meat and Poultry Hygiene.
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 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 effect
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.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 01-30393 Filed 12-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P