[Federal Register: October 27, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 209)]
[Notices]
[Page 64418-64419]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27oc00-34]
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[[Page 64418]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 00-044N]
Codex Alimentarius: Meetings of the Codex Committee on Food
Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meetings, request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are
sponsoring two public meetings, on November 7 and November 21, 2000, to
provide information and receive public comments on agenda items that
will be discussed at the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export
Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS), which will be held in
Perth, Australia, on December 11-15, 2000. The Under Secretary and FDA
recognize the importance of of CCFICS and to address items on the
Agenda. providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain
background information on the Seventh Session
DATES: The public meetings are scheduled for Friday, November 7, 2000
from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Tuesday, November 21, 2000 from 1:00
p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meetings will be held in Conference Room 1409,
Federal Office Building 8, Food and Drug Administration, 200 C Street,
SW., Washington, DC. Submit one original and two copies of written
comments to the FSIS Docket Room, Docket # 00-044N, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton
Annex, 300 12th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. To receive
copies of the documents referenced in this notice, contact the FSIS
Docket Room at the above address. The documents will also be accessible
via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.fao.org/
waicent/faoinfo/ECONOMIC/esn/codex/ccfics9/fc00_01e.htm.
All comments received in response to this notice will be considered
part of the public record and will be available for viewing 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, FSIS, Room 4861, South Building,
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700, telephone
(202) 205-7760; Fax: (202) 720-3157. Persons requiring a sign language
interpreter or other special accommodations should notify Mr. Patrick
J. Clerkin at the above phone 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.
CCFICS was established to develop principles and guidelines for:
Food import and export inspection and certification systems, the
application of measures by competent authorities of importing and
exporting countries to provide assurance that foods comply with
essential requirements, the utilization of quality assurance systems,
and the format and content of official certificates.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following issues and referenced documents will be discussed
during the public meetings:
Matters Referred from Other Codex Committees, DOCUMENT CX/FICS
00/2
Draft Guidelines for Generic Official Certificate Formats and
the Production and Issuance of Certificates, Comments at Step 6,
DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/3, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/3-Add.1
Proposed Draft Guidelines for Food Import Control Systems,
Comments at Step 3, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/4, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/4-Add.1
Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Utilization and Promotion of
Quality Assurance Systems to Meet Requirements in Relation to Food,
Comments at Step 3, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/5, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/5-Add.1
Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Judgement of Equivalence of
Sanitary Measures Associated with Food Inspection and Certification
Systems, Comments at Step 3, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/6, DOCUMENT CX/FICS
00/6-Add.1
Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Judgement of Equivalence of
Technical Regulations Associated with Food Inspection and Certification
Systems, Comments at Step 3, DOCUMENT CX/FICS 00/7, DOCUMENT CX/FICS
00/7-Add.1
Discussion Paper on Risk Management Guidelines for Food
Control Emergency Situations Involving International Trade, DOCUMENT
CX/FICS 00/8
Discussion Paper on Food Export Control Systems, DOCUMENT CX/
FICS 00/9
In advance of the meetings, the U.S. Delegate to CCFICS will have
assigned responsibility for development of U.S. positions on these
issues to members of the U.S. government. The individuals assigned
responsibility will be named at the meetings and will take comments and
develop draft U.S. positions. All interested parties are invited to
provide information and comments on the above issues, or on any other
issues that may be brought before CCFICS.
[[Page 64419]]
Public Meetings
At the November 3rd public meeting, the issues will be described
and discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to pose
questions and offer comments. At the November 21 public meeting, draft
United States positions on the issues will be described and discussed,
and attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions and offer
comments.
Please state that your comments relate to CCFICS activities and
specify which issues your comments address.
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 effect
or would be of interest to our constituents/stakeholders. The
constituent fax list consists of industry, trade, farm, and consumer
interest groups, allied health professionals and 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 FSIS Congressional and Public Affairs Office, at (202)
720-5704.
Done at Washington, DC on: October 23, 2000.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex.
[FR Doc. 00-27617 Filed 10-26-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P
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