[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83-84]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31554]
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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.
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 1 / Wednesday, January 2, 2013 /
Notices
[[Page 83]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2012-0053]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS)
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service
(FSIS), is sponsoring a public meeting on January 24, 2013. The
objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive
public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.)
positions that will be discussed at the 20th Session of the Codex
Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification
Systems (CCFICS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which
will be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, February 18-22, 2013. The Under
Secretary for Food Safety recognizes the importance of providing
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on
the 20th Session of the CCFICS and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 24, 2013,
from 2:00-4:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the Jamie L. Whitten
Building, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 107-A, Washington,
DC 20250. Documents related to the 20th Session of the CCFICS will be
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en.
Mary Stanley, U.S. Delegate to the 20th Session of the CCFICS
invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments electronically
to the following email address [email protected].
Call-In Number:
If you wish to participate in the public meeting for the 20th
Session of the CCFICS by conference call, please use the call in number
and participant code listed below.
Call-in Number: 1-888-858-2144
Participant Code: 6208658
For Further Information About the 20th Session of the CCFICS
Contact: Mary Stanley, Director, International Policy Division, Office
of Policy and Program Development, FSIS, USDA, Room 2925, South
Agriculture Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20250, Phone: (202) 720-0287, Fax: (202) 720-4929, Email:
[email protected].
For Further Information About the Public Meeting Contact: Kenneth
Lowery, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 4861,
Washington, DC 20250, Phone: (202) 690-4042, Fax: (202) 720-3157,
Email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Codex was established in 1963 by two United Nations organizations,
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health
Organization (WHO). 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 fair practices in the
food trade.
The CCFICS Committee is responsible for
(a) Developing principles and guidelines for food import and export
inspection and certification systems with a view to harmonizing methods
and procedures which protect the health of consumers, ensure fair
trading practices, and facilitate international trade in foodstuffs
(b) Developing principles and guidelines for the application of
measures by the competent authorities of exporting and importing
countries to provide assurance where necessary that foodstuffs comply
with requirements, especially statutory health requirements
(c) Developing guidelines for the utilization, as and when
appropriate, of quality assurance systems to ensure that foodstuffs
conform with requirements and promoting the recognition of these
systems in facilitating trade in food products under bilateral/
multilateral arrangements by countries
(d) Developing guidelines and criteria with respect to format,
declarations and language of such official certificates as countries
may require with a view towards international harmonization
(e) Making recommendations for information exchange in relation to
food import/export control
(f) Consulting as necessary with other international groups working
on matters related to food inspection and certification systems
(g) Considering other matters assigned to it by Codex in relation
to food inspection and certification systems
The Committee is hosted by Australia.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 20th Session of the
CCFICS will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters referred to the CCFICS by Codex and other Codex
Committees and Task Forces
Activities of the FAO and WHO relevant to the work of the
CCFICS
Activities of other international organizations relevant
to the work of the CCFICS
Draft and proposed draft principles and guidelines for
national food control systems
Discussion paper on burden of multiple questionnaires
directed at exporting countries
Discussion paper on monitoring regulatory performance of
national food control systems
Discussion paper on the need for further guidance on food
safety emergencies and on the analysis of proposed change to the CCFICS
texts on emergencies and rejections to address feed
Other business and future work
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the Secretariat prior to the meeting. Members
of the public may access copies of these documents (see ADDRESSES).
[[Page 84]]
Public Meeting
At the January 24, 2013, 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 Mary Stanley, U.S.
Delegate for the 20th Session of the CCFICS (see ADDRESSES). Written
comments should state that they relate to activities of the 20th
Session of the CCFICS.
Additional Public Notification
FSIS will announce this notice online through the FSIS Web page
located at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/regulations_&_policies/Federal_Register_Notices/index.asp.
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 available on the FSIS
Web page. 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_&_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.
USDA Nondiscrimination Statement
USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on
the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age,
disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or
family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication of program information (Braille, large print, or
audiotape) should contact USDA's Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice
and TTY).
To file a written complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Office
of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice and TTY).
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Done at Washington, DC on: December 21, 2012.
MaryFrances Lowe,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2012-31554 Filed 12-31-12; 8:45 am]
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