[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1890-1892]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00435]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. FSIS-2014-0045]
Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Additives
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Office of the Acting 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 are sponsoring a
public meeting on February 17, 2015, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The
objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive
public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.)
positions to be discussed at the 47th Session of the Codex Committee on
Food Additives (CCFA) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex),
taking place in Xi'an, China, March 23-27, 2015. The Acting Under
Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing
interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on
the 47th Session of the CCFA and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 17, 2015,
from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place at the Harvey Wiley
Federal Building, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch
Parkway, Rooms 1A-001 and 1A-002, College Park, MD 20740.
Documents related to the 47th Session of the CCFA will be
accessible via the World Wide Web at the following address: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/.
Susan Carberry, U.S. Delegate to the 47th Session of the CCFA and
FDA, invite U.S. interested parties to submit their comments
electronically to the following email address: [email protected].
Registration
Attendees may register by emailing [email protected] by February 12,
2015. 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 when you register. Because the
meeting will be held in a Federal building, you should also bring
[[Page 1891]]
photo identification and plan for adequate time to pass through
security screening systems. Attendees that are not able to attend the
meeting in person but wish to participate may do so by phone. Those
wishing to participate by phone should request the call-in number and
conference code when they register for the meeting.
For Further Information about the 47th Session of the CCFA Contact:
Susan Carberry, Ph.D., Supervisory Chemist, Office of Food Additive
Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition CFSAN/FDA,
Division of Petition Review, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, HFS-205,
College Park, MD 20740, Telephone: (240) 402-1269, Fax: (301) 436-2972,
email: [email protected].
For Further Information about the Public Meeting Contact: Daniel E.
Folmer, Ph.D., Review Chemist, Office of Food Additive Safety, Center
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition CFSAN/FDA, Division of Petition
Review, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, HFS-265, College Park, MD 20740,
Telephone: (240) 402-1269, Fax: (301) 436-2972, 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 that fair practices are
used in trade.
The CCFA establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels for
individual food additives; prepares priority lists of food additives
for risk assessment by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food
Additives (JECFA); assigns functional classes and International
Numbering System (INS) numbers to individual food additives; recommends
specifications of identity and purity for food additives for adoption
by Codex; considers methods of analysis for the determination of
additives in food; and considers and elaborates standards or codes for
related subjects such as labeling of food additives when sold as such.
The CCFA is hosted by China.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following items on the agenda for the 47th Session of the CCFA
will be discussed during the public meeting:
Matters Referred by Codex and other Codex committees
Matters of Interest arising from FAO/WHO and from the 79th
Meeting of the JECFA
Proposed draft Specifications for Identity and Purity of Food
Additives arising from the 79th JECFA Meeting
Endorsement or Revision of Maximum Levels for Food Additives
and Processing Aids in Codex standards
Alignment of the food additive provisions of commodity
standards and relevant provisions of the General Standard for Food
Additives
Provisions in Tables 1 and 2 for food additives listed in
Table 3 with: (i) ``acidity regulator'' function for use other than as
acidity regulators; and (ii) for other Table 3 food additives with
functions other than ``emulsifier, stabilizer, thickener,'' ``colour,''
and ``sweeteners''--pending from CCFA 46
Provisions in Tables 1 and 2 for food additives listed in
Table 3 with ``emulsifier, stabilizer, thickener'' function for their
use for technological function other than as emulsifier, stabilizer,
thickener
Food additive provisions in Tables 1 and 2 in food categories
01.2 through 08.4, with the exclusion of food categories 04.1.2.4,
04.2.2.4, 04.2.2.5, 04.2.2.6, 05.1.1, 05.1.3, and 05.1.4
Food additive provisions of food category 14.2.3 ``Grape
wines'' and its sub-categories (information on actual use levels and
recommendations)
Provisions for cyclotetraglucose (INS 1504(i)),
cyclotetraglucose syrup (INS 1504(ii)) and nisin (INS 234)
Proposal for revision of food category 01.1 ``Milk and diary
based drinks'' and its sub-categories
Note 161--Application of alternative note to provisions for
sweeteners
Proposals for new or revision of food additive provisions
Proposed draft revision to the INS for Food Additives
Proposals for additions and changes to the Priority List of
Substances proposed for evaluation by JECFA
Information on the availability of data for the re-evaluation
of six priority colours
Information on commercial use of potassium diacetate (INS
261(ii)) in food
Discussion paper on secondary additives
Discussion paper on the inconsistent terminology related to
flavourings in Codex texts
Other Business and Future Work.
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed,
or to be distributed, by the Codex Secretariat prior to the meeting.
Members of the public may access these documents at ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/meetings/CCFA/ccfa46/.
Public Meeting
At the February 17, 2015, 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 47th Session of the CCFA, Dr. Susan Carberry at the following email
address: [email protected]. Written comments should state that they
relate to activities of the 47th Session of the CCFA.
Additional Public Notification
Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy
development is important. Consequently, FSIS will announce this Federal
Register publication on-line through the FSIS Web page located at:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/federal-register.
FSIS also will make copies of this 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 our constituents and
stakeholders. The Update is available on the FSIS Web page. Through the
Web page, FSIS is able to provide information to a much broader, more
diverse audience. In addition, FSIS offers an email 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/subscribe. Options range from recalls to export
information, regulations, directives, and notices. Customers can add or
delete subscriptions themselves, and have the option to password
protect their accounts.
USDA Non-Discrimination Statement
No agency, officer, or employee of the USDA shall, on the grounds
of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status,
income derived from a public assistance program, or political beliefs,
exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or subject to
discrimination any person in the United States under any program or
activity conducted by the USDA.
[[Page 1892]]
How To File a Complaint of Discrimination
To file a complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form, which may be accessed online at http://www.ocio.usda.gov/sites/default/files/docs/2012/Complain_combined_6_8_12.pdf, or write a letter signed by you or your
authorized representative.
Send your completed complaint form or letter to USDA by mail, fax,
or email:
Mail
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication,
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410.
Fax
(202) 690-7442.
Email
[email protected].
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.), should contact
USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
Done at Washington, DC, on January 9, 2015.
Paulo Almeida,
Acting, U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 2015-00435 Filed 1-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P