Meetings: Codex Committee on General Principles,

[Federal Register: January 13, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 8)]

[Notices]

[Page 1957-1958]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr13ja98-38]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 97-083N]

Codex Alimentarius: Meeting of the Codex Committee on General

ACTION: Notice; request for comments.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius is sponsoring a public meeting to provide information and receive comments from the public on items that will be discussed at the Codex Committee on General Principles, which will be held May 11 to 15, 1998, in Paris, France. The Manager recognizes the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the Thirteenth Session of the General Principles Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex). Attendees will hear brief descriptions of the issues and will have the opportunity to pose questions and offer comments on the issues.

[[Page 1958]]

DATES: The public meeting is scheduled from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on January 27, 1998.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in the Hamilton Conference Room, 14th and K Streets, NW, Washington, DC. Send an original and two copies of your comments to: FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket No. 97-083N, Department of Agriculture, FSIS, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available for public inspection in the Docket Clerk's Office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will be considered part of the official record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. F. Edward Scarbrough, U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius, Room 4861, South Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250- 3700; telephone (202) 205-6670.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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. In the United States, the U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius coordinates the United States representatives to the Commission and its subsidiary bodies.

The Codex Commission on General Principles was established to deal with procedural and general matters such as the general principles which define the purpose and scope of Codex Alimentarius, the nature of Codex standards, the forms of acceptance by countries of the standards, and the development of guidelines for Codex committees.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Meeting

The following specific issues will be discussed during the public meeting:

1. Risk Analysis

(A.) Definitions related to risk management

(B.) Working principles for risk analysis

(C.) Equivalence and food safety objectives 2. Measures intended to facilitate consensus within Codex 3. Review of the Codex General Principles

(A.) Consideration of special treatment of developing countries

(B.) Revision of the acceptance procedure 4. Review of the status and objectives of Codex texts 5. Review of the statements of principle on the role of science and the extent to which other factors are taken into account such as in the cases of Bovine Somotrophin (BST) and Porcine Somotrophin (PST) 6. Procedures concerning the participation of international non- governmental organizations

In advance of this meeting, the U.S. Manager will have assigned responsibility for development of U.S. positions on these issues to members of government. The designated persons will develop draft proposals, which may be based in part on comments received from the public. All interested parties are invited to provide information on the above issues or any other issues that may be brought before the Codex Committee on General Principles or Codex, in general.

Done at Washington, DC, on January 6, 1998. F. Edward Scarbrough, U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

[FR Doc. 98-731Filed1-12-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P