[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 170 (Thursday, September 2, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48137-48139]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-22901]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Food Safety and Inspection Service
[Docket No. 99-043N]
Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex): Conference on
International Food Trade Beyond 2000
AGENCY: Office of 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, and the
Agricultural Marketing Service, United States Department of
Agriculture; the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for
Disease Control, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; the
National Marine Fisheries Service, United States Department of
Commerce; and the Environmental Protection Agency, are sponsoring a
public meeting on September 16, 1999, to provide information and
receive public comments on agenda items for the Conference on
International Food Trade Beyond 2000, which will be held in Melbourne,
Australia, October 11-15, 1999. The co-sponsors of the September 16,
1999, public meeting recognize the importance of providing interested
parties the opportunity to obtain background information on this
session and to address items on the agenda.
DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16,
1999, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Uruguay Round Agreements have been in effect for five years now
and a further round of multilateral trade negotiations--under the World
Trade Organization (WTO)--will be starting in
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the near future. In light of this new round, FAO believes it is
opportune to hold an intergovernmental conference on the implementation
of Codex work. The aim is to achieve the full involvement of member
Governments in existing and proposed activities related to Codex and
WTO.
One objective of the Conference on International Food Trade Beyond
2000 will be to enhance the capacity of developing countries both to
enjoy the benefits they accrued on signing the Uruguay Round Agreements
and to fulfill their commitments. The conference will address how food
quality and safety issues affect trade, health, and development at both
domestic and international levels. Pointing the way from 2000 onward,
it will take into account recommendations of the 1991 conference,
current needs in the field of food trade, the Uruguay Round Agreements
and the forthcoming round of WTO negotiations.
The Conference will review the response to the earlier FAO/WHO
conference and the action taken by these two organizations, with WTO,
to assist Member Governments in meeting their SPS and TBT obligations.
This will necessarily entail a full analysis of current Codex, SPS and
TBT the upcoming Conference on International Food Trade Beyond 2000:
The Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, which began
in 1985 under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), for
the first time included discussions on agriculture and agricultural
products. The negotiations also covered sanitary and phytosanitary
measures as well as other standards and activities that could cause
unjustified non-tariff barriers to trade in food and agricultural
products. When the Uruguay Round was concluded in 1994, among the final
Agreements were those on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
In 1991, FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly
convened the Conference on Food Standards, Chemicals in Food and Food
Trade, in cooperation with GATT. The occasion provided a forum for
member Governments to discuss, among other things, the probable impact
of the proposed SPS and TBT Agreements on international and domestic
food trade. The conference was highly successful and the subsequent
implementation of its recommendations on strategies and priorities
allowed all parties concerned--FAO, WHO, Codex, GATT, national
governments, industries, and consumers--to be better prepared for the
food quality and safety obligations of the two Agreements in question.
ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in Room 104A, Jamie L.
Whitten Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.
The document website of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of
the United Nations is http://www.fao.org/es/esn/austral/alicom99/
alicom-e.htm. Send an original and two copies of comments to: FSIS
Docket Clerk, Docket #99-043N, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street,
SW, Washington, DC 20250-3700. Please state that your comments relate
to Docket #99-043N, and specify which issues your comments address. 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: F. Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., U.S.
Manager for Codex Alimentarius, U.S. Codex Office, Food Safety and
Inspection Service, 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 Ms. Yolande Mitchell, telephone
(202) 205-7760, FAX: (202) 720-3157.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
has developed the following objectives for procedures and of the
prospects for further change. Carried out within the context of an
international conference, such a review should generate coherent
recommendations on scientifically based approaches to promoting better-
quality and safer foods in domestic and international trade.
Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting
The following specific issues are included on the published agenda
for the Conference on International Food Trade Beyond 2000. Prior to
the conference FAO will make papers available which will include
recommendations on each of the issues listed. These papers will be
available through the FAO documents website (see ADDRESSES). As the
papers become available from FAO they will be placed on file in the
FSIS Docket Clerk's office. These issues will be discussed during the
public meeting:
1. Response to the 1991 Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Standards,
Chemicals in Food and Food Trade
2. The Codex Alimentarius Commission
3. Current Status of Food Trade, Including Food Quality and Safety
Problems
4. Review of the Implementation of the SPS/TBT Agreements
5. Challenges for Developing Countries in Meeting the Obligations
of the SPS/TBT/Codex
6. Basic Approaches to Consumer Protection--FAO/WHO Model Food Act;
Control Procedures
7. Harmonization of Food Regulations and Food Quality/Safety
Measures Based on Codex Standards, Guidelines and Recommendations
8. Assuring Food Quality and Safety: Back to the Basics--Quality
Control Throughout the Food Chain; the role of industry, governments,
consumers and academia
9. Prospects for the future:
a. Emerging Technologies--Ensuring the Quality and Safety of Food
b. Emerging Problems: Chemical/Biological
c. Emerging Problems: Allergens
d. Nutritional, Environmental and Sustainable Food Production
Considerations
(i) Changes in cultural and consumer habits
(ii) Promoting science-based dialogue on emerging technologies and
problems
(iii) Nutrition, environment and sustainable food production
10. Assuring Science-based Decisions
a. Expert Advice and Risk Analysis--Validity of the Process and
Dealing with Uncertainty
b. Determining the Appropriate Level of Protection; Threshold of
Regulations--Implementation
11. Harmonization, Mutual Recognition and Equivalence
a. How and what is attainable?
b. Labelling and Nutritional Aspects--How much information is
necessary?
12. Technical Assistance Needs of Developing Countries and
Mechanisms to Provide Technical Assistance
Public Meeting
Those attending the public meeting on September 16, 1999, will hear
brief descriptions of the issues, and will have the opportunity to pose
questions and offer comments.
Additional Public Notification
Pursuant to Departmental Regulation 4300-4, ``Civil Rights Impact
Analysis,'' dated September 22, 1993, FSIS has considered the potential
civil rights impact of this notice on minorities,
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women, and persons with disabilities. Therefore, to better ensure that
these groups and others are made aware of this meeting, FSIS will
announce it and provide copies of the Federal Register publication in
the FSIS Constituent Update.
The Agency 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 Agency policies, procedures, regulations, Federal
Register Notices, FSIS public meetings, recalls and any other types of
information that could affect 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, the
Agency is able to provide information with a much broader, more diverse
audience. For more information and to be added to the constituent fax
list, fax your request to the Office of Congressional and Public
Affairs, at (202) 720-5704.
Done at Washington, DC.
F. Edward Scarbrough,
U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.
[FR Doc. 99-22901 Filed 9-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-DM-P
