Source: USDA, 6/3/11

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Food Safety is holding a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items, as well as to draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 34th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, July 4 - 9, 2011.

The public meeting will be held on Thursday, June 16, 2011, from 1-4 p.m, in Room 107-A, USDA, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, DC. To participate through teleconference for the meeting, dial (888) 858-2144, and enter the passcode 6208658.

The following items will be discussed during the public meeting:
Report by the Chairperson on the 65th session of the Executive Committee;
Proposed Amendments to the Procedural Manual;
Draft Standards and related Texts at Step 8 (final adoption for a draft standard at the Commission) and Step 5/8 (final accelerated adoption of a draft standard);
Proposed Draft Standards and Related Texts at Step 5 (approval of a proposed standard for review and comment by member countries in preparation for final adoption at a subsequent Commission session);
Revocation of Existing Codex Standards and Related Texts;
Amendments to Codex Standards and Related Texts;
Proposals for the Elaboration of New Standards and Related Texts;
Financial and Budgetary Matters;
Strategic Planning of the CAC;
Relations between the CAC and other International Organizations;
Election of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons, and other Members of the Executive Committee; and,
Designation of Countries responsible for Appointing Codex Committees 2012-2013 Chairpersons and Task Forces.

Documents and agenda items related to the 34th Session of the CAC will be accessible at the Codex Web site at www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Codex was established in 1963 by two United Nations organizations (the FAO and the 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.

For more information about the 34th Session of the CAC and the public meeting, contact Barbara McNiff by mail at U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Ave. S.W., Room 4861, Washington, D.C. 20250, by phone at (202) 690-4719 or by fax at (202) 720-3157. Interested U.S. parties are also invited to request information about the 34th Session of the CAC and the public meeting, as well as submit comments about the 34th Session of the CAC, electronically to the following e-mail address: Barbara.McNiff@fsis.usda.gov.

Written comments on the public meeting may be offered at the meeting or sent by e-mail to the U.S. Delegate for the 34th Session of the CAC, Karen Stuck, U.S. Codex Manager, at USCodex@fsis.usda.gov. Written comments should state that they relate to activities of the 34th Session of the CAC.