Health Law

USDA to Hold Public Meeting on Codex Standards

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Food Safety yesterday announced a public meeting to receive comments on a draft U.S. position for the 25th session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables, the group responsible for setting worldwide standards for a variety of processed fruits and vegetables.

The Committee is scheduled to meet in Denpasar, Indonesia October 25-29 to hash out global standards for everything from dried fruits and veggies to canned peas and beans and jams and jellies. According to the USDA, revising standards for quick frozen fruits and vegetables is a top agenda item for the meeting.

The public meeting to provide information and accept comments on the U.S. draft position is scheduled for Monday, August 30, 2010, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in Room 2068, USDA, South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC. To participate through teleconference, dial (888) 996-4918, and enter the passcode 63757.

A complete agenda and documents relating to the Committee meeting will be available on the Codex Alimentarius Website at www.codexalimentarius.net/current.asp.

Individuals are invited to submit written comments electronically, indicating they apply to the 25th session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables, to uscodex@fsis.usda.gov.

For further information about the public meeting, contact Doreen Chen-Moulec at (202) 720-4063 or Doreen.Chen-Moulec@fsis.usda.gov.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on August 19, 2010 (boomark / email).