USDA WILL HEAR CODEX COMMENTS

January 4, 2002

Federal food officials will hold two public meetings to garner input on an upcoming meeting of a key international regulatory body. The meetings, on January 8 and February 7, will be sponsored by the Office of the Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, U.S.Department of Health and Human Services.

The meetings will help officials prepare for a session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems

The CCFICS was established to develop principles and guidelines for: food import and export inspection and certification systems; the application of measures by competent authorities of importing and exporting countries to provide assurance that foods comply with essential requirements; the utilization of quality assurance systems; and the format and content of official certificates. The committee's tenth session will meet Feb. 25 to March 1, 2002 in Brisbane, Australia.

The first public meeting to discuss the agenda will be held from 1-4p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2002. The second public meeting will be held from 1-3 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 7, 2002. Both meetings will be held in Conference Room 1409, Federal Office Building 8, Food and Drug Administration, 200 C St., SW, Washington, D.C.