Federal Agencies Announce Public Meeting on Codex Agenda Items

USDA, the Food and Drug Administration and the Office of the Undersecretary for Food Safety have announced a February 10, 2009, public meeting to develop draft positions on agenda items for the 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) slated for March 16-20, 2009, in Shanghai, China. Part of the Codex Alimentarius Commission established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization, CCFA (i) sets maximum levels for individual food additives; (ii) prepares priority lists of food additives for risk assessment by FAO and WHO experts; (iii) assigns functional classes to food additives; (iv) recommends specifications of identity and purity for food additives; (v) considers methods of analysis; and (vi) considers standards for related subjects such as food additive labeling. Specific agenda items for the session also include the Codex General Standard for Food Additives and the scope of its food categories. The U.S. agencies will accept electronic registration for the public meeting through February 6, 2009. See Federal Register, January 27, 2009.