Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, USDA.
Notice of public meeting and request for comments.
The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are sponsoring a public meeting on April 4, 2018. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission's (Codex's) Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), taking place in Chicago, Illinois, April 23–27, 2018. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 24th Session of the CCRVDF and to address items on the agenda.
The public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 4, 2018, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The public meeting will take place at the USDA, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 107–A, Washington, DC 20250.
Documents related to the 24th Session of the CCRVDF will be accessible via the internet at the following address:
Brandi Robinson, U.S. Delegate to the 24th Session of the CCRVDF, invites U.S. interested parties to submit their comments electronically to the following email address:
If you wish to participate in the public meeting for the 24th Session of the CCRVDF by conference call, please use the following call-in-number:
The participant code will be posted on the following web page:
Attendees may register to attend the public meeting by emailing
Brandi Robinson, International Program Manager, Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation, Center for Veterinary Medicine, FDA, 7500 Standish Place, HFV–100, Rockville, MD 20855, Telephone: (240) 402–0645, Email:
Kenneth Lowery, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, South Agriculture Building, Room 4861, Washington, DC 20250. Telephone: (202) 690–4042, Fax: (202) 720–3157, Email:
Codex was established in 1963 by two United Nations organizations, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization (FAO/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.
The CCRVDF is responsible for determining priorities for the consideration of residues of veterinary drugs in foods, recommending maximum levels of such substances, developing codes of practice as may be required, and considering methods of sampling and analysis for the determination of veterinary drug residues in foods.
The Committee is hosted by the United States.
The following items on the Agenda for the 24th Session of the CCRVDF will be discussed during the public meeting:
• Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other subsidiary bodies;
• Matters of interest arising from the FAO/WHO and from the 85th Meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA);
• Report of the World Organisation for Animal Health activities, including harmonization of technical requirements for registration of veterinary medicinal products (VICH);
• Draft Risk Management Recommendation for gentian violet;
• Proposed draft maximum residue limits (MRLs) for zilpaterol hydrochloride (cattle fat, kidney, liver, muscle)(81st JECFA) at Step 4;
• Proposed draft MRLs for amoxicillin (finfish fillet, muscle); ampicillin (finfish fillet, muscle); flumethrin (honey), lufenuron (salmon and trout fillet), monepantel (cattle fat, kidney, liver, muscle) (85th JECFA) at Step 3;
• Discussion paper on MRLs for groups of fish species;
• Discussion paper on edible offal tissues (possible definition and edible offal tissues of interest in international trade);
• Discussion paper on the revision of the criteria for the use of multi-residue analytical methods for the determination and identification of veterinary drugs in foods in Codex;
• Discussion paper on the evaluation of the rationale for the decline in new compounds to be included in the CCRVDF Priority List for evaluation by JECFA;
• Database on countries' need for MRLs;
• Draft priority list of veterinary drugs requiring evaluation or re-evaluation by JECFA; and
• Other business and future work.
Each issue listed will be fully described in documents distributed, or to be distributed, by the Secretariat before the Meeting. Members of the public may access or request copies of these documents (see
At the April 4, 2018, public meeting, draft U.S. positions on the agenda items will be described and discussed, and attendees will have the opportunity to pose questions and offer comments. Written comments may be offered at the meeting or sent to the U.S. Delegate for the 24th Session of the CCRVDF, Brandi Robinson (see
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