Notices. Notice of public meeting and request for comments
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/register/2026/03/31/2026-06134·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
BILLING CODE 3410-10-P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE U.S. Codex Office Codex Alimentarius Commission: Meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling AGENCY: U.S. Codex Office, USDA. ACTION: Notice of public meeting and request for comments. SUMMARY: The U.S. Codex Office is sponsoring a public meeting on April 23, 2026. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. position to be discussed at the 49th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL49) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC).
CCFL49 will be held in Ottawa, Canada, from May 11 to 15, 2026. The U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius and the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 49th Session of the CCFL and to address items on the agenda. DATES: The public meeting is scheduled for April 23, 2026, from 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET. ADDRESSES: The public meeting will take place via video teleconference only.
Documents related to the 49th Session of the CCFL will be accessible via the internet at the following address: *https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/meetings/detail/en/?meeting=CCFL&session=49.* Dr. Douglas Balentine, U.S. Delegate to the 49th Session of the CCFL, invites interested U.S. parties to submit their comments electronically to the following email address: *douglas.balentine@fda.hhs.gov.* Comments should state that they relate to the activities of the 49th Session of the CCFL. *Registration:* Attendees may register to attend the public meeting at the following link: *https://www.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/e8jLXqHuSsmkjr6XCJIZGg.* After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For further information about the 49th Session of the CCFL, contact the U.S. Delegate, Dr. Douglas Balentine, by email at: *douglas.balentine@fda.hhs.gov.* For additional information regarding the public meeting, contact the U.S. Codex Office by email at: *uscodex@usda.gov.* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background The Codex Alimentarius Commission was established in 1963. 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 Terms of Reference of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling
(CCFL)are:
(a)to draft provisions on labelling applicable to all foods;
(b)to consider, amend if necessary, and endorse draft specific provisions on labelling prepared by the Codex Committees drafting standards, codes of practice and guidelines;
(c)to study specific labelling problems assigned to it by the Commission; and,
(d)to study problems associated with the advertisement of food with particular reference to claims and misleading descriptions. The CCFL is hosted by Canada. The United States attends the CCFL as a member country of Codex. Issues To Be Discussed at the Public Meeting The following items from the Provisional Agenda for the 49th Session of the CCFL will be discussed during the public meeting: • Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and/or its subsidiary bodies • The use of “country of harvest” in addition to the mandatory declaration of country of origin in food labelling of spices • Matters of interest from international organizations • Consideration of labelling provisions in draft Codex standards (endorsement) • Annex to the General standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods (CXS 1-1985): Guidelines on the use of precautionary allergen labelling
(PAL)• Amendments to the General standard for the labelling of pre-packaged foods (CXS 1-1985): Provisions relevant to joint presentation and multipack formats • Guidelines on application of food labelling provisions in emergencies • Future work and emerging issues • Other business Public Meeting At the April 23, 2026, public meeting, agenda items and draft U.S. positions 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 Dr. Douglas Balentine, U.S. Delegate to the 49th Session of the CCFL, at *douglas.balentine@fda.hhs.gov.* Written comments should state that they relate to activities of the 49th Session of the CCFL. Additional Public Notification Public awareness of all segments of rulemaking and policy development is important. Consequently, the U.S. Codex Office will announce this **Federal Register** publication on-line through the USDA Codex web page located at: *https://www.usda.gov/codex.* (Authority: 19 U.S.C. 2578; Pres. Proc. 6780; 7 CFR part 2.602.) Done at Washington, DC, on March 26, 2026. Julie A. Chao, Deputy U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius. [FR Doc. 2026-06134 Filed 3-30-26; 8:45 am]
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