International Standard-Setting Activities, Codex Alimentarius Commission; Duties of United States Delegates and Delegation Members Including Non-Government Members

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 95-054N]

International Standard-Setting Activities, Codex Alimentarius

Commission; Duties of United States Delegates and Delegation Members

Including Non-Government Members

AGENCY: Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; Request for comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice describes the activities of the Codex Alimentarius

Commission (Codex); describes the duties of the United States delegate

and alternate delegate to Codex committees; provides the criteria and

procedures to be used in selecting non-government members to various

United States delegations to Codex committees; describes the

appropriate role of non-government members on Codex committees;

identifies the manner in which the public will be informed of and may

participate in Codex activities; and requests comments on these

matters.

DATES: Comments should be submitted by May 13, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Submit one original and two copies of written comments to:

FSIS Docket Clerk, Docket #095-054N, U.S. Department of Agriculture,

Food Safety and Inspection Service, Room 102, Cotton Annex, 300 12th

Street, SW., Washington, DC 20250-3700. All comments submitted in

response to this notice will be available for public inspection in the

Docket Clerk's Office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through

Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

F. Edward Scarbrough, Ph.D., United States Manager for Codex

Alimentarius, Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United

States Department of Agriculture, Room 4861S, Washington, DC 20250-

3700; (202) 205-7760.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Codex is the joint food standards program of the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World

Health Organization (WHO). This 35-year-old program was established to

help protect the health of consumers and to facilitate trade through

the establishment of international food standards, codes of practice

and other guidelines. 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 facilitate world trade in foods and promote consumer protection.

The Codex comprises representatives of more than 150 member

nations. It meets every two years. It adopts draft and final standards,

guidelines and codes of practice, and assigns new work to its

subsidiary bodies. These subsidiary bodies perform the work of

developing the standards, guidelines and recommendations. The

subsidiary bodies include Regional Coordinating Committees, Commodity

Committees, and General Subject Matter Committees. An Executive

Committee of the Codex is responsible for making recommendations about

the general direction of the Commission's work. The Executive

Committee, which meets every year, acts as the executive organ of the

Commission and may make decisions for the Codex subject to their

approval at the next biennial Codex session. Regional coordinating

committees ensure that the work is responsive to regional interests and

to developing countries. The Codex has set up commodity committees and

general subject matter committees. These are the groups that draft

standards and make recommendations to the Codex. The U.S. participates

in all active General Subject Matter and Commodity Committees and in

the Regional Coordinating Committee for North America and the South

West Pacific.

In the United States, the United States Department of Agriculture

(USDA); the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Department of Health

and Human Services (HHS); the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);

and the Department of Commerce (DOC) manage and carry out U.S. Codex

activities. Executive direction to the effort comes from the U.S.

Manager for Codex, supported by the U.S. Codex Office. The U.S.

Delegates to the subsidiary bodies participate in the development of

standards. These delegates and the alternate delegates are government

officials in USDA, FDA, EPA and DOC. The delegates develop U.S.

positions on issues to be considered. All interested parties are

invited to provide information and comments on the issues. As the

delegates prepare for the meetings of their committees, they form

delegations comprised of individuals having an interest in the issues

and whose expertise they think would be helpful or necessary at the

meetings. These individuals participate as members of the official U.S.

Delegations, at their own expense.

I. Appointment and Responsibilities of the U.S. Delegate to Codex

A. The United States Codex Steering Committee selects, and the

United States Manager for Codex Alimentarius appoints, a United States

delegate as the head of the United States delegation to each Codex

committee and an alternate delegate to act in the absence of the United

States delegate. The U.S. Delegate and the alternate delegate will be

full time federal government employees.

B. The United States delegate, or in his absence, the alternate

delegate, is responsible for representing the United States Government

at all Codex committee sessions and for presenting the United States

position on each agenda item at Codex committee sessions. It is the

United States delegate's responsibility to ascertain the United States

Government's current position on each Codex committee agenda item and

to draft the United States Government's response to each agenda item.

Positions presented by the United States delegate should be based on

sound science and take into account United States statutes,

regulations, and policy. The United States delegate may determine that

a proposed Codex standard that is not consistent with existing United

States statutes, regulations, or policies is worthy of consideration

and may, in that case, refer the proposed Codex standard to the United

States agency responsible for

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accepting or not accepting a particular Codex standard.

C. The United States delegate, in consultation with the United

States Manager for Codex Alimentarius, is responsible for selecting

non-governmental members to serve on the United States delegation to

the Codex committee.

II. Formation of Delegations

A. The United States delegate, in consultation with the United

States Manager for Codex Alimentarius, selects a delegation.

B. The number of the United States delegation members, including

government and non-government members, is limited to a maximum of

twenty-five persons for each Codex committee.

C. The United States delegate will strive to form a delegation

that: (1) Has expertise relevant to the items on the agenda of, or

likely to be discussed at, the particular Codex committee session; (2)

can assist the United States delegate with items on the agenda of, or

likely to be discussed at the particular Codex committee session; (3)

is representative of the individuals, groups, and organizations that

have an interest in the items on the agenda of, or likely to be

discussed at the particular Codex committee session; and (4) is

representative of the individuals, groups, and organizations that could

be affected by standards to be considered at the Codex session.

D. With regard to selection of non-government members to

delegations, the United States delegate will consider the following:

(1) The necessity of obtaining the informed views of non-government

individuals during the Codex committee session; (2) whether

consultations or opportunities to provide written comments prior to the

Codex committee session would be an adequate alternative to including

non-government members on the United States delegation; and (3) the

number of non-government members that would be required on the United

States delegation to provide balanced representation of the

individuals, groups, and organizations that have an interest in the

items on the agenda of, or likely to be discussed at, a particular

Codex committee session and could be affected by standards to be

considered at the Codex session.

III. Application and Selection Procedures for Non-Government

Members

A. Individuals and representatives from groups and organizations

interested in becoming members of the United States delegation should

contact the United States delegate or the Office of the United States

Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

B. The United States delegate: (1) Will consider all requests for

membership on the United States delegation; (2) may seek volunteers for

membership on the United States delegation; and (3) may identify and

solicit for membership on the United States delegation non-government

individuals and representatives from groups or organizations that will

result in a delegation that meets the criteria in paragraph II.C. of

this notice.

C. The United States delegate may select non-government members

from labor groups, the academic community, trade associations, specific

business firms, public interest groups, and from other sources,

including the public at large. The United States delegate will not be

required to select more than one representative from the same non-

governmental organization to become a member of the United States

delegation merely because the non-governmental organization represents

more than one entity or because there are differing views among

individuals or entities within the non-governmental organization.

D. The United States delegate may request that any person

interested in becoming a member of the United States delegation submit

for consideration a written summary of his or her qualifications. This

summary should include information pertinent to the work carried out

under the general terms of reference of the committee, as well as to

particular items on the agenda of, or likely to be discussed at,

upcoming Codex committee sessions.

E. The United States delegate may limit the period of participation

on, and may exclude from, the United States delegation any non-

government member whose conduct is: (1) Contrary to the provisions of

this notice; (2) contrary to limitations or prohibitions imposed by the

United States delegate pursuant to this notice or other authority; or

(3) prejudicial to the interest of the United States Government,

including the effective functioning of the United States delegation. No

non-government member, however, may be excluded from the United States

delegation merely because of views provided in good faith to other

members of the United States delegation, nor may a non-government

member be excluded from the United States delegation for declining to

provide views on a matter based upon the non-government member's belief

that his or her views would be inappropriate or prejudicial to the

United States Government's position.

IV. Responsibilities on Non-Government Members on U.S. Codex Committee

Delegations

A. Non-government members should attend all Codex committee

sessions and be available to assist the United States delegate, upon

request. In addition, all members of the United States delegation are

expected to attend delegation meetings convened by the United States

delegate.

B. A member of a United States delegation may not serve

concurrently during a Codex committee session as a member of any other

country's delegation or on the delegation of an accredited observer to

the Codex session.

C. Non-government members are not permitted to speak with foreign

government officials on behalf of the United States Government at any

Codex committee session. However, the United States delegate may

authorize a non-government member to explain a technical or factual

point, if, in the judgement of the United States delegate: (1) the

explanation by the non-government member will advance United States

Government objectives at the Codex committee session; or (2) the non-

government member is best able to explain the technical or factual

point under discussion.

D. To the extent feasible, the United States delegate will consult

with and seek recommendations from non-government members, but will not

be obliged to present at any Codex committee session any recommendation

made by any non-government member.

E. Non-government members shall not at any time negotiate or

purport to negotiate for the United States Government. Non-government

members shall not take any individual action on behalf of the United

States Government without express permission from the United States

delegate. Non-government members shall not advocate positions outside

of the United States delegation during a Codex committee session that

would tend to undermine the position of the United States Government,

as determined by the United States delegate. However, membership on the

United States delegation by a non-government member does not prohibit

any other individual, including an individual from the same

organization as the non-government member, from expressing views that

are not in accordance with the United States Government's position.

Further, no non-government member of the United States delegation shall

be prohibited

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from expressing views on the outcome of a negotiation after conclusion

of the negotiation or Codex committee session.

F. Non-government members are not immune from any laws or

regulation of the United States or of the host country as a result of

participation on a United States delegation, and no government official

may represent that participation confers any such immunity.

V. Public Notification of and Participation in U.S. Codex

A. The Office of the United States Manager for Codex Alimentarius

publishes annually in the Federal Register a notice containing (1)

Descriptions of the standards under consideration or planned for

consideration by Codex committees and whether the United States is

participating in the consideration of those standards; (2) the agenda

for United States participation in Codex committee; (3) the agency

responsible for representing the United States with regard to each

standard under consideration or planned for consideration by Codex

committees; and (4) a list of the Codex committees and the names and

agency affiliations of the United States delegate and alternate

delegate for each committee. This same information is available through

the U.S. Codex website: http://www.usda.gov/agency/fsis/codex/

index.htm. Also, the United States Manager for Codex Alimentarius

maintains a list of non-government individuals, groups, and

organizations that have expressed an interest in the activities of the

Codex.

B. The United States delegate and alternate delegate will

facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, public participation in

the United States Government activities relating to the Codex. Toward

this end, the United States delegate will maintain a list of

individuals, groups, and organizations that have expressed an interest

in activities of the Codex committees.

C. The United States delegate will notify members of the public who

have indicated an interest in a particular Codex committee's activities

of the status of each agenda item and the United States Government's

position or preliminary position on the agenda item, if such a position

has been determined. The United States delegate may request members of

the public who have indicated an interest in a particular Codex

committee's activities to submit written comments. Public meetings may

also be held to receive comments.

D. As required by section 491 of the Trade Agreement Act of 1979,

as amended, (19 U.S.C. 2578), the agency responsible for accepting or

rejecting a particular Codex sanitary or phytosanitary standard shall

provide opportunity for public comment on the Codex standards under

consideration or planned for consideration. This opportunity for public

comment will be provided as early as possible following the

identification of a sanitary or phytosanitary standard for

consideration by a Codex committee. The comments received will be taken

into account in the United States delegate's participation in the

considerations of the Codex committee.

E. The United States delegate may solicit comments as deemed

appropriate and all comments received will be considered. Public

comments relevant to Codex committee activities should be supported by

as much data or research as possible and such data or research should

be properly referenced to enhance the persuasive impact of the

comments. The United States delegate will consider all comments

received but will not be bound to agree with any comment. The views

expressed in these comments may or may not be presented by the United

States delegate to a Codex committee.

Done at Washington, DC, on February 6, 1998.

F. Edward Scarbrough,

United States Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

[FR Doc. 98-3507 Filed 2-11-98; 8:45 am]

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