The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting tomorrow, Feb. 27, to provide information, receive public comments on agenda items and draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 8th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF). The 8th Session of the CCCF will be held March 31 – April 4 in The Hague, Netherlands.

The meeting will be held tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time at the FDA Campus, Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building – room 1A-003, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740.  Documents and agenda items related to the 8th Session of the CCCF will be accessible at the Codex website. To join the public meeting by conference call, dial 1-866-707-4534 and use participant code: 8731753#.  

During the meeting, the committee, among other matters, will discuss:

• Proposed draft maximum levels for deoxynivalenol (DON) and acetylated derivatives in cereals and cereal-based products
• Proposed draft maximum levels for fumonisins in maize and maize products and associated sampling plans
• Discussion paper on the establishment of a maximum level for total aflatoxins in ready-to-eat peanuts and an associated sampling plan
• Discussion paper on the development of a Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Arsenic Contamination in Rice
• Discussion paper on the possible revision of the Code of Practice for Prevention and Reduction of Mycotoxin Contamination in Cereals
• Discussion paper on aflatoxins in cereals
• Discussion paper on the review of the guideline levels for methylmercury in fish and predatory fish

The CCCF is chaired by the Netherlands, and is responsible for establishing or endorsing permitted maximum levels, and where necessary, revising existing guideline levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed; preparing priority lists of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants for risk assessment by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO), including the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA); considering and elaborating methods of analysis and sampling for the determination of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed; considering and elaborating standards or codes of practice for related subjects; and considering other matters assigned to it by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in relation to contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed.

For more information about the public meeting, or to submit written comments about the 8th Session of the CCCF, contact:  Henry Kim, Ph.D., Office of Food Safety, CFSAN/FDA, HFS-317, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, Md. 20740; Telephone: (240) 402-2023, Fax: (301) 436-2632, e-mail: henry.kim@fda.hhs.gov or Doreen Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, DC; Telephone (202) 205-7760, e-mail: Doreen.Chen-Moulec@fsis.usda.gov.