The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) are sponsoring a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items, and draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 18th Session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV). The 18th session will be held in Thailand, Feb. 24–28, 2014.

The public meeting will be held Jan. 30, 2014, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at USDA Headquarters, Jamie L. Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Room 107-A, Washington, DC 20250. Documents and agenda items related to the 18th session of CCFFV will be accessible at the Codex website: http://www.codexalimentarius.org/meetings-reports/en/. To join the public meeting by conference call, dial 888.844.9904 and use participant code: 512-6092.  

During the meeting, the committee will discuss:

• Draft Codex standard for Golden Passion Fruit

• Proposed draft Codex standard for Durian

• Proposed draft Codex standard for okra

• Review of the maturity requirements in the Codex standard for table grapes

• Proposed layout for Codex standards for fresh fruits and vegetables

• Proposal for new work on a Codex standard for the Ware potato

• Proposal for new work on Codex standards for fresh fruits and vegetables

• Review of the terms of reference of the CCFFV, i.e. direct reference to “consult with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards.”

CCFFV is responsible for elaborating worldwide standards and codes of practice as may be appropriate for fresh fruits and vegetables. The group consults with UNECE and other international organizations working partly to explain worldwide standards and codes of practice and avoid duplication in the standards development process.