The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service in conjunction with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is sponsoring a public meeting to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items, and draft U.S. positions to be discussed at the 45th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR), which will be held in Beijing, China May 6-13, 2013.

The public meeting will be held on March. 28, 2013, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the EPA, Room S-7100, One Potomac Yard South, 2777 South Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA 22202. Documents and agenda items related to the 45th Session of the CCPR will be accessible at the Codex website at: www.codexalimentarius.org.

During the meeting, the committee will discuss:

• Establishment of Codex Priority Lists of Pesticides
• Revision of the risk analysis principles applied by CCPR
• Discussion paper on the guidance to facilitate the establishment of Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides for minor crops and specialty crops
• Matters of interest arising from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) and other international organizations

Codex was established in 1963 by FAO/WHO. Codex seeks to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade through adoption of food standards, codes of practice and other guidelines developed by its committees, and by promoting their adoption and implementation by governments.

For more information about the public meeting, or to submit written comments about the 45th Session of the CCPR, contact: Lois Rossi, Office of Pesticide Programs, U.S. EPA, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20406, telephone: (703) 305-5447, fax: (703) 305-6920 or e-mail: Rossi.Lois@epa.gov. or Doreen Chen-Moulec, U.S. Codex Office, 1400 Independence Avenue, Room 4861, Washington, D.C.; Telephone (202) 720-7760, e-mail: Doreen.chen-moulec@fsis.usda.gov.