On July 17-18 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The report of the 76th Session of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which met in Rome June 5-14, has been published on the websites of the Food and Agriculture Organization (here) and the World Health Organization (here), said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The JECFA session evaluated food additives including flavoring agents.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails July 18 announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

A working group of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Certification and Inspection Systems (CCFICS) will circulate a revised version of the Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for National Food Control Systems and an associated report to all Committee members for discussion at the next CCFICS meeting on Feb. 18-22, 2013. The working group met in Grange, Ireland, July 9-12, 2012, to consider the revisions.

The public meeting for the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables is scheduled for 10 am-12 pm on August 30 in Room 2068 of the USDA South Building, said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. The Committee meets September 3-7 in Mexico City.

On July 16 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service issued emails July 16 announcing changes to some Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) electronic manuals. While some changes are minor, other changes may affect the admissibility of the plant products, including fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

The Codex Committee for Asia requested comments from governments and interested international organizations on the proposed draft Regional Standard for Non-Fermented Soybean Products, said the Food Safety and Inspection Service. China led an electronic working group of regional committee members that produced a draft regional standard now available for comment at Step 3. The text of this draft is contained in Annex 1 of a circular letter available here. Parties interested in contributing to a U.S. response should send their comments to USCodex@fsis.usda.gov by Sept. 7. International organizations may send their comments directly to the Codex Secretariat (codex@fao.org), with a copy to Dr. Takako Yano, Secretary for the CCASIA, ccasia@nm.maff.go.jp by Sept. 15.

On July 13 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports:

On July 12 the Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following GAIN reports: