Department of Agriculture August 28, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has reached a preliminary decision to extend our determination of nonregulated status of soybean event MON 87701 to soybean event MON 87751 in response to a request from the Monsanto Company. Soybean event MON 87751 has been genetically engineered for resistance to lepidopteran insects, including resistance to fall armyworm beyond that provided to soybean event MON 87701. We are making available for public comment our preliminary finding of no significant impact for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation into the continental United States of commercial consignments of five species of fresh citrus fruit from China. As a condition of entry, the citrus fruit would have to be produced in accordance with a systems approach that includes requirements for registration of places of production and packinghouses, sourcing of pest-free propagative material, inspection for quarantine pests at set intervals by the national plant protection organization (NPPO) of China, bagging of fruit, safeguarding, post- harvest processing and sampling, and importation in commercial consignments. Additionally, we would require places of production to trap for several species of Bactrocera fruit flies, and would require the fruit to be treated for those species of fruit flies. In addition, consignments would have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the NPPO of China that declares that the conditions for importation have been met and that the consignments have been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. Finally, the NPPO of China would have to provide an operational workplan to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture that details the activities that the NPPO of China will carry out to meet these requirements. This proposed rule would allow for the importation of fresh citrus from China into the continental United States while providing protection against the introduction of plant pests.

The Pike & San Isabel Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Pueblo, Colorado. The committee is meeting as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110- 343) and in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the meetings is for project discussion and recommendation to the Designated Federal Official.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on September 23, 2014. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 42nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling in Foods (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Santiago, Chile October 21-24, 2014. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 42nd Session of CCFL, and to address items on the agenda.