USP Seeks Public Review and Comment of the
Food Chemicals Codex as FCC Forum Opens
Online
Forum Allows Transparent, Scientific Process for Revising Standards
in Internationally Recognized Compendium
Rockville,
Md., July 1, 2008 - The U.S. Pharmacopeial (USP) Convention
today announces that the FCC Forum-the online vehicle through
which USP revises standards for food ingredients contained in
the Food Chemicals Codex (FCC) by a process of public review
and comment-is now available on USP's Web site at www.usp.org/fcc/forum/.
All interested parties are encouraged to submit their feedback
on proposed changes to FCC standards through this free medium.
The comment period for proposed standards is open for 90 days.
The FCC is a compendium of internationally recognized documentary
standards for the identity, quality and purity of ingredients
found in processed foods, including colorings, flavorings, nutrients,
preservatives and processing aids. Food ingredients contained
in processed foods are a significant part of the American diet-making
the existence and use of public, scientific standards a critical
component of food safety. Such standards can help to provide
assurance that these widely used ingredients are of high quality
and are free of harmful substances.
The
current FCC Forum offers proposed revisions or additions to
the 2009 supplement to the Sixth Edition of the FCC, including
new and revised monographs, general tests and assays, and solutions
and indicators. Anyone with an interest in these standards can
visit the USP Web site to review the proposed changes to existing
standards and submit their comments to the USP scientific liaison
listed in each particular section.
USP's
Food Ingredients Expert Committee, a group of expert volunteers,
is charged with revising standards in the FCC. Revisions are
generated by requests or by the committee itself based on information
in the public domain or from relevant industry stakeholders,
the Food and Drug Administration or USP.
The
FCC Forum will be open for comment on the committee's proposed
revisions until September 28, 2008. After the forum closes,
comments that were received will be assessed by USP scientific
staff and presented to the Expert Committee for final consideration.
"The open, transparent and formal process by which FCC
is revised via the FCC Forum allows for the interaction of industry,
regulatory bodies, and academia, and ensures the ongoing application
of credible, science-based documentary standards," said
Darrell Abernethy, M.D., Ph.D., chief science officer for USP.
"It is vital for food industry chemists to have input into
the revision of standards that they will later need to observe."
USP
publishes a new edition of the FCC every two years, with an
annual supplement between editions. The most recent FCC was
released in February 2008.
For
more detailed information on the FCC Forum and instructions
for submitting comments, please visit www.usp.org/fcc/forum/.
For media inquiries, please email mediarelations@usp.org.
USP-Advancing Public Health Since 1820
The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a private, non-profit,
standards-setting organization that advances public health by
helping to ensure the quality and consistency of medicines,
food ingredients, and dietary supplements, promoting the safe
and proper use of medications, and verifying ingredients in
drugs and dietary supplements. Its standards, which are recognized
worldwide, are developed by a unique process of public involvement
through the contributions of volunteers representing pharmacy,
medicine, and other health care professions, as well as science,
academia, government, the pharmaceutical and food industries,
and consumer organizations. For more information about USP and
its public health programs, visit www.usp.org/newscenter.
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