1.

Notifying Member: United States of America

If applicable, name of local government involved:  

2.

Agency responsible: US Food and Drug Administration

3.

Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable): HS Code: 48; ICS Code: 67  Food contact materials

4.

Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:

[X]    All trading partners

[ ]      Specific regions or countries:

5.

Title of the notified document: Natural Resources Defense Council et al.; Filing of Food Additive Petition; Notice of Petition  Language(s): English  Number of pages: 1

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-16/pdf/2015-05938.pdf

http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2015/SPS/USA/15_1392_00_e.pdf

6.

Description of content: The Food and Drug Administration is announcing that it has filed a petition, submitted by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Food Safety, the Breast Cancer Fund, the Center for Environmental Health, Clean Water Action, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Children's Environmental Health Network, Environmental Working Group, and Improving Kids' Environment, proposing that it amends its food additive regulation to no longer provide for the use of three specific perfluoroalkyl ethyl containing food contact substances (FCSs) as oil and water repellants for paper and paperboard for use in contact with aqueous and fatty foods.

7.

Objective and rationale: [X] food safety, [ ] animal health, [ ] plant protection, [ ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [ ] protect territory from other damage from pests.  

8.

Is there a relevant international standard? If so, identify the standard:

[ ]      Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard or related text)  

[ ]      World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic Animal Health Code, chapter number)  

[ ]      International Plant Protection Convention (e.g. ISPM number)  

[X]    None

Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard? 

[ ] Yes   [ ] No

If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the international standard:  

9.

Other relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:

10.

Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy): To be determined.

Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy): To be determined.

11.

Proposed date of entry into force: [ ] Six months from date of publication, and/or (dd/mm/yy): To be determined.

[ ]      Trade facilitating measure  

12.

Final date for comments: [ ] Sixty days from the date of circulation of the notification and/or (dd/mm/yy): Comments will be accepted at any time after publication of the notice of filing; however, if a final rule is promulgated, it will address only those comments that were received prior to publication of the final rule.

Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [ ] National Notification Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point. Address, fax number and e?mail address (if available) of other body:

Paul Honigfort, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS-275), Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740-3835, Tel: +(1 240) 402 1206

13.

Text(s) available from: [X] National Notification Authority, [ ] National Enquiry Point. Address, fax number and e?mail address (if available) of other body:

United States SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, International Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 1014, Washington D.C. 20250; Tel: +(1 202) 720 1301; Fax: +(1 202) 720 0433; E-mail: us.spsenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov

Text can be also be found in the Federal Register, Vol. 80, No. 50, Page 13508 or on the Internet at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-16/pdf/2015-05938.pdf