[Federal Register: October 17, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 201)]
[Notices]
[Page 59795-59796]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17oc03-54]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Food and Drug Administration
Food Labels, Packaging, Restaurants, and Weight Management;
Public Workshop
AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.
ACTION: Notice of public workshop.
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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in collaboration with
the Department of Health and Human Service's Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (OASPE) and FDA's Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), is announcing a public workshop
entitled ``Exploring the Connections Between Weight Management and Food
Labels and Packaging.'' The workshop is being held in response to the
growing concern about obesity in the United States. It is intended to
be a science workshop (i.e., nutrition, consumer science, economics,
marketing and other relevant sciences) that will look at available data
to identify options (and pros and cons) about FDA's food labeling and
food packaging requirements that are relevant to consumer weight
management decisions.
DATES: The public workshop will be held on November 20, 2003, from 8:30
a.m. to 6 p.m.
Location: The public workshop will be held at the Lister Hill
Conference Center, National Institutes of Health Bldg. 38A, 8600
Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amber Jessup, Center for Food Safety
and Applied Nutrition (HFS-726), Food and Drug Administration, 5100
Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, 301-436-1689, amber.jessup@fda.gov.
Registration: There is no registration fee for the workshop;
however, seating is limited. Therefore, interested parties are
encouraged to register early. You may register online by clicking on
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=https://secure.z-techcorp.com/cmt/ (FDA has verified the Web site
address but is not responsible for subsequent changes to the Web site
after this document publishes in the Federal Register). All those
planning to preregister must register no later than Friday, November 7,
2003. Registration will close after the workshop is filled. Onsite
registration will be done on a space-available basis on the day of the
public workshop beginning at 8 a.m. If you have any questions, please contact Karen Ellis at 301-315-2806 or via e-mail at kellis@z-
techcorp.com. If you need special accommodations due to a disability,
please contact Ms. Ellis at least 7 days in advance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The workshop is being held in response to
the growing concern about obesity in the United States. The workshop is
co-sponsored by FDA, CFSAN and OASPE. The workshop will be of primary
interest to nutritionists, marketing experts, social marketing experts,
industry, the legal community involved in food labeling and marketing
issues, government agencies, consumer groups, and clinicians with
obesity expertise. The goal of this science workshop is to
[[Page 59796]]
look at the available data and to identify options (pro & con) for food
labeling and food packaging, which are relevant to consumers' weight
management decisions. Topics to be discussed at the workshop include:
``Current food labels and packaging: Effects on weight management and
reduced risk of overweight and obesity'' and ``Data supporting options
for change.'' The workshop will include sessions with expert views on
food packaging and labeling, and on messaging in the restaurant
environment relevant to overall weight management.
Transcripts: Transcripts of the public workshop may be requested in
writing from the Freedom of Information Office (HFI-35), Food and Drug
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, rm. 12A-16, Rockville, MD 20857,
approximately 15 working days after the public workshop at a cost of 10
cents per page.
Dated: October 8, 2003.
Jeffrey Shuren,
Assistant Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 03-26268 Filed 10-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-01-S