Announcement of Meeting of 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and Solicitation of Written Comments

AGENCIES:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Public Health and Science; and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services and Research, Education and Economics.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (a) provide notice of the third meeting of the Committee and (b) solicit written comments.

DATES:

(1) The Committee will meet on March 30 and 31, 2004, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on both days. (2) Written comments on the Dietary Guidelines must be received by 5 p.m. e.s.t. on March 19, 2004, to ensure transmittal to the Committee prior to this meeting.

ADDRESS:

The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn Georgetown, located at 2101 Wisconsin Ave., NW., Washington, DC, in the Mirage Ballroom. The closest metro station to the meeting location is the Foggy Bottom station. Holiday Inn Georgetown shuttle service will be provided between the Foggy Bottom metro station and the hotel. Limited parking is available at the hotel.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

HHS Co-Executive Secretaries: Kathryn McMurry or Karyl Thomas Rattay (phone 202-690-7102), HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Public Health and Science, Room 738-G, 200 Independence Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20201. USDA Co-Executive Secretaries: Carole Davis (phone 703-305-7600), USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 1034, Alexandria, Virginia 22302, or Pamela Pehrsson (phone 301-504-0716), USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center-West, Building 005, Room 309A, Beltsville, Maryland 20705. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee: The thirteen-member Committee appointed by the two Departments is chaired by Janet King, Ph.D., R.D., Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California. Other members are Lawrence J. Appel, M.D., M.P.H., Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland; Yvonne L. Bronner, Sc.D., R.D., L.D., Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland; Benjamin Caballero, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland; Carlos A. Camargo, M.D., Dr.P.H., Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts; Fergus M. Clydesdale, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts; Vay Liang W. Go, M.D., University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Penny M. Kris-Etherton, Ph.D., R.D., Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania; Joanne R. Lupton, Ph.D., Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; Theresa A. Nicklas, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., L.N., Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas; Russell R. Pate, Ph.D., University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina; F. Xavier Pi-Sunyer, M.D., M.P.H., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York; and Connie M. Weaver, Ph.D., Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Purpose of Meeting: The appointment of the Committee reflects the commitment by the HHS and USDA to provide sound and current dietary guidance to consumers. The National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-445, Title III) requires the Secretaries of HHS and USDA to publish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans at least every five years. During its first meeting, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee decided that the science has changed since the 2000 edition of Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans and further evaluation of the science is necessary. Therefore, it is conducting a review of current scientific and medical knowledge and will provide a technical report of any recommendations to the Secretaries for the year 2005 edition. The agenda will include (a) presentations from invited experts, (b) discussion of scientific reviews and related issues, and (c) formulation of plans for future work of the Committee.

Public Participation at Meeting: The meeting is open to the public. Because space is limited, pre-registration is requested. To pre-register, please e-mail dietaryguidelines@osophs.dhhs.gov, with “Meeting Registration” in the subject line or call Marianne Augustine at (202) 260-2322 by 5 p.m. e.s.t., March 19, 2004. Registration must include your name, affiliation, phone number, and days attending. Visitors must bring proper identification to attend the meeting. If you require a sign language interpreter, please call Marianne Augustine at (202) 260-2322 by March 12, 2004. Documents pertaining to Committee deliberations for the third meeting will be available for public inspection and copying in Room 738-G, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, beginning the day before the meeting. All official documents are available for viewing by appointment for the duration of the Committee's term. Please call (202) 690-7102 to schedule an appointment to view the documents.

Written Comments: By this notice, the Committee is soliciting submission of written comments, views, information and data pertinent to review of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For those submitting comments more than 5 pages in length, please provide a 1-page summary of key points related to the comments submitted for the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. To ensure transmittal to the Committee prior to the third meeting, comments must be submitted by 5 p.m. e.s.t., March 19, 2004. Comments are welcome throughout the Committee's deliberations and will be forwarded to the Committee as they are received. Comments should be sent to dietaryguidelines@osophs.dhhs.gov or to Kathryn McMurry, HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of Public Health and Science, Room 738-G, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201.