5. The scientific basis of decision-making by the CAC is spelt out in the Statements of Principle on the Role of Science in the Codex Decision-Making and the Extent to which Other Factors are Taken into Account1. The CAC does not undertake scientific evaluations per se but relies on the opinions of scientific expert Committees or Consultations convened by FAO and WHO on specific issues. These expert bodies such as the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committees on Food Additives, the Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessments are independent of the CAC and it subsidiary bodies and do not fall within the scope of the present Strategic Framework. The mandates, functions, composition and agendas of these bodies are established by FAO and WHO. Although the independence of the expert bodies is critical to the objectivity of their opinions, meetings of these bodies normally take into account the advice of the CAC as indicated in Article 1 of the Commission's Statutes. There is considerable synergy between the scientific panels of FAO and WHO and the intergovernmental bodies of the CAC in order to take decisions based on scientific evidence.
1 Codex Alimentarius Commission, Procedural Manual, Eleventh Edition, p.180.