Acceptable previous cargoes for fats and oils
 Edible fats and oils from animal, marine and vegetable sources have been traded
and shipped for thousands of years, and form an important part of the human
diet.
Growth in the global food trade has seen the number of geographical sources
of these commodities increasing. There are insufficient sea-going vessels reserved
for the transport of foodstuffs to cater for the expanding trade in fats and
oils intended for, or likely to be used for, human consumption, and it is both
impractical and uneconomic to expect sea-going bulk tankers to return empty
to their original port of lading.
A practical solution adopted by the industry involves the bulk transport of
fats and oils in tanks that are not exclusively reserved for the transport
of foodstuffs. This practice means that many chemicals are potential previous
cargoes to edible fats and oils.
Efforts are ongoing to ensure these cargoes are not contaminated with previous
ones - FAO and WHO are currently working on the provision of advice on the
establishment of criteria for substances to be included in the Codex List of
Acceptable Previous Cargoes in response to the Codex Committee on Fats and
Oils (CCFO) and the CAC.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) adopted the Recommended
International Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of Edible Fats
and Oils in Bulk [ 130kb] in 2005. This code applies to the handling,
storage and transport of all crude or processed edible fats and oils in bulk,
and an integral part of the Code of Practice will be the Codex List of Acceptable
Previous Cargoes. However, a major problem has been the lack of criteria
for the evaluation of substances.
FAO and WHO collaborated with the Dutch National Institute for Public Health
and the Environment (RIVM) in meeting the request from Codex. A call for experts
and data was issued to facilitate the selection of experts to attend a technical
meeting, held in Bilthoven in November 2006. The criteria developed by this
meeting was presented at the 20th Session of the CCFO in February 2007.
See also
Provision of scientific advice
Integrated food control systems > Risk analysis |
