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Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2003 21:31:33 +0200
Reply-To: PSA Forum
Sender: PSA Forum
From: Salwa Dogheim
Subject: Comments on paper 3d
Comments: To: E-Forum
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
[multipart/alternative]

Dear Colleagues

I am Dr. Salwa Dogheim from Egypt. I am working in the Agriculture Research Center under the Ministry of Agriculture of Egypt. I am a pesticides residue analyst. My experience over 36 years is in the area of pesticides and chemical contaminants as follows:

-Directed the accredited central lab. that analyze and control the contamination with pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins and microbiology in food (domestic, exported and imported) for 8 years.
-Lead the work setting the regulations for pesticides registration in the country.
-lead the pesticide registration office for 2 years.
-Lead the work setting the Egyptian MRLs for pesticides.
-Participated in the CCPR from 1984 until 2002. I chaired the CCPR ad hoc working group on pesticide residue problems in developing countries for 4 years during the 1980's.
-Participated in several consultations concerned with the Code of Conduct on the Use and Distribution of Pesticides and with the SPS and TBT agreements.
- I joined the JMPR in 2003 as FAO consultant.

I would have like to comment on all those very interesting papers but since time is too short I will take only Paper 3d which is the most relative and important to me.

I fully agree with Dr. Gonzalez and appreciate the points raised in the paper. Going to item 9 (Questions to the e-forum) Additional mechanisms to better address the needs of developing countries for scientific advice in the framework of the Codex work. I suggest to add a Codex office to each regional FAO office in developing countries. Activities of such offices might be:

* In close contact with the National Codex Focal Point in each country in the region,
- guarantee a continuous flow of the latest information on standards and scientific approaches,
- training the authorized and responsible national persons in the different areas i.e. agriculture, health, trade and consumer protection, on the Codex system, how to act in Codex meetings, the type, timing and level of national data and information acceptable when submitted to the Codex Meetings and Technical panels,....
- narrowing the gap between developed and developing countries as the fast developments and improvements in science increasing this gap every day.
- build up the trust in adopting the Codex Standards in international trade as for example; developed importing countries usually follow their own MRLs and not the Codex MRLs which contribute trade problems to developing countries.
-being in the region would enable those offices to identify where scientific data exists and update it to the international acceptable level.

Those points might answer the 1st,3rd and 4th points. The second point on the call of experts mechanism, I think it is satisfactory while I wish to see more experts from developing countries. Thanks.

Dr. Salwa Dogheim