50. The Commission received reports on the activities of the undermentioned international organizations in the field of food standards.
51. The Commission had before it a report which had been prepared by the Secretariat on the basis of information received from the International Egg Commission. The Commission was informed that the International Egg Commission had elaborated a Draft Standard for Egg Products. The draft standard partly covered the same ground as the Code of Hygienic Practice for Egg Products being developed by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. The Commission noted that close cooperation was being afforded by the International Egg Commission in the development of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Egg Products. As regards eggs in shell, the Commission was informed that the Commission of the European Economic Community had elaborated a Draft Standard for Eggs in Shell. The International Egg Commission, which covers through its membership a large number of the most important egg producers and trading countries in the world, had discussed the Draft EEC Standard and had forwarded its comments on it to the Commission of the EEC. In submitting its comments, the International Egg Commission had pointed out the desirability of arriving at a standard which would be acceptable not only to the EEC, but also on a broad international basis.
52. The Commission received a progress report on the activities of the Working Party on Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The report which had been prepared by the Secretariat of the Joint FAO/ECE Agriculture Division of the UNECE was introduced by the ECE representative.
53. The Commission was informed that the Working Party on Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs had considered the Commission's request that consideration be given to the possibility of drawing up World-Wide Standards at a meeting in Geneva in June 1967 on Apples and Pears between ECE countries and non-European exporting countries. The meeting had noted that it was extremely difficult to develop meaningful world-wide standards due to the widely varying conditions in different countries, but decided to discuss the principal divergent points in the European Standard for Apples and Pears in the belief that agreement on these points would help the situation considerably. The proposals of both non-European and European countries had been examined and both points of view had been brought closer together. It was envisaged that the existing European Standard for Apples and Pears would be amended so as to incorporate all the proposals and it should then be acceptable on a much broader, if not world-wide, basis. The next meeting would take place in May 1968 at which it was hoped that a large proportion of the remaining problems would be solved.
54. The Commission was also informed that the Working Party had agreed to include within its terms of reference the question of standardization of conditions of sale for some agricultural products and that comparative studies had already begun on existing rules and conditions of sale for fresh fruits and vegetables and dried fruits. At its last session held in November 1967 the Working Party also adopted two new European Standards, for Scorzonera and Ware Potatoes, and a Revised Standard for Seed Potatoes.
55. The Commission had before it a report which had been prepared by Technical Committee 34 of the International Organization for Standardization. The ISO representative briefly reviewed the contents of the report which set out the state of development of the work in ISO on methods of testing and sampling agricultural food products. The attention of the Commission was drawn in particular to the work of ISO on methods of testing for organoleptic criteria. The Commission noted the broad range of products mentioned in the report and recommended that the Secretariat, in cooperation with ISO, should try to ensure that there was no overlapping of work as between ISO and the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program.
56. The Commission had before it a report prepared by the Secretariat of the Commission of the European Economic Community concerning the harmonization of food legislation in the Member States of the Community. The Commission was informed by the representative of the EEC that two sets of regulations were already in force relating to colours and preservatives, including criteria for the purity of the ingredients. The regulations prescribed a list of those colours and preservatives which may be used. The Commission was also informed that regulations on anti-oxidants were to be applied shortly. An account of the state of the work on other additives and on methods of analysis for the detection and identification of food additives was also given to the Commission. The Commission was also informed that draft regulations were being prepared on packaging materials, labelling preserved or canned foods and dietetic foods. The position with regard to regulations going forward for adoption or work in progress for various commodities or commodity groups was also outlined.
The Commission was informed that the question of the position of members of the Community so far as acceptance of Codex standards was concerned was currently under examination by the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community and the Codex Alimentarius Commission would be advised of the outcome of this examination.
57. The Commission had before it a paper which had been prepared by the Secretariat of the OECD, summarizing the standardization activities of the OECD in the field of livestock products and fresh fruits and vegetables. It was noted that close cooperation existed between the OECD and the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products, and that the OECD had elaborated a Descriptive System for Carcasses of Bovine and Porcine Species as well as a Draft Code of Sanitary Regulations for International Trade in Slaughter Livestock and Fresh Meat. As regards fruits and vegetables, the Commission was informed of the close cooperation which existed between the UNECE and OECD. The Commission noted that the purpose of the OECD Scheme for the Application of International Standards for Fruits and Vegetables was to achieve a common interpretation of the European standards elaborated by the UNECE and to achieve a harmonization of quality control methods. In addition, work had been undertaken on the standardization of packaging.
58. The Commission noted with interest the reports of the above organizations and expressed its appreciation for the work and cooperation which it was receiving from them and many other international organizations interested in the field of international food standards.
59. The Commission was informed of the recent decisions of the FAO Conference concerning the invitation to Codex Sessions of international non-governmental organizations not having formal status with either FAO or WHO. The FAO Conference had requested the Secretariat of the Commission to prepare a list of those organizations with no formal status which were considered to have an important interest in the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies, and to place this before the FAO Council for approval. The Secretariat informed the Commission that such a list was being prepared for submission to the FAO Council and that the approved list of those organizations which do not have formal relations with either FAO or WHO would be made available to the Chairmen of Codex Committees and Codex Contact Points.
