16. The Commission received a report on the Eighteenth Session of the Executive Committee held at FAO Headquarters, Rome from 15 to 18 May 1972. In introducing the report, the Chairman indicated that most of the substantive items considered by the Executive Committee would be dealt with by the Commission under the agenda items relating to the matters concerned. The following were the matters dealt with under this item of the agenda.
17. The Commission was informed by the representatives of FAO and WHO that every effort would be made to arrange for the holding of the FAO/WHO Food Additives and Contaminants Conference towards the end of 1973. The Commission noted that the scope of activity of the Conference, which had been originally intended to deal with food additives, would be widened to include contaminants. The venue would be either Rome or Geneva. The Commission was also informed that a draft agenda for the Conference had been drawn up. Several delegates stated that it was important to know the venue and date of the Conference as quickly as possible, and the point was also made by one delegate that, because of the need to make budgetary arrangements in 1972 in his country for attendance at meetings scheduled to take place in 1973, it was important that the government of his country should be in Possession of this information before the end of 1972. The Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives stressed the need for arranging that the Conference would be held before the 1973 session of the Codex Committee, so that the Committee would be in possession of the views and recommendations of the Conference. It was agreed that, in order to expedite matters, the draft agenda for the Conference should be circulated as a Conference Room Document during the current session of the Commission, so that interested countries represented at the session could comment on it. The Commission decided, however, not to discuss the draft agenda (Appendix II to this Report) in detail and agreed that it should be sent to governments with a circular letter, for comment. The Commission noted that the Joint FAO/WHO Food Additives and Contaminants Conference was scheduled to be held towards the end of 1973, preferably before the sessions of the Codex Committees on Food Additives and Pesticide Residues.
18. The Commission noted that the FAO Conference, at its Sixteenth Session, had agreed with the recommendation of the Commission that it be left to the Commission to judge when it would be appropriate to consider further any amendment to Rule VI.3 concerning the elaboration of regional standards. The Commission further noted that the FAO Conference had expressed its satisfaction at the fact that the Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products had fully brought its procedures into line with those of the Commission.
19. The Commission noted that the Executive Committee had examined a report prepared by the Secretariat on the question of preparing a synopsis of work being done by other international organizations in the food standards and related fields. The Commission agreed with the conclusion of the Executive Committee that, in view of the Present work programme of the Commission and its work priorities, the Secretariat should not proceed at this time with the Preparation of such a synopsis. The Commission noted that the Executive Committee had requested that the Secretariat should, from time to time, make available to Members of the Commission such information on the activities of other international organizations as seemed appropriate to any subject which the Commission might have under consideration and propose to include in its programme of work, or which might be of general interest to the Members of the Commission.
20. The Commission was informed that the Executive Committee had considered, in the light of a summary working paper by Dr. M.L. Debatisse (France), the problems raised by the appearance of non-conventional foods on the international market and of their likely interest to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Executive Committee had noted the rapid development in the trade in non-conventional foods such as meat and dairy products substitutes, sugar substitutes and synthetic drinks, and considered the possible implications these products had for the work of the Commission. The Executive Committee had discussed, in particular, the problems which the “novel” food might have with regard to informing the consumer and protecting his health. The Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses had already undertaken some work on special products falling within its terms of reference, and the Joint FAO/WHO/UNICEF Protein Advisory Group (PAG) was studying the nutritional and toxicological aspects and the health implications - mainly on children of non-conventional foods. The representative of North America on the Executive Committee had stated that, in his opinion, the interest of the consumer was, at present, largely protected by various provisions of the Recommended International General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods. The Executive Committee had agreed to await the outcome of the studies of the PAG and had further agreed that subsequently the issue would have to be considered by the Codex Committee on Food Labelling. The Executive Committee had also agreed that at the appropriate time, the matter would have to be re-examined by the Executive Committee.
21. While the Commission agreed with the conclusion of the Executive Committee that this matter would, in time, have to be examined by the Codex Committee on Food Labelling, the point was made that it would be necessary to indicate to the Labelling Committee exactly what the products concerned were. In this connection, it was also suggested that each Commodity Committee should watch developements regarding substitute or “novel” products similar to products falling within its own terms of reference. While the work of the Protein Advisory Group in this area was taken note of, and while the Commission noted that the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses would be prepared to look further into this subject and that the matter would be considered further when dealing with the activities of that Committee, the point was made that these substitute or “novel” products were by no means confined to foods for special dietary uses.
22. In general, the Commission agreed with the Executive Committee that, at the appropriate time, the Executive Committee should re-examine this subject and that the Codex Committee on Food Labelling would have an important role to play in this field. In the meantime, however, Commodity Committees should keep a watch on developments in this field so far as products falling within their own terms of reference were concerned. It was not the intention that Commodity Committees should embark on the elaboration of standards for such products. It was agreed that the paper of Dr. Debatisse should be made available to delegates during the Commission's session.
23. The Commission noted that information was being collected by the Legal Office of FAO on the use of marks or symbols by other international organizations or trade associations. A number of such bodies had been approached and replies had been received from the International Wool Secretariat, the International Institute for Cotton, the International Seed Testing Association and the International Olive Oil Council. Replies were awaited from other bodies and it was expected that a full report on this subject could be presented for consideration by the Executive Committee at its next session.
24. The Commission noted that the Legal Office of FAO had prepared a document on the above subject which had been put before the Executive Committee and subsequently, at the request of the Executive Committee, before the Milk and Milk Products Committee. The Commission noted that this subject would be considered further by the Executive Committee at its next session.
25. The Commission noted that, in accordance with the wish which had been expressed by the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on the Standardization of Quick Frozen Foods at its last session, held in Geneva in December 1971, facilities had been provided at FAO Headquarters for a meeting of a working group on temperature problems held from 25 to 27 October 1972. The Working Group would be reporting to the next session of the Joint Group of Experts.
26. The Commission noted that the Executive Committee had considered a memorandum from Professor E.J. Bigwood, Director of the 'Centre de Recherches sur le Droit de l'Alimentation' in Brussels, concerning the concept of a food Standard. The memorandum had suggested that less detailed standards for foods should be elaborated, which would deal mainly with compositional aspects. Other provisions of standards, such as those dealing with hygiene, weights and measures, labelling, analysis and sampling, should be dealt with elsewhere in appropriate texts of general application to foods. In the author's opinion, very detailed and elaborate standards would be likely to lead to acceptances with many deviations. The Executive Committee was of the opinion that the format and content of standards being elaborated by the Codex Committees reflected, in the main, the current practices of a number of governments concerning national standards and regulations. The Executive Committee, while recognizing the interest which Professor Bigwood had shown in the work of the Commission had agreed not to advise, for the time being, any modification in the format and content of Codex Standards. The Commission accepted this recommendation.
27. The Commission was informed that France had put before the last session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery products a proposal regarding the elaboration of a text which would contain provisions common to certain processed fish products. This might lead to a need to elaborate less detailed individual standards which would contain only those provisions specific to the product concerned. The Executive Committee had agreed that this approach might prove to be a practical one and could, if necessary, be a topic for consideration at a future session of the Codex Committee on General Principles. The Fish and Fishery Products Committee had agreed that the idea of “group” standards for certain fish products merited full consideration, but noted that this was a general question which would also concern the work of several other Commodity Committees, and that the Executive Committee had regarded it as a possible subject for consideration by the Codex Committee on General Principles. The Fish and Fishery Products Committee had decided that governments should be requested to study this and to submit written comments on the French proposal to the Secretariat in time for consideration by the Committee at its next session.
