46. The Delegation of the Netherlands introduced the proposed draft on behalf of the drafting group and highlighted the main issues raised in government comments, while noting that editorial comments were being incorporated into the document:
47. The Committee agreed to include primary production in the document and to amend the text of the paragraph 3.2 by inserting after ¼”the food transportation unit” an additional sentence “Special caution should be exercised for fresh produce requiring no or little processing before consumption, which should not be transported in Transport Units used to transport manure, fertilizers, pesticides or produces which have been in contact with these”.
48. In relation to previous cargoes the Committee felt that two factors should be taken into consideration: shelf life of products and duration of voyage. It was agreed to remove square brackets at this stage from “three” prior cargoes in paragraph 5.1.1. As regards records keeping for a period of six months it was pointed out that it may not be useful in all cases and seems to be excessive. The Delegation of India suggested to develop a suitable standard format of the document describing previous cargoes.
49. The Committee agreed to update the definition of “bulk” (Section 2.2.) by inserting “for example, powder, granulated or liquid form” in addition to the current text.
50. As regards heat exchange fluids, it was agreed to amend paragraph 4.3 by inserting an additional sentence after the word “contamination”. It would read, “Those can be used which are agreed upon between sellers and buyers and are acceptable to the authorities of the receiving country, based on risk assessment”.
51. The Committee discussed the advantages and disadvantages of dedicated transport. Some delegations and the Observer from the EC supported the general application of dedicated transport while other delegations indicated that Dedicated transport itself did not entirely guarantee the safety of transported foodstuffs. No consensus was reached at this stage on the proposal of the Delegation of Germany to add the following sentence as a separate paragraph in Section 5.4: “Bulk foodstuffs in liquid, granulated or powder form must be transported in receptacles and/or containers/tankers reserved for the transport of foodstuffs”. The Committee agreed to keep both options open and ask for further comments on these proposals, for consideration by the next session.
Status of the Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for the Transport of Foodstuffs in Bulk and Semi-Packed Foodstuffs
52. The Committee agreed to forward the proposed draft Code to the 23rd Session of the Commission for adoption at Step 5 (see Appendix IV)
