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OTHER BUSINESS AND FUTURE WORK (AGENDA ITEM 13)

PROPOSED DRAFT ANNEX ON CLEANING AND DISINFECTION TO THE RECOMMENDED INTERNATIONAL CODE OF PRACTICE - GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD HYGIENE (CRD 1)

109. The Delegation of the United States recalled that the Annex, which provided guidance on cleaning and disinfection procedures, was initially included in the Draft General Principles of Food Hygiene and it appeared useful to reintroduce it. The Delegation however proposed to defer consideration of this question in view of the current programme of work and the Committee concurred with this proposal.

PROPOSED DRAFT CODE OF PRACTICE ON GOOD ANIMAL FEEDING

110. The Committee noted that the comments received in reply to CL 1997/43-FH on the Code could not be discussed in view of time constraints, and noted that the Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods had recently considered this issue (September 1998). As all relevant Committees had had the opportunity to review the Code, the next session of the Executive Committee and the Commission would consider their recommendations in order to decide how to proceed in this area.

PRIORITIES FOR THE REVISION OF THE CODES OF PRACTICE (CRD 2

111. The Committee noted that the proposals received in reply to CL 1998/43-FH (CRD 2) could not be discussed in detail in view of time constraints, and agreed to circulate them for comments and consideration at the next session. Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria in Food (CRD 4).

ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IN BACTERIA IN FOOD (CRD 4)

112. The Delegation of Denmark introduced CRD 4, which outlined the need to evaluate and address the risks associated with the development of drug resistance in bacteria following the use of antibiotics. Some delegations and the Observer from Consumers International supported this proposal as antibiotic resistance was a significant emerging public health problem. The Delegation of Switzerland expressed the view that antibiotic resistance was essentially related to medical use of antibiotics, and it did not appear relevant to address it as a food hygiene issue. Some delegations pointed out that matters concerning antibiotic resistance as related to their use in veterinary medicine was under the responsibility of the CCRVDF and should be addressed accordingly.

113. Some delegations indicated that scientific research was being conducted in their countries on antibiotic resistance and antibiotic use for different purposes, and it would be useful to consider this question in the perspective of food hygiene concerns. It was also proposed that the development of such work could be undertaken in conjunction with the CCRVDF and other interested committees. The Committee noted that the Executive Committee was responsible for the assignment of specific work to Codex Committees and that careful consideration should be given to the entire issue of antibiotic resistance in bacteria before deciding whether further action was required. The Committee agreed that the Delegation of Denmark (with the participation of Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States) should prepare a discussion paper to clarify the issues involved and their relevance to the work of the Committee, for further consideration at the next session.

CONTROL OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES IN FOODS (CRD 3)

114. The Delegation of Germany informed the Committee that, as indicated at the last session, it was prepared to continue to develop a discussion paper including some elements of risk assessment and recommendations for the control of Listeria monocytogenes. The Committee noted that the Delegation of Denmark had presented a paper on this issue under CRD 3 and was prepared to assist in this work. The Delegation of Germany welcomed the offer of several countries (Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, Norway, United Kingdom, United States) and ICMSF to contribute to the document, and indicated that consideration was being given to the organization of a meeting in early 1999 to facilitate this work.

115. The Representative of FAO informed the Committee that FAO and the University of Massachusetts were organizing an expert consultation on the Trade Impact of Listeria in Fish and Fishery Products, which would be held in January 1999.

CONSIDERATION OF VIRUSES (CRD 23)

116. The Delegation of the Netherlands referred to a scientific paper on caliciviruses (CRD 23), and proposed that the Committee should consider food safety hazards associated with viruses with a view to developing recommendations for their control, as was envisaged in the case of Listeria.

117. The Delegation of Germany drew the attention of the Committee to the work of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Virology in Munich and offered to participate in this work. Some delegations felt that caution should be exercized before initiating additional activities on viruses in view of the heavy workload of the Committee, and as risk assessment may be carried out by the expert advisory body to be established; it would therefore be more appropriate for the Committee to address risk management issues. The Committee however recognized that the expert body was not yet operational, and that in the meantime it might be useful to review matters related to risk assessment in the framework of a discussion paper intended to clarify issues. The Committee agreed that the Delegation of the Netherlands would prepare the discussion paper in cooperation with some other countries (Italy, Finland, France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States) for consideration by the next session.

118. The Committee was informed that hazards related to molluscan shellfish, including viruses, were currently being considered in the revision of current codes of practice for fish and fishery products by the CCFFP, to be integrated into a single code incorporating the HACCP approach.

OTHER MATTERS (WORKING LANGUAGES)

119. The Delegation of Argentina, following the conclusion of Agenda Item 3 made a representation with respect to the translation of documents and the establishment of working groups without interpretation in the framework of the Committee. The Delegation especially stressed that such inconvenience should not be repeated in future Committee sessions, pointing out the non-compliance with Rule XII.1 Languages and Section 7 b) iv (Guidelines)

120. The Delegation of Costa Rica expressed the formal protest of the Spanish-speaking delegations for the non-compliance with the provisions of Rule XII.1 (Languages) and Section 7 b) iv) of the Guidelines for Codex Committees regarding the interpretation and translation into the three languages of the Commission, including Spanish, all of which should be suitable and of good quality. Simultaneous interpretation should be provided in the Working Groups, as these are an integral part of the session. Notwithstanding, the Spanishspeaking Delegations recognized the efforts of the Chair and the Secretariat to endeavour to improve the situation during the current session.

121. This point was made with the objective of improving the mechanisms for the analysis of the documents to be discussed and to ensure the transparency of the process.


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