GENERAL PRINCIPLES

APPENDIX E. 1

Draft standard considered by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
in first reading and now referred to Governments for detailed comments.

Text prepared by the former “European Council of the Codex Alimentarius”, now the “Advisory Group for Europe of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission”.

I.

GENERAL COMMENTS ON THE CONTENTS OF THE
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS EUROPAEUS

Definition of the term «foodstuff»

§ 1

The purpose of the European Codex Alimentarius is to publish definitions, methods of testing and principles for judging foodstuffs. It was drawn up by experts from many European countries and examined and approved by the European Council for the Codex Alimentarius in accordance with its rules. The principles in the European Codex Alimentarius are intended to prepare the way for a uniform interpretation of the standards for food marketed in certain wrappings or under certain labels and a uniform basis for judging foodstuffs in European countries, in order to facilitate international trade in food.

§ 2

However the intention is not that the establishment of minimum standards for foodstuffs marketed in certain wrappings and under certain labels should eliminate completely trade in merchandise which does not comply with these requirements, but merely that it should ensure that such merchandise is only marketed in wrappings and under labels which make it impossible for the purchaser to be deceived as to its true quality. Naturally trade in goods not complying with the minimum standards of the European Codex Alimentarius can be prohibited by the legislation of individual European countries within their sphere of competence, even if such merchandise is marketed under a label or in a wrapping clearly, showing its true quality. But statutory food legislation should not be used to promote economic interests or to discriminate automatically against foreign goods.

§ 3

Foodstuffs are materials which are intended to be eaten, chewed or drunk by human beings, whether in a changed or unchanged state, to satisfy their nutritive requirements or for enjoyment. Materials which when correctly used form a permanent constituent of a food may be considered as foodstuffs.

II.

GENERAL COMMENTS ON TESTING AND CERTIFYING
FOODSTUFFS

§ 4

The minimum standards laid down in the European Codex Alimentarius for foodstuffs marketed under certain labels or in certain wrappings are drafted so that they may easily be observed if the goods are properly manufactured, produced and processed and so that it is easily possible by scientifically proven methods to establish any deviations from these minimum requirements shown by the foodstuffs concerned when marketed within the meaning of § 2 with a label or wrapping clearly indicating their real quality.

§ 5

When testing foodstuffs an analyst must first consider what qualities it should have according to its wrapping and label if it is to meet with the consumer's justified expectations as laid down in the European Codex Alimentarius. He will then have to test the food to see whether it has these qualities or not. The definitions and principles laid down in the European Codex Alimentarius will be of great help to him in this. In his certificate the food analyst must always specify the testing methods used as well as his findings and his opinion. This is the only way in which it is possible to check his report, since experimental results obtained by certain methods can only be correctly evaluated if the special features of these methods are taken into consideration. Where there is a need for the establishment of generally recognised methods for testing the quality of certain foodstuffs or ascertaining that they comply with the principles of the European Codex Alimentarius such methods will also be specified in the European Codex Alimentarius.

However the establishment of such standard testing methods should not be allowed to check the development and use of even more accurate methods, although the use of the latter does not mean that the standard testing methods in the European Codex Alimentarius may be dispensed with.

III.

GENERAL COMMENTS ON JUDGING FOODSTUFFS

§ 6

If a foodstuff marketed under a certain wrapping or label does not comply satisfactorily with the minimum standard in the European Codex Alimentarius for such wrappings or labels the merchandise may, depending on circumstances, be considered as injurious to health, spoiled, unripe, adultered or misleadingly packed or labelled. The following paragraphs give criteria for these grounds for complaint. These comments give a basis for judging a foodstuff correctly when the minimum standards corresponding to its wrapping or labelling are known. They must always be taken into consideration in determining whether a foodstuff complies with the minimum standards in the European Codex Alimentarius as the chapters of the Codex dealing with individual foodstuffs cannot list all the possible grounds for complaint in full, but can merely give examples of particularly typical cases of complaints.

Injury to health

§ 7

Foodstuffs are to be considered as injurious to health if they are likely to be harmful to health despite the fact that they are used correctly or in a foreseeable way by the consumer group concerned, unless this is only likely if there is an abnormal reaction or under conditions which are commonly known and avoidable or against which sufficient precautions have been taken. The foodstuffs must be considered as likely to cause injury to health even if this danger only exists if they are eaten continuously (repeatedly); in this case it must be possible to foresee that the merchandise concerned could be consumed continuously or repeatedly over a period within which the cumulative effects can cause injury to health.

§ 8

If live pathogenic agents (viruses, micro-organisms or higher pathogenic organisms) or other pathogenic products of metabolism are found in or on a foodstuff tests must also be done when determining its likelihood to injure health to see whether these pathogenic agents are killed when the merchandise is used correctly or in a foreseeable way and are thus rendered harmless (e.g. by a purifying or preparatory process or by chemical or biological effects when used). However if it is feared that it is possible for these pathogenic agents to cause harmful symptoms to appear in human organisms the merchandise is to be considered as injurious to health.

§ 9

Foodstuffs which are in no way harmful to the average consumer could under certain circumstances be considered injurious to health if they are supplied specifically for a limited consumer group (e.g. diabetics, infants or small children) and are likely to cause injury to health if used correctly or in a foreseeable way by this consumer group.

§ 10

However if the merchandise is only likely to cause injury to health if the consumer reacts abnormally to it there are no grounds for complaining that the merchandise is injurious to health. Medical science shall determine what is to be considered as an abnormal reaction. If the merchandise is likely to cause injury to health not only if a consumer reacts abnormally, but also under limited but forseeable conditions of use this generally justifies considering the goods concerned as injurious to health, unless adequate measures are taken to prevent these conditions from occuring. Such measures might consist of unmistakable warnings against unsuitable uses which might be dangerous (e.g.a warning against eating excessively sulphured dried fruit in its raw condition) or unmistakable information on precautions which are not generally known and which must be observed when using the merchandise, or the dangers of ignoring such precautions.

§ 11

Excessive or unreasonable consumption of a foodstuff is one of the conditions under which an otherwise harmless product could become liable to cause injury to health. This condition alone is commonly known to be avoidable and it is the consumer's own fault if it occurs. An example is the consumption of excessive quantities of food and drink (particularly intoxicating beverages) or the simultaneous consumption of mutually ‘incompatible’ foodstuffs which can often have adverse effects on the consumer's health although the merchandise itself is of satisfactory quality. In all these cases therefore no complaint can be made against the merchandise, which would have been harmless if it had been consumed reasonably and in moderation.

Spoilage

§ 12

A foodstuff is to be considered as spoiled in particular if as a result of changes or external influences not falling under the heading of adulteration it has reached a condition so far from the consumer's justified expectations that it has partly or wholly lost its usefulness (suitability for consumption) or the keeping qualities normally to be expected of it, or if contrary to the normal and technically necessary processing it has been processed in a way which would arouse the disgust of the average consumer or otherwise prevent him from consuming the food if he were aware of these circumstances. Spoilage can under certain circumstances become injury to health. Even spoiled foodstuffs can still be useable to a limited extend and thus can be suitable for sale provided they are correctly described as being of limited usefulness and reduced in value.

Unripeness

§ 13

A foodstuff is to be considered as unripe if it is marketed before it has reached the condition in which it is fully suitable for its intended purpose, which need not necessarily be immediate use or use in an unchanged state. If an unripe foodstuff can be made fully suitable for a particular purpose by being ripened further by the purchaser and if the latter is adequately informed of the true condition of the foodstuff marketed in an unripe state either by its appearance or its labelling- and where appropriate is also informed of its limited usefulness after further ripening - an unripe foodstuff can also be suitable for sale.

Adulteration, lmitation

§ 14

A foodstuff is considered as adulterated particularly if valuable constituents, the content of which is specified, are partly or wholly abstracted, or if it is impaired by the addition of foreign substances adversely affecting its value, or if it is made to appear of better quality than it is or has a defect concealed by any addition or manipulation. Also failure to remove as specified any constituents reducing the value of a foodstuff on the market or imitating any foodstuff for the purpose of deceiving the customer are to be considered as adulteration. Adulterated or imitation foodstuffs may, if their true character is clearly recognisable or is made quite evident by suitable labelling, be suitable for sale if they do not contravene the legislation of the country of destination (see § 2). Substitute substances which are labelled as such may not be considered as adulterations.

Misleading packaging, misleading labelling, special conditions for the use of geographical names.

§ 15

A foodstuff is to be considered as misleadingly packaged or misleadingly labelled if it is offered for sale or marketed in such a way-this to include its exterior form and packing-or under such a label that the purchaser is led to expect something other than is actually offered to him or at least to expect certain qualities or other important conditions which the merchandise does not have. Such qualities or conditions may relate to the origin, the health value, the palatibility, the usefulness, the age or the quantity of the merchandise. If the misleading packaging or labelling of a foodstuff serves to deceive the purchaser about its injuriousness to health, spoilage, unripeness or adulteration, the merchandise is to be considered respectively as injurious to health, spoiled, unripe or adulterated.

§ 16

Details of origin with geographical descriptions should in principle give relevant information on the country, region or place in which the foodstuff so described was produced or manufactured or last underwent essential processing. When the processing determines the qualities of

APPENDIX E.2

Draft standard considered by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
in first reading and now referred to Governments for detailed comments.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

EXTRACT FROM THE DRAFT LATIN-AMERICAN FOOD CODE

Article 1 - Any person, commercial firm, or establishment that manufactures, packs, holds, transports, sells, exhibits or handles foods, household articles, or raw materials used for such products shall comply with the provisions of this Code.

Article 2 - Any foods and household articles, and the raw materials used for the same, which are manufactured, packed, held, transported, sold, or exhibited shall meet the requirements of this Code, and their sale shall be licensed by the competent health authority, not in any case by police authorities or entities organized under private law.

Article 3 - Any operation not mentioned in this Code as either regular or optional shall be lawful, provided that it does not modify the composition of the product, or does not introduce undesirable or prohibited extraneous elements capable of endangering the consumer or of diminishing the nutritional value of the product, and provided further that it does not change the constituent elements to an extent exceeding that of natural causes.

Article 4 - Any term defined in one section of this Code shall have the same meaning in all other sections of this Code in which it is used.

Article 5 - The following definitions are hereby established for the purposes of this code:

1. Consumer: Any person, group of persons, firm or institution that procures foods for personal consumption or for consumption by third persons.

2. Food: Any natural or artificail, processed or unprocessed product which, when ingested, supplies the body with the materials and energy it requires to perform the biological processes. By extension the term “food” shall apply also to any substances which, regardless of whether or not they have nutritional qualities, are added to foods and dishes as taste correctives or additives, or the consumption of which is customary or pleasurable and takes place with or without a nutritional purpose. Therefore, whenever reference is made in this Code to “foods”, the term means not only solid, liquid or gaseous food products, but also the raw materials used in the same and any additives added to improve their appearance, color, aroma, preservation, etc., such as acidulants, alkalizers, agents preventing violent boiling, antioxidants, aromatics, colors, sweetaners, emulsifiers, thickeners, stabilizers, foam producers, anti-foaming agents, hydrolizers, preservatives, flavors, etc.

3. Genuine, Standard or Legal Product: This term when applied to a food means any product which, meeting the regulatory specifications, does not contain any unauthorized or added substance representing an adulteration and is sold with its legal name and labeling without any legends, signs or designs which may be misleading with respect to its origin, nature or quality.

   Such products are prohibited from being called “pure”.

4. Deteriorated Food: This term means any food the intrinsic composition of which has suffered damage, deterioration or injury as a result of natural causes, such as humidity, temperature, air, light, enzymes, micro-organisms, or parasites.

5. Contaminated Food: This term means any food manufactured, handled or packed under insanitary conditions, or containing mineral or organic impurities which are undesirable, obnoxious or poisonous. It also covers any food manufactured from animals affected with a disease the agents of which may be present in the product, except in cases specifically authorized by the official veterinary inspection authorities.

6. Adulterated Food: This term means any food the valuable constituents or characteristic nutritional principles of which have been abstracted, in whole or in part, and replaced by inert or extraneous ingredients, or foods to which an excessive amount of water or other filler has been added, or which have been artificially colored or artificially treated in order to conceal deteriorations, objectionable manufacturing processes, or inferio raw materials, or to which unauthorized substances have been added, or the composition, quality or other characteristics of which do not correspond to the denomination and description under which the product is sold.

   “Extraneous elements” or “extraneous substances” in a food ready for consumption are any substances which, under this Code, are neither constituent elements nor harmless ingredients. (Technical additives used to stabilize, preserve, flavor, aromatize, or color.)

7. Misbranded Food: This term means any product which has the appearance and general characteristics of a legitimate product, regardless of whether or not the same is protected by a registered trademark, which is not the genuine product but sold as such, or does not come from the true manufacturer and zone of production known and/or declared.

Article 6 - The term “food poisoning” means a pathological process caused not only by spoiled food, but also by the ingestion of foods which, notwithstanding their normal appearance, contain products injurious to the body, which may be of vegetable, animal or mineral origin. Physicians who treat such cases of poisoning are held to report them immediately to the local health authority in order that the same may adopt the necessary measures, for which purpose it shall be given whatever information it deems necessary.

Article 7 - Articles prepared in one country which imitate products of another country shall be prepared in accordance with the processes used at the place of origin and shall meet the characteristics of the original products (Port, Malaga, Marsala, etc. wines; Roquefort, Gruyère, etc. cheeses).

Article 8 - In advertising food products (by word of mouth, over the radio, or in writing) the definitions and other requirements of this Code shall be respected.

The composition, properties, qualities, effects and nutritional value of dietetic products may be advertised only with the written approval of the competent authority.

Advertisements directed to alcoholic beverages are prohibited from recommending their consumption as providing stimulation, well-being or other sensations, in the same manner as the smoking of filter cigarettes or the use of filter cigarette-holders is not permitted to be encouraged by favouring the belief that they are harmless in this way.

Article 9 - Any countries which adopt this code shall issue broader supplementary local provisions in a body of regulations which may be named a “Food Code” or “Bromatological Code.”

Article 10 - The presence of the metals and metalloids (incidental or residual additives) listed hereinafter shall be tolerated in foods (with the exception of drinking water, fish and sellfish), provided that they are kept within the following limits: