APPENDIX VI
PROCEDURE FOR THE ELABORATION OF
MILK AND MILK PRODUCT STANDARDS

STEP 1:

The Joint FAO/WHO Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products decides on the elaboration of an international standard, collects information from the governments concerned on their national standards and other relative data and forwards copies of this information to the International Dairy Federation for the development of the first draft of an international standard.

STEP 2:

The IDF prepares a draft standard taking into account any information supplied by Member Governments or otherwise available. A report, accompanied by the draft standard, is sent to the Committee's Secretariat by IDF for distribution to Member States of FAO and WHO as a working paper for the next session of the Committee.

STEP 3:

The Committee's conclusions on the draft standard together with the draft standard as may be amended by the Committee, are published in the report of the session and are sent by the Secretariat to Member States of FAO and WHO for comment.

STEP 4:

The Committee considers the draft standard in the light of government comments and amends or revises the draft standard, if appropriate.

STEP 5: ¹

The draft standard as amended is sent out to governments for further comments.

STEP 6: ¹

The Committee further considers the draft standard in the light of government comments and adopts the final text as a recommended standard.

STEP 7:

The recommended standard is submitted by the Secretariat to governments for acceptance.

¹ It shall be open to the Committee to authorize the omission of Steps 5 and 6 of the Procedure if it considers, without dissent, that the completion of the standard is entirely uncontroversial and that the standard has already proved to be generally agreeable to the Committee.

STEP 8:

The recommended standard is published as a standard in the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products or the Codex Alimentarius as appropriate when the Committee determines that it is appropriate to do so in the light of the acceptances received.