51. The Commission received reports on the activities of the undermentioned international organizations:
52. The Commission had before it a progress report on the activities of the Working Party on Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs of the Economic Commission for Europe. The ECE representative drew attention to the main features of the report and also gave information as regards further progress which had been achieved since the report had been drafted. The Commission took note that the recommendations for Unshelled Hazelnuts, Decorticated Hazelnuts, Walnuts in Shell, Cultivated Mushrooms, Leeks and Raspberries would be before the next session of the Working Party for consideration for adoption as European standards and the Draft Standard for Unshelled Pistachio Nuts would be considered for adoption as a recommendation. The ECE representative expressed the satisfaction of his Organization regarding the excellent cooperation which existed between the Economic Commission for Europe and the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the continued progress being made in the work of the two Joint Groups of Experts on the Standardization of Quick Frozen Foods and Fruit Juices.
53. The Commission had before it a report prepared by the Secretariat of the IOOC. The representative of IOOC gave a résumé of the work done by his Organization on standards for olive oils and table olives. The Commission expressed its appreciation of the excellent cooperation from IOOC in the development of the Draft Standard for Olive Oil, Virgin and Refined, and for Refined Residue Olive Oils (Refined Olive Residue Oils). The Commission noted with satisfaction the cooperation between IOOC and the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables in the development of a Codex Standard for Table Olives.
54. The Commission had before it a report prepared by Technical Committee 34 of the ISO. The ISO representative briefly reviewed the contents of the report, which set out the activities and programme of work of ISO on the testing and sampling, handling, transportation, storage and packaging of agricultural food products as well as on problems of terminology. It was noted that some 170 Recommendations were under consideration by ISO. The ISO representative drew particular attention to the close collaboration which existed between this Organization and the Commission, which enabled any overlap of activities to be avoided.
55. The Commission had before it a report prepared by the Secretariat of the Commission of the EEC which set out the present state of the work of the Community in the field of harmonization of food legislation. The report indicated that general regulations covering packaging materials, dietetic foods, low-sodium dietetic foods, foods for infants and children, labelling, preserves and canned foods, sampling procedures and irradiation were in the course of preparation. It also summarized the state of the work within the Commission of the Community on food additives (colours, preservatives, antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, gelling agents, aromatic substances and artificial sweeteners) and on commodities or commodity groups.
56. The Commission took note of a paper prepared by the Secretariat of the OECD, summarizing the standardization activities of the OECD in the field of fruits and vegetables and livestock products. The paper drew the Commission's attention to the fact that the OECD Descriptive System for Carcases of Bovine and Porcine Species was considered by the Committee for Agriculture at its 23rd Session (April 1966, AGR/T(65)31), and that the above Committee agreéd not to publish the Descriptive System but to submit it to the Codex Alimentarius Commission as an aid in its developing of meat descriptions (see Appendix II, ALINORM 70/17). As regards the OECD Code of Sanitary Regulations for Internationa Trade in Slaughter Livestock and Fresh Meat (AGR/T(66)1, Second Revision), the Commission noted that this Code was nearing finalization. The Commission expressed its appreciation of the close cooperation between OECD and the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products. The Commission noted the work being done by the OECD in the development of interpretive brochures for the European standards for fresh fruits and vegetables.
57. The Commission had before it a report prepared by the Secretariat of the Council of Europe (Partial Agreement). The representative of the above Council drew the Commission's attention to the work done by the Sub-Committee on Poisonous Substances in Agriculture and the Sub-Committee for the Health Control of Foodstuffs, in the fields of pesticides and food additives, respectively. The Commission noted that work carried out by the Council of Europe (Partial Agreement) on natural and artificial flavours and packaging materials was of particular interest to the Codex Committee on Food Additives, which was awaiting the Council's reports on these subjects. In reply to the delegation of Ghana, the representative of the Council of Europe (Partial Agreement) stated that countries wishing to obtain reports of the Council should write to the Council's Secretariat. The Commission looked forward to receiving in due course the recommendations of the Council of Europe (Partial Agreement) on the subject of flavours and packaging materials.
58. The Commission had before it a short résumé of the activities within FAO and WHO on food additives, pesticide residues, food irradiation, food hygiene and food legislation. The representative of WHO briefly summarized the future activities of the Joint FAO/ WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Appreciation was expressed concerning the expert advice provided by the above Committee as well as the Joint FAO Working Party of Experts on Pesticide Residues and the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues to the Commission, particularly in respect of the acceptable daily intake of chemicals found in food.
59. The delegation of Canada expressed concern about the levels of mercury found in food, especially fish, in certain areas, and recommended that the Commission regard this as an urgent matter requiring consideration by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives at its 1970 meeting or at the earliest possible opportunity. Several delegations were in support of this recommendation. The Secretariat pointed out that the question of environmental pollution by mercury had been considered by FAO and that this matter had been brought to the attention of Member Governments; furthermore, that the Codex Committee on Food Additives, at its last session, had referred the question of mercury to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives for consideration in 1971. A large number of delegations attached importance to this question and the Commission agreed to request the Directors-General of FAO and WHO to consider how to deal with this problem as soon as possible.
60. The delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany drew the Commission's attention to the desirability of holding a third Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives to provide guidance to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives on matters such as the evaluation of the technological efficacy of food additives, means of dealing with urgent problems, such as that raised by the delegation of Canada, and other matters relating to the control of food additives. The Secretariat informed the Commission that this question had been raised in the FAO Programme Committee and that provision had been made tentatively for holding the Food Additives Conference. It was however considered important to know in greater detail what the items would be which the Conference would discuss. The delegation of Canada suggested that the Conference might discuss possible ways of dealing with urgent matters concerning health as well as the problem of exchange of information on an international level. As regards the former, the representative of WHO pointed out that this question was under consideration in WHO.
61. The delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to prepare a working paper setting out the subjects which a Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives might discuss. The Commission decided that such a working paper should be put before the next session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and that the working paper together with the views expressed by the Codex Committee on Food Additives should be submitted to the Commission at its next session. This would enable the Commission to express an opinion as to the desirability of holding a third Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives.
62. The delegation of Canada pointed out that at a session of the Agriculture Committee of GATT the need for work in the field of harmonization of food legislation to remove non-tariff barriers to international trade was discussed. The delegate representing Canada at that session of GATT pointed out the extensive work already done by the Commission in this field. The Commission agreed that, in order to avoid duplication of work, the Director-General of FAO should be requested to communicate with that Organization offering on behalf of the Commission, cooperation and technical information in the form of standards, definitions for food products and other related matters.
