211. The Commission had before it document ALINORM 70/29 and Addenda containing the views of governments on the question whether it would be desirable to establish standards for soups and broths.
212. The delegation of Switzerland stated that, as indicated at the last session of the Commission, the Government of Switzerland was willing to accept responsibility for the Chairmanship of a Codex Committee to elaborate world-wide standards for soups and broths. The Commission noted that the Coordinating Committee for Europe was also willing to undertake the elaboration of standards for these products on a regional basis.
213. The delegation of the United States proposed that the question of establishing a Committee on Soups and Broths should be postponed until 1973 and that meanwhile the Codex Committees on Food Hygiene and Food Additives should consider whether any provisions on soups and broths were required within their spheres of activity. A number of delegations pointed out that it would be difficult for these subjects to be dealt with without a Codex Commodity Committee to consider the general compositional factors to which hygiene and additive provisions would have to be related.
214. A number of delegations supported the views put forward by the United States delegation and considered that work on soups and broths was not urgent. Other delegations thought that work should be started as soon as possible and that advantage should be taken of the offer of the delegation of Switzerland to set up a Committee as soon as was reasonably possible.
215. In view of this difference of opinion, the Commission agreed that:
the delegation of Switzerland, in consultation with the Secretariat, should prepare first drafts of standards for soups and broths with the right to consult, as they should deem necessary, after consultation with the Secretariat, the Codex Committees on Food Hygiene, Food Additives and Food Labelling;
the Secretariat should inform the Executive Committee as necessary of any action they took in regard to the preparation of the draft standards and generally of the progress of the work;
the delegation of Switzerland should present to the Tenth Session of the Commission a paper containing draft standards and the Commission should then decide whether a Codex Committee on Soups and Broths should be set up.
216. The Commission had before it ALINORM 70/35 and Addenda dealing with a possible programme of work for the Commission over the next ten years. The paper covered:
continuation of existing work of subsidiary bodies of the Commission;
proposals as to possible new subjects for consideration by the Commission;
the views and recommendations of the 14th session of the Executive Committee on these proposals;
suggestions of governments regarding possible future work for the Commission, and
suggestions of governments regarding possible future work for the Coordinating Committee for Europe which had now completed its current work.
217. As regards possible future activity of the Commission, a number of African countries again drew attention to the desirability of setting up a Coordinating Committee for Africa (future action in connection with this subject is dealt with in paragraphs 38–47 of this Report).
218. Some African delegations requested the Secretariat to consider whether any further steps could be taken to strengthen the position of Codex Contact Points in Africa with regard to the dissemination of information on the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It was also stated that pesticide residues posed a serious threat in Africa and that it would be useful if regional reference laboratories could be set up in Africa by FAO/WHO to analyse samples collected from different parts of the continent. This would enable African countries to have uniform techniques. The Commission considered that the setting up of regional reference laboratories was a matter for both Organizations.
219. A number of delegations from African countries thought that it would be necessary during the course of the next ten years to give some technological guidance to the food industries in Africa and to make food manufacturers in the continent more aware of the work of the Commission.
220. A number of delegations from tropical countries thought that it would be desirable to develop standards for tropical foods, taking into consideration any information available from food technology research institutions in the tropics or elsewhere which might be relevant. It was indicated that work had already commenced in this field within the framework of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables and the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on Standardization of Fruit Juices.
221. A number of delegations drew attention to the desirability of arranging for the exchange of information on the toxicity of food additives. The Commission agreed that this would be desirable and requested WHO to examine whether arrangements could be made to facilitate the exchange of toxicity data on an international basis.
222. Dr. M. Autret, Director of the Nutrition Division of FAO, outlined the work that had been going on on protein-rich foods for a number of years, particularly in the field of preparing guidelines for manufacture and standards. It was hoped that within the next one to two years specifications would be finalized for a number of foods which might then be submitted to the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses. The Commission noted the work being done on this subject by the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses, but thought that, apart from this, no further work should be contemplated for some years.
223. The Secretariat indicated that in addition to the papers which it was preparing on cereal products and on tropical tubers it was preparing a paper on coffee and was collecting material to form the basis of a paper on alcoholic beverages. The Secretariat had not been in a position to start work on a paper dealing with pulses but would do so as soon as possible. The Secretariat also indicated that it had been collecting information on soft drinks. As regards eggs and egg products, the Commission noted that the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene was developing a code of hygienic practice for these products and that the international trade in eggs in shell did not appear to warrant work being commenced on this product at this time.
224. A number of delegates strongly supported the proposal that cereal products should be the subject of future work by the Commission.
225. The Commission recognized that it would be difficult to proceed with further work in the next two or three years in view of the present workload. The Commission agreed that the Secretariat should continue to work on the basis of the proposal made by the Executive Committee in the Report of its Fourteenth Session, taking into account the points made by the delegations during the present discussion. The Secretariat should put the papers they prepared on the products concerned before the Commission as seemed most appropriate in the light of the then existing workload of the Commission. The Commission agreed that the Secretariat should take note of the work of ISO in the fields covered by the proposed papers. As regards spices and condiments, the Commission noted the need for work to be undertaken on hygienic practices, in addition to the work being done by ISO on spices.
226. The Commission noted a suggestion by the delegation of France on the possibility that developing countries might be able to accept Codex standards in respect of their imports while applying less rigorous standards to their home production. Several delegations considered that there were serious difficulties in this suggestion. The Commission decided not to proceed with this suggestion until such time as the acceptance procedure came to be reviewed.
227. Several delegations drew attention to the importance of the harmonization of the general principles on which food legislation was established. The Commission considered that further attention might need to be given to this subject by the Codex Committee on General Principles at a future session. In the meantime, the Secretariat should continue with the activities outlined in paragraph 44 of this Report, in assisting developing countries to establish sound basic food legislation to enable these countries to be in a better position to accept Codex standards.
