67. The Committee noted that the present paper had been included on its Agenda at the request of the Executive Committee[21]. The paper explored various options to facilitate trade by the elaboration of guidelines which could be applied in situations when Codex MRLs were non-existent or when importing countries applied default zero tolerances which were not scientifically based. The paper included four specific recommendations for the Committee's consideration. The recommendations had been proposed with a view to supplementing the application of Codex MRLs wherever possible. The recommendations were based on the principle that whatever the circumstances there should be no increased risk to consumers' health.
68. Although there was support from some Delegations for the views expressed in the paper, serious concerns were expressed as to the general direction of the paper. It was suggested that those issues raised in the paper which concentrated on bilateral arrangements between countries were outside the mandate of Codex. Moreover, the proposals seemed to transfer the burden of proof of the safety of food from the producer and exporter to the importer. It was also suggested that the proposals would weaken the progress of the CAC in developing comprehensive MRLs to protect the consumer and facilitate trade.
69. The Committee noted that one recommendation, that of establishing temporary MRLs, did merit consideration and that the Committee had already taken steps in this direction (see paras. 34 and 47, above). It agreed not to pursue the development of harmonized guidelines for establishing temporary tolerances at the national level, or any of the other recommendations contained in the paper.
