34. The Committee recalled that its 24th Session had considered the Draft Guidelines at Step 7 and. made a number of amendments, and returned the draft guidelines to Step 6 for further government comments. On the basis of the comments received to Circular Letter 1996/23-FL, a revised draft was prepared by Ms. Ruth Lovisolo (Australia), consultant to the Codex Secretariat, and was circulated as a working paper[4].
35. Ms. Lovisolo, Chairperson of the ad hoc Working Group which had met prior to and during the session, indicated that it had thoroughly reviewed Sections 5-8 and the Annexes with the exception of Annex 3.B. However, due to lack of time, it was not able to review the Foreword and Sections 1-4, which had previously been reviewed at the last meeting.
36. The Committee noted that consideration of the provisions regarding livestock production had been deferred and would be integrated into ongoing work. It also noted that criteria had been established for determining substances complying with the principles of organic production.
37. The Committee expressed its appreciation of the achievement and progress made by the Working Group and examined its proposals for amendment of the draft guidelines section by section.
38. While the Committee agreed to endorse the proposals of the Working Group for amendments, it did not reach consensus to advance the document to Step 8, in view of the reservations expressed by many delegations on a number of issues throughout the text.
39. Such issues included, among others, the extent to which the guidelines should be detailed, particularly in respect of the list of ingredients allowed for the processing of organic products, as well as the comments of the EC, in particular on Sections 5.1 (a) and 5.1 (b) (criteria for the inclusion of substances used for fertilization, plant disease and pest control).
40. Some delegations suggested to narrow the scope of the guidelines to labelling issues with a view to finalizing them rapidly, or to provide for supplementary resources; other delegations stressed the need for further consultations in the Working Group.
41. The Committee noted the need for ongoing resources to complete the development of the guidelines and to ensure their regular review.
Status of the Draft Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods
42. The Committee agreed that the Draft Guidelines, as amended at the present session, should be returned to Step 6 for government comments (see Appendix III). The Committee agreed that the Working Group should pursue its work at its next Session.
