198. The Commission adopted the recommendation of the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants to revise the footnote to the maximum level for lead in milk[86] to read “a concentration factor applies to partially or wholly dehydrated milk”.
Establishment of Interim MRLs[87]
199. The Commission discussed the proposal of the Committee to test a pilot project to use national MRLs as Interim (Step 8) Codex MRLs for limited period of time until the JMPR review became available. The proposed procedure required the Committee to notify the Commission about the proposed Interim MRLs, however it did not require the adoption of these MRLs itself; however the Commission could reject such Interim MRLs if required.
200. The Commission noted the views of the Secretariat that the SPS Agreement referred to “the standards, guidelines and recommendations established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission” but not to texts established by the Commission’s subsidiary bodies. Moreover, the Commission noted that under the Rules of Procedure subsidiary bodies prepared draft standards for submission to the Commission, but could not establish standards, interim or otherwise, themselves.
201. The Commission approved work on the pilot project with the understanding that the Proposed Interim (Step 8) MRLs would be submitted for the adoption by the Commission. The Commission drew the attention of the Committee to the need for scientific integrity and consistency with Principles for Risk Analysis for the Application in the Framework of the Codex Alimentarius. It also noted that national data requirements for the proposed Interim MRLs should meet criteria for the submission of data for JMPR and that procedural questions that might arise from this process should be considered carefully.
Reduction of an Extraneous Burden from the work of the JMPR
202. The Commission noted an excessive workload of JMPR and in order to streamline its work agreed to propose to the JMPR to restrict its review of environmental fate to those areas specifically related to the estimation of dietary exposure and the estimation of MRLs.
203. The Commission revised the Codex Maximum Residues Limit of Dihydrostreptomycin/Streptomycin in cow’s milk as a full MRL as recommended by the 14th Session of the Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods.
Proposed Draft Revised Code of Practice for the Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods[89]
203. The Commission noted the request of advice of the Committee as to best way to consider the above Code taking into account the relevance of the document for its work. The Commission agreed that there was a need for such Code and had an exchange of views on the available options to move forward the document in the Codex Step Procedure.
204. The Commission recognized the dual nature of the Code covering food safety and quality issues of quick frozen foods and considered that a joint meeting of the interested committees, including the Committee on Food Hygiene and the Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables might be convened to address the matter.
205. The Commission agreed that US Secretariat assisted by the Codex Secretariat would revise the Code in light of the comments submitted while considering whether the scope of the Code applied to quick frozen foods in general or only to certain food categories (e.g. quick frozen fruits and vegetables). The revised Code would be then circulated for comments and consideration by a joint meeting of the Committees on Food Hygiene and Processed Fruits and Vegetables that would be convened to develop the Code through the Codex Step Procedure.
Proposed Draft Codex Standard for Ginseng[90]
Proposal to develop Codex Standards for Fermented Soybean Paste (doenjang) and Hot Pepper Fermented Soybean Paste (Gochujang)[91]
206. The Commission noted that the 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables discontinued work on the elaboration of a Codex Standard for Ginseng and sought the advice of the Commission as to which Codex Committee might have the expertise to undertake the consideration of this product.
207. The Commission recalled that at its 22nd Session[92] it had agreed that “standardization of potentially harmful herbs and botanical preparations sold as foods was a matter for national authorities to address, ... and deleted this topic from the Commission’s programme of work.” However, the Commission noted that the 49th Session of the Executive Committee (Geneva, September 2001) had entrusted the elaboration of a Codex Standard for Ginseng inclusive to all varieties as new work for the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables.
208. The Delegation of the Republic of Korea, supported by a number of delegations, proposed that the Standard be developed by the Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia. The Delegation indicated that the Standard would cover those aspects of ginseng related to food only.
209. Some delegations expressed concern on the development of an international Codex Standard for Ginseng as this product was not regulated as a food in their national legislations. Other delegations stressed that standardization of ginseng should be restricted to its use as a food and should not involve any medicinal claims. A number of delegations indicated that ginseng was a commodity grown in countries outside the Asian region and therefore, an international standard inclusive to all varieties was necessary. These delegations also indicated that the development of an inclusive worldwide standard would take into account the concern of all Codex member countries.
210. The Commission agreed that the Republic of Korea should prepare a project document on purposes of the Standard, its importance, the main aspects to be covered and the time-line envisaged for its development for the next Session of the Executive Committee. It was agreed that a similar document should also be prepared for fermented soybean paste (doenjang) and hot pepper fermented soybean paste (gochujang). This decision was taken as part of the reviewed functions of the Executive Committee as standard management body agreed upon by the present Session of the Commission. The Commission further agreed that, subject to approval of the Executive Committee, work on the standardization of these products should be entrusted to the Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia and finalization by the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables. The Delegation of Singapore expressed its reservation on the decision for ginseng. The Commission also noted the concerns of IADSA about this decision.
211. The Commission approved the recommendation of the Committee Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems to discontinue work on the elaboration of the proposed draft guidelines for the utilization and promotion of Quality Assurance Systems to meet Requirements in Relation to Food.
212. The Commission considered the request from the Committee on Fats and Oils to elaborate evaluation criteria for substances to be included in the List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes as well as to evaluate the substances proposed in the current List at Step 4. The Commission was of the opinion that the elaboration of criteria was a risk management procedure that should be conducted by the Committee rather than as a risk assessment procedure by JECFA. The Delegations of the United States and Canada objected to this opinion since, according to these delegations, the Committee had insufficient competence to manage the list due to lack of clear procedure for amending the list, and that the list could not be revised in a timely manner. The Commission requested FAO and WHO to convene an expert consultation in order to assist the Committee to develop risk management principles which would include evaluation criteria for inclusion of the substances in lists of acceptable cargoes. The Secretariat of JECFA expressed the view that JECFA could provide technical advice to the Committee on risk assessment and evaluation of substances.
Codex General Standard for Vegetable Juices (CODEX-STAN 179-1991)[95]
213. The Commission agreed with the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Fruit and Vegetable Juices to discontinue work on the revision of the Codex General Standard for Vegetable Juices. In taking this decision, the Commission further agreed to withdraw the Standard from the Codex Alimentarius.
Country of Origin Labelling
214. The Commission recalled that the 49th (Extraordinary) Session of the Executive Committee had not approved new work on an amendment to the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods concerning the labelling of country of origin but suggested that further discussion on this question was appropriate. The Committee on Food Labelling, following discussions held at its 30th and 31st Sessions, had agreed to discontinue consideration of this issue due to lack of consensus.
215. Many delegations and observers that spoke expressed their support for continued work on country of origin labelling in order to clarify existing provisions and to prevent consumer confusion. The Delegation of France noted that such work would not necessarily lead to the revision of the General Standard but might lead to the development of guidelines to facilitate its interpretation.
216. Several other delegations that spoke opposed new work in this area as the current provisions adequately addressed the need for consumer information. They also expressed concern with a duplication of the work undertaken by WTO and the World Customs Organization (WCO) on rules of origin. One delegation pointed out that the WTO Rules of Origin were related to tariff issues, whereas Codex work on food labelling addressed the need for consumer information.
217. The Commission, recognizing that there was no consensus, agreed to ask the Committee on Food Labelling to continue the discussion on country of origin labelling. It also requested the Committee to report to the next session of the Commission when there would be a final decision taken regarding the approval of new work.
Proposed Draft Standard for Live and Processed Bivalve Molluscs
218. The Commission recalled that the Committee had asked FAO and WHO to provide scientific advice on biotoxins in conjunction with its work on the Proposed Draft Standard for Live and Processed Bivalve Molluscs.
219. The Commission agreed that risk assessment of biotoxins, although it could be covered by JECFA, would be more adequately addressed by a specific expert consultation in view of its specificity. The Commission recalled that several requests for scientific advice had been formulated, and that they would be subject to the availability of funds and the appropriate expertise and data. The Commission therefore agreed that this request should be considered by the Executive Committee, that would review and prioritize all requests for scientific advice.
Expert Consultation on Enterobacter Genus[98]
220. The Commission noted the necessity to address concerns with pathogens that may be present in infant formula and agreed that an expert consultation on the Enterobacter genus, including Enterobacter sakazakii, and Clostridium botulinum should be added to the list of requests for scientific advice from FAO and WHO for consideration and prioritization by the Executive Committee.
Guidelines for the Preservation of Raw Milk by Use of the Lactoperoxidase System (CAC/GL 13-1991)[99]
221. The Commission recalled the request to examine the use of Lactoperoxidase system for the preservation of raw milk for products intended for international trade originating from the Committee on Milk and Milk Products[100] and the request of an expert FAO group to examine amendments to the Guidelines. The Commission noted clarification provided by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (ALINORM 03/13A, paras. 9-12) and endorsed its views as follows:
the system should continue to be restricted to use in countries where appropriate refrigeration facilities were not available and not for international trade purposes;
microbiological data were not clear in order to determine how effective this system was for the control of food borne pathogens and what the microbiological consequences would be of its long-term use;
concluded that the current restrictions excluding the use of the lactoperoxidase system for products intended for international trade should continue to be applied;
there was no need for the revision of the existing Guidelines and that a JECFA review was not needed.
222. The Commission also noted that future consideration of this matter would depend on the availability of adequate microbiological and chemical risk assessments of process.
Expert Consultation on Functional Foods
223. The Commission agreed to request FAO and WHO to hold an Expert Consultation on Functional Foods in the list of the requests for scientific advice. It noted that this request would also be considered by the Executive Committee when prioritizing the requests for expert advice.
Asian Forum of Food Safety Regulators
224. The Commission noted the report from the Delegation of FAO on the preparatory process of the Asian Forum of Food Safety Regulators that would be held in Malaysia in 2004 as noted under the Agenda Item 12.
Regional Standard for Mayonnaise[102]
225. The Commission agreed that work on the revision of the Regional Standard for Mayonnaise should be discontinued and that the Standard should be withdrawn from the Codex Alimentarius.
African Conference on Food Safety[103]
226. The Commission noted that the Forums/Conferences on Food Safety for food safety regulators were or are being organized in certain regions of the world and supported the idea of holding such events in Africa and other regions, subject availability of funding.
227. The Commission noted that the Committee had commenced work on Guidelines for Codex Contact Points and National Codex Committee for the Near East (See Appendix VIII).
Animal Feeding
228. The Commission noted the report of the Chairperson of the ad hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding[104].
Foods derived from Biotechnology[105]
229. The Chairman of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods derived from Biotechnology reported the outline of the activities and outcome of the Task Force. Several delegations expressed their appreciation to Japan and stressed the importance to continue work on safety assessment of foods derived from biotechnology in Codex.
230. The Commission considered the proposal to establish a new Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology and requested Japan to submit a proposal on the new Task Force including Terms of Reference for consideration at the next session. Such a proposal would be formulated in consultation with the Codex Secretariat as appropriate, taking account of the need and priority expressed by Codex Member Countries, including the suggestions made at the 4th session of the Ad Hoc Task Force. It was also suggested that the proposed Terms of Reference should be based on the criteria for the establishment of the subsidiary body with precise terms of reference, project proposal and time frame. Some delegations emphasized the need to have the necessary science available before initiating work on any particular topic. The Representative of WHO referred to the importance of scientific inputs by joint FAO/WHO expert consultations in this area.
Fruit and Vegetable Juices[106]
231. The Delegation of Brazil informed the Commission on the work carried out since the establishment of the Task Force in 2000. It was noted that the Task Force would need to meet one more session to finalize the minimum Brix levels for certain fruit juices to complete its work.
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[84] ALINORM 03/26/14.
[85] ALINORM 03/12A para 148. [86] CODEX STAN 230-2001. [87] ALINORM 03/24A, paras. 176-186; CAC/26 LIM.12 (Comments of The United States of America). [88] ALINORM 03/31A, para. 25. [89] ALINORM 03/27, paras. 75-88. [90] ALINORM 03/27, paras. 75-88; CAC/26 LIM.9 (Comments from the Republic of Korea). [91] ALINORM 03/27, paras. 102-108; CAC/26 LIM.9 (Comments from the Republic of Korea). [92] ALINORM 97/37, para. 151. [93] ALINORM 03/30A para 20. [94] ALINORM 03/17, ALINORM 03/26/14. [95] ALINORM 03/39A, paras. 90-92; CAC/26 LIM.11 (Comments from the United States of America). [96] ALINORM 03/22A, paras. 114-119. [97] ALINORM 03/18, para. 92. [98] ALINORM 03/13A, paras 167-173. [99] ALINORM 03/13, paras 9-12. [100] ALINORM 03/11, paras 11-13. [101] ALINORM 03/15, ALINORM 03/26/14. [102] ALINORM 03/19, para 9. [103] ALINORM 03/28, para. 52. [104] CAC/26 LIM.7. [105] CAC/26 INF/9 (comments of ICFO), CAC/26 LIM.6. [106] CAC/LIM.13 (Report of the Chairperson of the Ad Hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Fruit and Vegetable Juices). |
