JECFA Guidelines and Tools
The committee follows in its work modern principles of risk assessment, however, such different chemicals occurring intentionally or unintentionally in food as flavours and industrial contaminants pose different questions. Therefore a set of guidelines have been developed by the joint secretariats. These documents provide guidance to the secretaries, members and experts, and to interested parties that submit data or intend to follow JECFA's recommendations. Both joint secretariats maintain separate and complementary sets of guidelines. Close adherence to these guidelines by everyone involved ensures that the concerns and views of all interested parties are taken into account in the decisions of JECFA and that the independence and integrity of the evaluations are maintained.
Guidelines in the area of residues of veterinary drugs in foods
Guidelines in the area of residues of veterinary drugs in foods
- Guidance on the process and procedures for members and experts invited to attend a meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) on the evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs in foods (Module I), FAO JECFA Secretariat, 03/2016
The guidance contained in this document is intended to inform the FAO Joint Secretary, Members of JECFA appointed by FAO, FAO Experts invited to participate in a JECFA Meeting and Sponsors regarding their roles and responsibilities in the evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs in food by JECFA. Annex 1 outlines the procedures by which veterinary drugs may be placed on the agenda for a JECFA Meeting, while Annex 2 outlines the procedures for issuing the call for data. - Scientific guidelines for the preparation of veterinary drug residue monographs, working papers and related summary documents for Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) drafting experts and reviewers assigned by FAO (Module II), FAO JECFA Secretariat, 03/2016
- Templates and instructional guides for preparation of monograph and summary documents by members and experts invited by FAO to attend a meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) on the evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs in foods (Module III), FAO JECFA Secretariat, 03/2016
This module contains a series of templates in Part II which are intended to assist drafting experts and reviewers in the preparation of documents for a JECFA Meeting, including monographs for the initial review of substances (Template 1), monographs for re-evaluation of a substance, published as an Addendum (Template 2), monographs responding to specific questions from the CCRVDF or concern forms from Codex member states (Template 3) and discussion papers (Template 4). Templates for the summary documents corresponding to these monographs and discussion papers are provided in Templates 5-8. - Procedures for Recommending Maximum Residue Limits - Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food (1987 1999), FAO & WHO, 2000
This manuscript documents the procedures developed by JECFA for the evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs in food. It includes in many instances, the historical development leading to the current procedures. In consolidating the pertinent evaluation procedures, it is intended to provide guidance to present and future members of JECFA and to provide transparency on how the food safety assessments performed by JECFA for residues of veterinary drugs in food are conducted. While informative for establishing ADIs and recommending MRLs, it is not intended to be a prescriptive document on how Member Governments might develop their national regulations for residues of veterinary drugs in food. - Report of the informal JECFA/JMPR Harmonization Meeting, Rome, Italy, 1-2 February 1999, FAO & WHO, 1999
The Codex Committee on Residue of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) at its 11th session recommended a Harmonization Meeting on residue definitions and other issues relating to the use of chemicals both as veterinary drugs and as pesticides. The main task of the meeting was to have informal exchange of information related to the same chemical, which is of interest to both parties, to come up with only one recommendation on definitions of terms and MRL, used both as pesticide and as veterinary drug.
Guidelines in the area of contaminants & food additives
Guidelines in the area of contaminants & food additives
- FAO procedural guidelines for the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, FAO Joint Secretariat to JECFA, 02/2003
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is convened by FAO and WHO under their respective terms of reference for Expert Committees. This document describes the procedures used by FAO in its evaluation of food additives and contaminants. The guidelines outline the tasks of the FAO Joint Secretariat and its role in servicing JECFA, time schedules to be followed in preparing for meetings, the appropriate handling of data, and appropriate relationships with sponsors and other data providers. Supplemental material is included that outlines the procedures by which substances may be placed on the agenda (Annex 1) and procedures for issuing the call for data (Annex 2). The guidelines are designed to provide guidance to the FAO Joint Secretary, FAO Consultants, Members and sponsors relating their roles and responsibilities in dealing with the evaluation of food additives and contaminants. - FAO guidelines on the structure and content of the document called "Chemical and Technical Assessment (CTA)", FAO Joint Secretariat to JECFA, 02/2003
Chemical & Technical Assessments (CTA) reflects and emphasizes the role chemical characterization plays in the risk assessment of food additives. The document is prepared by an expert assigned before the meeting and is intended to provide the Committee with the basic information related to identity, purity and use of the food additive, as related to its risk assessment. CTAs usually contain a summary of the chemistry of the additive, its manufacture, its technological justification and its intended use levels and patterns. - Guidance document for WHO monographers and reviewers evaluating contaminants in food and feed, WHO, 2017
This guidance document replaces the previous guidance for the risk assessment of contaminants in food by Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) monographers and reviewers, issued by WHO in 2001. It is intended primarily for WHO Temporary Advisers (monographers) who prepare monographs for JECFA and for Members (reviewers) who have been assigned to peer review them. The guidance will also be useful to parties interested in understanding the process followed by JECFA in the evaluation of contaminants that may be present in food or feed – for example, heavy metals, environmental contaminants, impurities arising in food or feed additives, solvents used in food or feed processing, other substances arising from food or feed processes such as heating, substances migrating from food or feed contact materials, and residues arising from the use of animal feed additives or the non-active components of veterinary drug formulations. - Limit test for heavy metals in food additive specifications, Explanatory note, FAO Joint Secretariat, 09/2002
- Guidelines for the preparation of working papers on intake of food additives for the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), Joint JECFA Secretariat, 01/2001
First edition of guidelines for the preparation of working papers on the intake of food additives for the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), primarily intended for WHO Temporary Advisers, FAO Consultants, and Members who prepare working papers on intake for the Committee. - Combined compendium of food additive specifications JECFA, All specifications monographs from the 1st to the 65th meeting (1956–2005), 2nd Edition, Volume 4: Analytical methods, test procedures and laboratory solutions used by and referenced in the food additive specifications, FAO JECFA Monographs, 1, 2006 (2nd edition of the FAO Food and Nutrition paper 5 published in 1978 and revised in 1991)
This fourth volume includes the revised and updated analytical methods, test procedures and laboratory solutions used in and referenced by JECFA food additive specifications, which first appeared in FAO Food and Nutrition paper 5 “Guide to Specifications”, published in 1978 and revised in 1991, plus newer procedures and an expanded section on laboratory instrumentation.
Research Articles
Assessment of veterinary drug residues in food: Considerations when dealing with sub-optimal data
CODEX Resources
Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA) Online Database
Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) and Risk Management Recommendations (RMRs) for Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods, Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), Codex Alimentarius
Commission
Procedural Manual, Codex Alimentarius Commission, 26th edition, WHO & FAO, 2018
(To access previous versions of the Procedural Manual please contact the Codex Secretariat: [email protected])