WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/263
6 July 2001
(01-3374)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  Spanish
ACTIONS AIMED AT IMPLEMENTING THE AGREEMENT ON
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Information presented by the Inter-American Institute
for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
The observer organizations have been invited to present written reports on the activities
undertaken to promote awareness and implementation of the WTO Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  Accordingly, IICA presents the following descriptions of some
of the initiatives already undertaken or to be undertaken in pursuit of this objective:
Module on "Public/Private Coordination" of the Ex ecutive Series on Leadership in Food Safety
1. With the attendance of persons from the public and private sectors of 20 countries of the
Americas, the first module of the Executive Series on Leadership in Food Safety was held in CostaRica from 23 to 29 June.  This is the first of four modules to promote leadership in carrying out
comprehensive policies in the field of food safety.  Former Heads of State, high-ranking staff from
private companies and senior officials from publ ic institutions were among those who analysed
successful cases where intersectoral coordination was crucial in achieving the planned objectives.
The collaboration of the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture of the
United States in this first module were of great importance.  The next module will be held in
October 2001 in Canada in conjunction with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the emphasiswill be on the laws, regulations and ethics relating to food safety.  (Training and service
infrastructure)
Strengthening of the CARICOM countries in the Codex Alimentarius  and modernization of the
inspection systems
2. From 29 May to 1 June 2001 workshops on the Codex Alimentarius  for the CARICOM
countries and on the modernization of food inspection systems were held in Guelph, Canada.  They
were the result of collaboration between the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Health
Canada (HC) and IICA and involved 10 CARICOM countries.
3. In the workshop on the Codex Alimentarius  presentations were given on the level of
development of food safety in the various countries, the main problems confronting the region in
achieving active participation in the Codex Alimentarius  were identified and specific measures were
proposed in order to solve such problems.  The workshop on modernization focused on the new
challenges of institutionalization and its implications for achieving competitiveness in the field of
food safety.  (Training and service infrastructure)
Seminar on foot-and-mouth disease and b ovine spongiform encephalopathy  (BSE)
4. On the initiative of the private sector in Costa Rica and in collaboration with  IICA a seminar
was held on 4 June on the technical and trade implications of foot-and-mouth disease and BSE, andG/SPS/GEN/263
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on the challenges for the public and private sectors with regard to the use and state of advance of the
science in these fields.  The event was organized in conjunction with Harvard University, the Ministry
of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Urugua y and the public and private sector in Costa Rica.
(Service infrastructure)
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy and international trade
5. With the participation of the national animal health authorities of the countries of the enlarged
MERCOSUR and the private sector an international symposium was held in Asunción, Paraguay, on
28-30 March 2001 to draw up a plan of action for the development and implementation of policies
and technical procedures for the prevention of BSE through a system of active epidemiological
surveillance and the introduction of an early warning health system.  (Service infrastructure)
Meeting on animal and plant health and food safety for Canada, the United States and Mexico
6. This meeting took place on 6 June 2001 in Washington D.C. with the participation of the
Governments of these three countries and in conjunction with IICA.  As a result of their discussions
the participants agreed to work to gether for future meetings on subjects such as equivalent standards
between North America and the MERCOSUR c ountries, certification, biotechnology and the
interpretation of special and differential treatment for the developing countries with regard to sanitary
and phytosanitary measures.  (Service infrastructure)
II Seminar-Workshop on "International Negotiations on  Agriculture"
7. This event took place from 22 to 24 May in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was co-sponsored
by IICA, LAIA, IADB-INTAL and CABEI.  For this workshop IICA prepared regional studies on the
state of implementation of the Agreement on Agriculture and the Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  (Training)
Training in HACCP
8. At IICA's headquarters in Costa Rica the "International Course for Trainers in the
Development and Implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Plans for
the Food Industry" was held from 21-24 May 2001.  The course, its contents and instructors are
accredited by the International HACCP Alliance and the Food Processors Institute.  It is the secondyear that such a course has been held on this subject, attended by participants from various countries
of the Americas.  (Service infrastructure)
Seminar on dairy product hygiene and production in Central America
9. As a result of an initiative by the FDA of the United States and the private sector of Central
America a training seminar on dairy product hygiene and production for Central America and the
Dominican Republic will be held from 6 to 10 August 2001 in Costa Rica with the coordination of
IICA.  Its subject-matter will include a review of the dairy inspection programmes of the
United States, the application of sound manufacturing practices in the processing of milk and cheese,good practices for packaging and HACCP principles and auditing systems for dairy plants.  (Service
infrastructure)G/SPS/GEN/263
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10. If you require further information on any of these events, please contact:
ebolanos@iica.ac.cr  (Eric Bolaños)
eperez@iica.ac.cr  (Enrique Perez)
Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA)
Sanidad Agropecuaria e Inocuidad de los Alimentos
http://www.infoagro.net/salud
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