. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/145
9 November 1999
(99-4829)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English/
French/
Spanish
EXAMINATION OF DOCUMENT G/SPS/13
PROCEDURE TO MONITOR
THE PROCESS OF INTERNATIONAL HARMONIZATION
First annual report
Communication from the Office International des Epizooties
1. By letter of 16 July 1999, Mr. A. Swart, Chairman of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, dr ew the attention of Dr. N.G. Willis, President
of the International Committee of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) to issues of relevance
to the Office raised in the document entitled "P rocedure to monitor the process of international
harmonization – First annual report", reference number G/SPS/13.  This letter was forwarded to the
Bureau of the OIE International Animal Health Code Commission.
2. The Bureau of the Code Commission examined document G/SPS/13 when it met at the OIE
Headquarters in Paris from 13 to 16 September 1999.  The Bureau duly noted the issues relevant to
the field of animal health raised in that document.
Chicken meat and infectious bursal disease3. The Bureau of the Code Commission noted that Chapter 3.6.1. of the International Animal
Health Code  (the Code ) provided recommendations on international trade in domestic birds, day-old
chicks and hatching eggs from domestic birds but remained silent on the subject of products derived
from birds, and in particular on chicken meat.  To decide whether it would be appropriate to include
provisions on chicken meat in the aforementioned chapter, the Bureau asked experts from the OIEReference Laboratories for infectious bursal disease for information on the probability of finding the
causal virus in fresh meat obtained from chickens that were healthy at the time of slaughter, the effect
of refrigeration and freezing on the survival of the virus in chicken meat, etc.
4. The replies submitted by the Reference Laboratory experts will be examined by the Code
Commission when it meets in January 2000.
Frequency of health controls to be carried out on bulls at artificial insemination centres
5. The health controls to be carried out on bulls at artificial insemination centres are described
both in the Code  chapters dealing with diseases transmissible by semen and in the appendices relating
to artificial insemination in bovines.
6. The Bureau of the Code Commission has invited a specialist to submit proposals aimed at
greater harmonization of these chapters and appendices.G/SPS/GEN/145
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Certification of origin of animals
7. The Bureau of the Code Commission intends to deal with the certification of the origin of
animals within the framework of its deliberations on the traceability of animals and animal products.
Certification requirements on diseases transmitted through meat products
8. With regard to certification requirements on diseases transmitted through meat and meat
products, the Bureau of the Code Commission noted that the relevant recommendations were given
disease by disease in the various chapters of the Code , and that the recommendations should not be
restricted to List A diseases.
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