WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/CRI/13 
23 August 2004  
 
(04-3521) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   Spanish 
   
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:  
Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC) 
Technical Regulation Body Tel.: (506) 235-2700, ext. 206/203, and (506) 297-1439 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, E-mail and Web site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:  
TBT Enquiry Point 
Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC) P.O. Box 10216-1000 
Tel.: (506) 235-2700, ext. 206/203 
Fax: (506) 297-1439 E-mail: crotc@meic.go.cr
 
Web site: www.meic.go.cr   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   HS tariff heading 
1516.20 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Costa Rican 
Technical Regulation (RTCR) No. ___:2004, Vegeta ble Fats. Specifications  (12 pages, in 
Spanish). 
6. Description of content:   This Technical Regulation defines the characteristics of and 
quality specifications for the vegetable fats sp ecified in Section 3.1 thereof, preserved by 
means of an appropriate treatment and intended for human consumption.  It applies to all 
fats and oils and mixtures thereof which have been subjected to a controlled crystallization 
process and the incorporation of an inert gas, or which are partially or fully h ydrogenated. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Regulate the processing and characteristics of ve getable fats in order to protect human 
health and safety and animal and plant life and health. G/TBT/N/CRI/13 
Page 2  
 
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: 
ADM Refined Oils (Decatur, Illinois), “Canola oil”; 
American Soybean Association,  "Standards and Specifications for Soybeans, Soybean Oil 
and Soybean Meal", Brussels, Belgium; 
Beal, R.E., "The Phosphorus Content of Refined Soybean Oil as a Criterion of Quality", 
Journal of the American Oil Chemists´ Society , Vol. 33, 1956, p. 619; 
Bunge Foods, “Bunge edible oil”; Canadian Agricultural Products Standards Ac t 1955, C27 s.l., revised, Supply and Services 
Canada, Ottawa, Canada; 
Canola Council, Canada, "Canola Oil: Properties and Performance"; 
Central Soya (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Refined oil, "Centracote"; C&T Refinery Inc. - Speciality Products Gr oup (Richmond, Virginia), "Ultimate oils"; 
Azeredo, H.M.C., Faria, J.A.F. and Da Silva, M.A.A.P, “The Efficiency of TBHQ, Beta-
Carotene, Citric Acid and Ti nuvin 234 on the Sensory Stability of Soybean Oil Packaged in 
Pet Bottles”, Journal of Food Science , Vol. 68, No. 1, 2003, pp. 302-306; 
Dubinsky, Eduardo, “Utilización de antioxidant es en grasas y aceites” (Use of antioxidants 
in fats and oils), Aceites y Grasas  (Fats and Oils), June 2000; 
Hawrysh, Z.J., Erin, M.K., Lin, Y.C. and Ha rdin, R.T., “Effects of Propyl Gallate and 
Ascorbyl Palmitate on the Stability of  Canola Oil in Accelerated Storage”,  Journal of Food 
Science , Vol. 57, No. 5, 1992, pp. 1234-1238; 
Hui, Y.H., "Bailey's Industrial Oil & Fat Produc ts", Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 
1996, “Palm Oil”; 
Report, Volume 5, No. 9, September 1994; Ka rlshamns Food Ingredients, USA (Columbus, 
Ohio), “Product summary”; 
Malcolmson, L.J. et al., 1994, "Sensory Stability of Canola Oil: Present Status of Shelf Life 
Studies", Journal of the American Oil Chemists´ Society , Vol. 71, No. 4, April 1994, pp. 
435-439; 
Malaysian Palm Oil Board, "Pocketbook of Palm Oil Uses"; Mertens, W.G., “Trace Metals and th e Flavour Stability of Margarine", Journal of the 
American Oil Chemists´ Society ; 
Min, D. and Smouse, T., “Flavor Chemistry of Fats and Oils”, AOCS Press, 1985, p. 219;  National Sunflower Association, “Sunflower Oil Specifications and Trading Rules,  
American Fats and Oils Association, Rule 14"; 
Pantzaris, T.P. and Elias, B.A., “The Ro le of Palm Oils in Oils and Fats”, Food Tech 
Europe, June-July 1996, pp. 71-74; 
Premier Edible Oils Corporation (P ortland, Oregon), "Pura Kote R-50"; 
Przybylski, Roman, “Canola Oil: Physical and Chemical Properties”, Canola Council of 
Canada; 
Sifuentes Villanueva, A. and Herrera Robledo, J., “La influencia de los antioxidantes en la 
conservación de aceites vegetales” (The infl uence of antioxidants on the preservation of 
vegetable oils), Anales Científicos  (Scientific Annals), Vol. 12, No. 3-4, 1974;  G/TBT/N/CRI/13 
 Page 3 
 
 
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: (cont'd) 
Snack Food Association, "Edible Oils Manual"; 
National Cottonseed Products Association, "Aceite de Algodón para  la Industria de 
Alimentos" (Cottonseed oil for the food industry); 
National Cottonseed Products Associa tion, "Guide to Edible Oils"; 
United States Department of Agriculture , Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), 
"Commodities Reference Guide (Fact Shee t: Fortified Refined Vegetable Oil)"; 
Warner, K. and Eskin, M., "Methods to Ass ess Quality and Stability of Oils and Fat-
Containing Foods", AOCS Press, 1995, pp. 60-61; 
Van Den Bergh Food Ingredients Group, "Dur kex 500, the unique multi-purpose ultra-high-
stability oil"; 
Codex Alimentarius, official We b site: www.codexalimentarius.net ; 
National Cottonseed Products Association, "C omposition of Fats a nd Oils", Web site:  
http://www.cottonseed.com/publications/composition.asp ; 
National Cottonseed Products Associa tion, “Cottonseed Oil”, Web site: 
http://www.cottonseed.com/publications/csobro.asp ; 
National Sunflower Association, "Product Specifications: OIL - REFINED, Specifications 
from American Fats and Oils A ssociation, Rule 15", Web site: 
http://www.sunflowernsa.com/buyers/default.asp?contentID=134 ; 
National Sunflower Association, “Product Sp ecifications: NUSUN - Refined, Specifications 
from American Fats and Oils Asso ciation, Rule 15B", Web site: 
http://www.sunflowernsa.com/buyers/default.asp?contentID=182 ; 
Sociedad Industrial de Grasas Vegetales Sigra S.A., "Línea Sigra Dorada" range of oils: 
“Soya-bean oil”, “Palm olein” and “Mixtu re of vegetable palm oils”, Web site: 
http://www.sigra.com/mezcla_ficha.htm ; 
United States Department of Agriculture, Forei gn Agricultural Service (FAS),  “Commodity 
Fact Sheet:  Vegetable Oil", Web site: http://www.fas.usda.gov/excredits/FoodAid/commodities/vegoil.htm
; 
United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS),  
“Commercial Item Description, Sa lad Oils, Vegetable”, Web site:  
http://www.ams.usda.gov/fqa/aa20091d.pdf . 
9. Proposed date of adoption:  To be determined  
Proposed date of entry into force: Upon publication in the Official Journal, La 
Gaceta.  
10. Final date for comments:   60 days as of the date of notification. G/TBT/N/CRI/13 
Page 4  
 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and E-mail and Web site address es, if available, of the other body: 
Centro de Información de Obst áculos Técnicos al Comercio 
Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio - MEIC Apartado Postal 10216-1000 
Tel.: (506) 235-2700, ext. 206/203 
Fax: (506) 297-1439 E-mail: crotc@meic.go.cr
 
Web site: www.meic.go.cr