RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SPS/R/5
9July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2658)
Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
SUMMARY OFTHE MEETING HELD ON
29-30 May1996
Note bytheSecretariat
1. TheCommitteeonSanitaryandPhytosanitaryMeasures("theCommittee")helditsfifthmeeting
on29-30 May1996 under thechairmanship ofAmbassador KariBergholm (Finland). Theagenda
proposed inWTO/AIR/334, withadditions, wasadopted.
Observers
2. TheChairman welcomed observers fromtheCodex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), Office
International desEpizooties (OIE), International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), International Trade Centre (ITC)
andtheUnited Nations Conference onTrade andDevelopment (UNCTAD).
Rules ofProcedure
3. AsIndia maintained itsreservation, theProposed Rules ofProcedure (G/SPS/W/48) could
notbeadopted bytheCommittee. TheChairman noted thattheCommittee would continue tooperate
under itsWorking Procedures (G/SPS/1).
Implementation oftheAgreement
Korea 'simport clearance measures andpractices
4. Therepresentative oftheUnited States expressed serious concern regarding anumber ofKorea 's
import clearance measures andpractices which, inhisgovernment 'sview, werenotbased onscience,
didnotconform tointernational practice orstandards, andweredeliberately employed todiscourage
foodandagricultural imports. AstheUnited States feltthatKorea hadnotfollowed through ontheir
commitment toimplement previously agreed reforms, theUnited States had,on24May1996, submitted
aformal request forconsultations (G/SPS/W/64). Thefullstatement bytheUnited States isavailable
indocument G/SPS/W/66. Several delegations expressed theirexasperation withregard todifficulties
inaccess totheKorean market foragricultural products. Itwasnoted thatalthough there wasa
substantial potential fortrade, itcould notbeenfullyrealized. Korea wasstrongly urged toadhere
totheprinciples oftheSPSAgreement.
5. Therepresentative ofKorea informed theCommittee thattheissues raised hadbeendiscussed
extensively inaseries ofbilateral consultations between Korea andtheUnited States, and,intermittently,G/SPS/R/5
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withother countries. Korea had,sinceearly1995, taken various measures inorder tobring itssanitary
andphytosanitary practices inlinewiththeSPSAgreement. Many ofthedifficulties encountered were
common todeveloping countries, suchas:alowlevel ofsanitary infrastructure, theabsence of
accumulated experience andinformation, andthelackofrelevant international standards. However,
therepresentative ofKorea noted thathisgovernment would continue tostreamline itsSPSmeasures
inlightofitsobligations under theSPSandother WTO Agreements. Improvements would bemade
inatimely manner.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
6. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities provided theCommittee withanupdate and
detailed background information with regard todevelopments related toBSE intheEuropean
Communities (G/SPS/W/67). Hestated thatbefore notifying theWTO ofSPSmeasures taken, internal
consultations would havetobecompleted. Similarly, therepresentative ofSwitzerland introduced
apaper ontheBSEsituation inhiscountry (G/SPS/W/68). Henoted thatanumber ofcountries had
restricted imports ondairy products andreminded theCommittee thatboththeOIEandtheWHO had
concluded thatdairy products posed noriskinrespect ofBSE.
7. Therepresentative oftheOIEinformed theCommittee thatsubsequent tothestatement made
bytheUnited Kingdom withregard toBSEinMarch 1996, theOIEhadheldanadhocmeeting in
May1996. Oneresult ofthismeeting hadbeenanupdating ofascientific document providing all
available information onthedisease itself, aswellasonscientific progress related toit.Furthermore,
many ofthesuggested improvements oftheOIEChapter onBSEwereagreed atthesubsequent meeting
oftheOIEInternational Committee. These included: (i)anencouragement tostrengthen BSE
monitoring, which could result inthedetermination ofalistofcountries considered tobefree; (ii)
alisting ofproducts representing norisk,suchasmilkanddairy products; (iii)theidentification of
certain risktissues; and,(iv)theformulation ofthetextsoastomaintain thedistinction between
countries withahighprevalence andlowprevalence ofthedisease.
8. Therepresentative oftheWHO informed theCommittee thattwoexpert consultations hadbeen
heldsince thebeginning of1996 onCreutzfeldt-Jacob Disease (CJD) andBSE. Atoneexpert
consultation, heldwiththeparticipation oftheOIEandtheFAOon2-3April 1996, recommendations
hadbeenmade regarding bestpractices forensuring protection oftheconsumer. Thefinalreport was
available uponrequest fromtheWHO (EMC/DIS/96.147). Thesecond expert consultation examined
thefindings associated withthenewly recognized variant ofCJDandcompared itwithdataonother
human transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). TheCommittee wasinformed thattheWHO
would intensify itsworld-wide system ofCJDsurveillance andcollaborate withtheOIEonsimilar
surveillance systems withregard toanimal TSEs. Copies oftwopress releases andafactsheet
concerning bothconsultations were made available intheroom inEnglish andFrench1.
9. Therepresentative ofArgentina stated thatoneoftheterritories alluded tointheEuropean
Communities 'paper waspartofArgentina 'sterritory andthatitscorrect designation wastheMaldive
Islands (Islas Malvinas).
Draft Agreement between theWTO andtheOIE
10. TheSecretariatintroducedadraftagreement(proposedexchangeofletters)betweentheDirector-
General'softheOIEandtheWTO(G/SPS/W/61).Itspurposewastofacilitatethecollaborationbetween
thetwoorganizations onquestions ofmutual interest arising from theSPSAgreement. Thesame
1Press Release WHO/28 Rev.1 of15April 1996, FactSheet N113Revised April 1996 andPress Release WHO/38 of17May1996.G/SPS/R/5
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document hadbeenpresented attheOIEInternational Committee aweek earlier buthadnotbeen
adopted, apparently duetolackoftimetoproperly study thedraftagreement.
11. Anumber ofMembers stressed theimportance ofsuchanagreement astherewasaclearneed
toclarify thenature ofthelinkbetween thetwoorganizations regarding theirmutual commitments
toeachother. Onedelegation noted thatthedocument represented anadministrative agreement between
theSecretariats andsuggested thattheletters bedrafted insuchawaythattheydealtonlywithmatters
which weretheprerogative oftheDirector-General, thusleaving outelements which would necessitate
itsapproval intheCommittee itself.
Argentina onFootandMouth Disease (FMD)
12. Therepresentative ofArgentina informed theCommittee thatasof27April 1996, Argentina
hadfulfilled requirements toberecognized asFMD freecountry practising vaccination inaccordance
withthestandards oftheOIE(G/SPS/W/63).
Transparency Provisions
Consideration ofSpecific Notifications Received
13. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities expressed concern withregard toanapparent
proposal bytheBrazilian Ministry ofAgriculture (10April 1996) onimport requirements forwine.
Theproposed measure hadnotbeennotified inaccordance withtheSPSAgreement. TheEuropean
Communities expressed concern thatBrazil wasapparently intending torequire thatestablishments
inexporting countries beinspected andapproved byBrazilian authorities priortoanyexports toBrazil
taking place. TheEuropean Communities considered theirownrequirements regarding conditions
fortheproduction ofwinewithin theEuropean Communities tobeatleastequivalent tothose inBrazil
withrespect tothesafety oftheproduct fortheconsumer. Therepresentative oftheEuropean
Communities stated thatcomments would bepresented inwriting toBrazil once anofficial SPS
notification wasmade. Therepresentative ofBrazil stated thatwhile hewasaware thatBrazil was
considering ameasure inthisarea, hedidnothavethenecessary information onhand tomake a
substantive comment ontheissue.
14. Onanother matter, therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities brought theCommittee 's
attention toaCanadian notification regarding aproposed requirement thatcheese bepasteurized or
produced frompasteurized milkinorder forittobemarketed andsoldinCanada (G/SPS/N/CAN/8).
Inhisview, current legislation inforce intheEuropean Communities regarding, interalia,production
requirements, safeandcorrect sourcing andsubsequent supervision inthevarious production stages
fromfarmtoconsumer (Milk Hygiene Directive 9246), provided atleastequivalent guarantees interms
offoodsafety aspasteurization. Canada wasurged toconsider thescientific basis andfactsofthe
matter, taking intoaccount relevant discussions intheCodex, andtoconsider theissue inthelight
oftheequivalency provisions oftheSPSAgreement (Article 4).Therepresentative oftheEuropean
Communities observed thatanumber ofMembers maintained restrictive practices inrelation tothe
import ofrawmilkcheeses fromtheEuropean Communities thatwerelikewise notjustifiable onhealth
grounds. TheSwiss delegation supported theviews expressed bytherepresentative oftheEuropean
Communities.TherepresentativeofCanadanotedthatscientificdocumentationinsupportoftheproposal
would beprovided uponrequest andthatanExpert Advisory Committee hadbeenappointed toexamine
thematter.
15. Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities expressed concern withregard toanotification
bytheUnited States ontheintroduction oftheconcept ofregionalization inimport policy andinternalG/SPS/R/5
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control policy inrelation toanimal health (G/SPS/N/USA/37). While therepresentative oftheEuropean
Communities welcomed theinitiative bytheUnited States withregard toregionalization, itwasthe
opinion oftheEuropean Communities thatthepolicy proposed bytheUnited States didnotmeetthe
criteria ofatrueregionalization approach, atleastnotthewayithadbeendeveloped intheEuropean
Communities andithadbeendiscussed inother international forasuchastheOIE. Therepresentative
oftheUnited States outlined theproposal andstressed thatitsobjective wastofacilitate trade andto
fulfil theobligations oftheUnited States under theSPSAgreement, inparticular Article 5.2onrisk
assessment.
Proposed Modifications totheNotification Procedures
16. Referring toPointBintheproposed modifications totheRecommended Notification Procedures
(G/SPS/W/47), therepresentative ofKorea drew theCommittee 'sattention tothefactthatinKorea
notified draftregulations were subject toparliamentary approval andcould thusbechanged during
theparliamentary process (subsequent tonotification), which could bethesource ofsome confusion.
Regarding Point E(c)ofthedocument, therepresentative ofJapan stressed hisgovernment 'sviewthat
thecomment period would nothavetobeextended incases where anotifying Member, uponrequest,
didprovide copies oftherequested document, or,where voluminous documents were involved, a
summary ofthedocument inoneoftheWTO official languages. TheCommittee adopted the
Recommended Notification Procedures (G/SPS/7).
De-restriction ofSPSnotifications andlistofEnquiry Points
17. Therepresentative ofCanada recalled hisgovernment 'sproposal made attheCommittee 's
March1996meetingtoderestrictnotificationsandlistofEnquiryPoints(G/SPS/W/60).TheCommittee
agreed tothede-restriction ofnotifications andEnquiry Point listswitheffect 1July1996, should there
benofurther objection from Japan ortheEuropean Communities prior tothatdate.
Monitoring theUseofInternational Standards
18. AttheMarch 1996meeting oftheCommittee, theEuropean Communities hadtabled aproposal
foraprocedure tomonitor theuseofrelevant international standards, asrequired byArticles 3:5,12:4,
12:5and12:6oftheSPSAgreement (G/SPS/W/51). Anumber ofpreliminary comments hadbeen
made, and,asaresult ofthediscussion, theSecretariat hadrequested Members toidentify those
international standards ofmajor importance fortheirtrade (G/SPS/W/58). Noreplies totherequest
hadbeenreceived.
19. OnesuggestionbytheEuropeanCommunitieswasthattheSPSCommitteemaintainaninventory
ofrelevant standards, guidelines orrecommendations (paragraph 15(b)). Anumber ofdelegations
expressed apreference forfocusing attention onthose standards where thereappeared tobedifficulties
rather thanendeavouring tocreate acomprehensive list.Inassessing whether astandard, guideline
orrecommendation hadamajor trade impact, ithadearlier beensuggested thatthevolume oftrade
involved beconsidered. Inthisregard onedelegation observed thatalowvolume oftradecould actually
signal theabsence ofaninternational standard. Insuchcases theattention oftherelevant international
standard setting organization should bedrawn tothatfact. Therepresentative oftheCodex confirmed
thatwhen identifying areas where there weregapsinterms ofneeded standards, a"significant impact
ontrade" wasoneofthefactors taken intoaccount.
20. Onedelegation stressed thattheSPSCommittee 'srolewastodevelop aprocedure tomonitor
theuseofinternational standards (Article 12:4), nottoengage inthemonitoring itself. Inlightof
this,theobjective oftheproposed PilotProject should betocontribute tothedevelopment ofsuchG/SPS/R/5
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aprocedure. However, concern wasexpressed byanumber ofdelegations attheprospect ofalengthy
discussion ofwhatproducts andstandards might becovered bythePilotProject. Participants agreed
thatitwould beuseful tohaveresponses totheSecretariat 'squestionnaire (G/SPS/W/58) inorder for
theCommittee tohaveaminimum offactual information towork from. Itwasagreed thatMembers
would submit theanswers tothequestionnaire by15September 1996.
21. Therepresentative oftheCodex informed theCommittee thatwork onthereview ofexisting
standards hadbeenunder wayforfiveyears andthatbytheendofthe1997Codex Commission Session,
more than25percentoftheCodex Maximum Residue Levels would have anageoflessthan5
years -either having beenrecently established orreviewed. Theremaining 75percentwould have
anageofbetween 5and10years. TheCodex acceptance procedures, which needed tobereviewed
inthelightoftheSPSAgreement, would beanissue fordiscussion atthenextsession oftheCodex
CommitteeonGeneralPrinciplesinNovember1996.TherepresentativeoftheOIEnotedthatdifficulties
inupdating international standards didnotnecessarily derive fromcumbersome internal procedures,
butrather from thefactthatmember countries themselves haddifficulties inproviding comments to
theOIEinatimely fashion.
Consistency
22. TheChairman presented hisreport ontheinformal consultations hehadheldwithinterested
Members regarding howtheCommittee might proceed withthedevelopment ofguidelines tofurther
thepractical implementation oftheprovisions onconsistency indecisions ontheappropriate levelof
protection, asrequired byArticle 5:5(G/SPS/W/59).
23. Onedelegation expressed theview thatthesetting ofthelevel ofprotection wasapolitical
decision, andthatadecision based onproper riskassessment wassufficient toensure theobjective
ofconsistency (Article 5:5). Inresponse, another delegate pointed outthefrequent confusion between
theterms "riskassessment" and"riskmanagement". Henoted thatriskassessment wasaprocess which
resulted intheidentification andevaluation ofrisks(Articles 5:1through 5:3). Riskmanagement,
ontheother hand, wasadecision made bytheresponsible authorities astohowtoreduce suchrisk
toanappropriately lowlevel. Under theSPSAgreement, itwasanobligation that"...eachMember
shallavoid arbitrary orunjustifiable distinctions inthelevels itconsiders tobeappropriate indifferent
situations ifsuchdistinctions result indiscrimination oradisguised restriction totrade" (Article 5:5,
emphasis added).
24. Onedelegationsuggestedthatworkmightbepromotedthroughcontinuedinformalconsultations
withinterested Members withtheobjective ofproducing draft guidelines forconsideration bythe
Committee. Many participants supported thisproposal anditwassuggested thatdocument G/SPS/W/59
wasagood basis from which toelaborate suchguidelines. TheChairman agreed toprepare draft
guidelines (oraprogress report should thatnotbepossible), tobepresented atthenextmeeting of
theCommittee, onthebasis offurther informal consultations.
Development andApplication ofResidue Limits
25. With regard toapaper previously presented byAustralia onthedevelopment andapplication
ofresidue limits tofoods intrade(G/SPS/W/34), several delegations stressed therelevance ofthework
conducted bytheCodex. Acommon problem faced byMembers wasthelackofmaximum residue
limits (MRLs) oncertain chemicals infood. Itwasdeemed essential thatMembers actively participate
inthework oftheCodex inorder toenhance theprocess ofsetting residue limits based onscience.
Onedelegation stressed theneedfortheCodex toimprove theuseofup-to-date datawithregard toG/SPS/R/5
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Good Agricultural Practices inthesetting ofMRLs. Therepresentative ofAustralia informed the
Committee thatapaper similar toG/SPS/W/34 would besubmitted forconsideration totheCodex
Executive Committee thefollowing week.
26. Onedelegation stressed thatwhen setting MRLs, theconsumer 'spoint ofviewshould bethe
primary concern, irrespective oftheorigin oftheimported product. Therepresentative ofAustralia
stressed thatnothing inthepaper should beseentosuggest areduction inpublic health standards or
anincrease inrisktotheconsumer innational approval procedures forestablishing residue limits.
27. Another delegation expressed concern thattheproposed mechanism tosetadditional MRLs
onatemporary basis could prejudice theCodex MRL setting process. Given legislative difficulties
inestablishing andamending MRLs, national authorities could hardly beexpected todosoonlyfor
temporary use. Therepresentative ofAustralia acknowledged thatthehandling ofthematter might
notbecovered bycurrent legislation butthatitnevertheless wastimetobegin giving itsome
consideration. Henoted thatthere were examples where, inresponse totrade problems, countries
hadestablished temporary MRLs inawaywhich maintained public confidence andallowed thetrade
problem tobesolved. Some countries referred toCodex standards asabasis fortemporary MRLs,
ortookguidance from MRLs setbyother countries where there wasabasis forcomparison and
confidence. Anumber ofdelegations indicated thattheywould givemore in-depth comments onthe
paper atalaterstage. TheChairman encouraged delegations tostartconsidering conclusions atthe
nextmeeting oftheCommittee.
Work Programme oftheSPSCommittee
28. Therepresentative ofArgentina presented aproposal withregard totheCommittee 'sfuture
work programme (G/SPS/W/53). Itwasagreed thatMembers beencouraged todiscuss tradeproblems
intheCommittee whenever possible before initiating formal dispute settlement procedures, without
prejudice totheirrights under thatprocess. There wasalsoageneral consensus thatMembers raise
intheCommittee anytrade problem orconcern theymight encounter withregard toother Members '
implementation oftheAgreement, particularly concerning notifications. Forthispurpose itwasagreed
toaddapermanent sub-item entitled "Specific trade concerns" under theitem"Implementation of
theAgreement". Theproposal thatMembers beencouraged toinform theCommittee onrelevant
practical examples oftheapplication ofArticle 4(Equivalency) wasalsowelcomed.
29. With respect totheproposal thatalistbecompiled ofMembers 'riskassessment units, and
ofriskassessmentsdevelopedandappliedbyMembers,anumberofdelegationspointedoutthatalthough
theyhadnoformal riskassessment unittheynonetheless undertook riskassessments invarious forms.
Another delegation observed thatregardless oftheexistence ofariskassessment unitornot,theSPS
Agreement required Members tobasetheirSPSmeasures onriskassessment (apart from theleast
developed Members anddeveloping country Members during thefirsttwoyears). Regarding the
catalogue ofriskassessments, several Members suggested thatsuchinformation should belimited to
appropriate examples foreducational purposes. Further discussion between interested Members was
deemed necessary inorder todevelop amore concrete, practical implementation ofthetwoproposals.
30. Afurther proposal regarded thepublishing ofinformation ontraining activities related tothe
SPSAgreement which werebeing carried outorco-ordinated byrelevant international organizations
orregional bodies. Members invited theSecretariat toexplore thisissueincooperation withtherelevant
international organizations andthedelegation ofArgentina tocome upwithaproposal onhowtomanage
thetask. Therepresentative oftheCodex noted thatalistofallupcoming meetings, supplemented
bydetailed provisional agendas andsummary reports ontheoutcome ofeachmeeting, already existed
ontheInternet andwasupdated onamonthly basis.G/SPS/R/5
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Technical Assistance
31. TheSecretariat informed theCommittee thatithadheldanother regional seminar sinceitslast
meeting. Thisseminar, inPrague, wasorganized incooperation withtheCodex, OIEandtheIPPC
andfinanced bytheUnited States Government. Thirteen countries hadparticipated. Asimilar seminar
wasplanned forMoscow inearly July1996.
32. TheSecretariat hadalsoparticipated inanAPEC seminar ontheSPSAgreement andits
implementation which washeldinManila, 14-15 May1996. Thepurpose oftheseminar hadbeen
tobroaden theunderstanding oftheSPSAgreement, particularly withtheobjective ofstimulating a
more active participation ofMembers inthework oftheSPSCommittee.
33. Therepresentative oftheCodex noted thatasaresult oftherestructuring ofresources inthe
FAO, some additional funds hadbeenprovided totheCodex. Thiswould allow ittoassist developing
countries tostrengthen theirability tointeract withtheCodex Alimentarius Commission, particularly
withregardtomatterssuchastheestablishmentofCodexContactPointsandnationalCodexCommittees.
34. Therepresentative ofArgentina informed theCommittee thatMercosur wasorganizing a
workshop onriskassessment withregard toSPSmatters fortheendof1996 incooperation withthe
EuropeanCommunities.Memberswouldshortlyreceivetheagendaoftheworkshop,and,subsequently,
therecommendations andconclusions reached.
35. New Zealand informed theCommittee thatariskanalysis workshop would beheldin
Switzerland, inAugust 1996. Thismeeting would beorganized bytheSwiss veterinary service and
would alsoinvolve theNewZealand Ministry ofAgriculture andtheOIE.
36. TheChairman drewtheCommittee 'sattention toaspecific decision adopted bytheCommittee
onTechnical Barriers toTrade (TBT) ontechnical assistance (G/TBT/W/26). Theobjective ofthis
decision wastomake operational theprovisions ontechnical assistance oftheTBTAgreement. It
wassuggested thatMembers assess whether asimilar decision might beappropriate fortheSPS
Committee.
Preparatory Work forSingapore
37. TheChairman noted thathehadstarted informal consultations withMembers regarding the
report oftheSPSCommittee totheMinisterial Conference inSingapore inDecember 1996. Herecalled
thattheChairman oftheGeneral Council hadprovided guidelines concerning thereport (WT/L/145).
TheChairman informed theCommittee thatitwashisintention todistribute adraftreport toMembers
before thesummer recess andinvite Members toinformally consult onthematter inlateJulyorpossibly
earlySeptember. Hestressed thattheCommittee mustadopt thefinalreport nolaterthanatitsOctober
1996 meeting.
Matters ofinterest arising from thework ofObserver Organizations
38. Therepresentative oftheIPPC introduced apaper (G/SPS/W/70) regarding anExpert
Consultation ontheRevision oftheIPPC (theConvention). Atthatmeeting there hadbeenageneral
consensus thatthescope oftheIPPC should beatleastasbroad asthatoftheSPSAgreement.
Furthermore, theexperts agreed ontheneedtostrengthen theadministration oftheConvention atthe
global levelandthatprovisions foranIPPC Secretariat should beincluded intheConvention. TheG/SPS/R/5
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establishment ofaCommission, which would adopt standards andconsider other matters relating to
theimplementation oftheConvention, hadalsobeendiscussed.
39. Several Members expressed serious concern regarding theprospect oftheinclusion ofthe
"principle ofsolidarity" intherevision oftheIPPC. Inbrief, thisprinciple would mean thatcountries
within thesame region would berequired toapply thesame SPSregulations visàvisimports from
athirdcountry. However, asanumber ofdelegations pointed out,allcountries within agiven region
didnotnecessarily facethesame riskfrom theimported product asecological andother relevant
conditions could vary. Itwasstressed thattheIPPC should notberevised insuchawaythatitwould
beatoddswiththeprinciples oftheSPSorother WTO Agreements. Moreover, itwassuggested
thatgreater effort bemade toaligntheterminology usedinthenewConvention withtheterminology
usedintheSPSAgreement. Inthiscontext, therepresentative ofUruguay briefly introduced apaper
onthereview oftheIPPC anditsrelation totheSPSAgreement (G/SPS/W/69) which willbediscussed
attheCommittee 'snextmeeting.
40. Therepresentative oftheOIEreported ontheOIE'sGeneral Session (20-24 May). Ina
resolution adopted bytheCommittee, theOIEwasencouraged tocontinue itsefforts toexplain toits
members whattheirresponsibilities were under theSPSAgreement. Thiswould bedoneprimarily
through regional workshops. Among other points raised bytheOIErepresentative wastheupdating
oftheOIECode onMammals andBirds andtheestablishment ofalistofcountries considered tobe
freeofFMD without vaccination. Furthermore, guidelines forOIEactivities inthenextfiveyears
were adopted; these included arequest thattheOIEincrease itsactivities instandard-setting.
41. Therepresentative oftheWHO informed theCommittee thatattheWorld Health Assembly
(20-25 May) therewasgeneral support forWHO standard-setting activities. Moreover, theviewwas
expressed thattheWHO should allocate more resources tothestandard-setting activities ofthejoint
FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Itwasnoted thatthere existed alackofinformation
within national health sectors regarding sanitary measures. Finally, therepresentative informed the
Committee thattheFAOandWHO wereplanning toholdanexperts 'consultation onriskmanagement
inJanuary 1997.
Other Business
42. Therepresentative ofAustralia expressed serious concern withregard toKorea 'ssanitary
regulations onultraheattreated milkinconsumer packs (UHT milk). Australia informed theCommittee
thatKorea hadagreed tomove toamanufacturer 'sdetermined shelflifeforapproximately 50products,
including dairy products, asof1July1996. However, shelflifeforUHT milkremained government
mandated atasubstantially shorter period oftimecompared totheperiod commonly applied bymost
countries. Australia wasunaware ofanyscientific justification forthelimited shelflifeperiod mandated
inKorea. Korea wasrequested totreatUHT milkinthesame wayasother likeproducts andpermit
amanufacturer'sdeterminedshelflifeby1July1996.SeveraldelegationssharedtheAustralianconcern.
Onedelegationpointedoutthatmanufacturers'determinedshelflifewasconsistentwithCodexstandards.
43. Onaseparate butrelated issue, therepresentative ofCanada informed theCommittee about
asimilar concern regarding bottled water, alsoinrelation toKorea. Although aformal understanding
hadbeenreached withregard tosome aspects oftheissue, concerns onshelf lifeofbottled water
remained outstanding. Inthisregard, Korea hadnotoffered anytime-table formoving tomanufacturer
determined shelflifeonbottled water.G/SPS/R/5
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44. Therepresentative ofKorea informed theCommittee thatitwould convey theconcerns raised
totherelevant authorities inKorea.
Date andAgenda ofthenextMeeting
45. Thefollowing provisional agenda forthemeeting of8-9October 1996 (tentative date) was
agreed:
A. Adoption oftheagenda
B. Observers
C. Rules ofProcedure
D. Report totheSingapore Ministerial Conference
E. Implementation oftheAgreement
(i) Information from Members
- Uruguay: Control ofagricultural pests
(ii) Specific trade concerns
(iii) Draft agreement between WTO andOIE
F. Transparency Provisions:
(i) Consideration ofspecific notifications received
(ii) Anyother matters related totheoperation oftransparency provisions
G. Monitoring ofuseofinternational standards
H. Consistency
I. Development andapplication ofresidue limits
J. Technical assistance
K. Matters ofinterest arising from thework ofobserver organizations
(i) Revision ofIPPC
L. Other business
M. Agenda ofnextmeeting