G/SPS/GEN/1754/Rev.3  
 
16 October  2020 
(20-7183) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
 
SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION ON VOLUNTARY THIRD -PARTY ASSURANCE  
AS PART OF NATIONAL SPS CONTROL SYSTEMS  
TUESDAY, 3 NOVEMBER  2020 
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
Revision  
In the context of the Fifth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the Agreement on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  (SPS Agreement), Belize submitted a proposal 
for the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Co mmittee) to consider holding a 
thematic session on voluntary third -party assurance programmes .1 At the July 2019 meeting, the 
SPS Committee agreed to the proposal  and to hold the thematic session in March 2020. After its 
suspension due to the COVID -19 pand emic, the SPS Committee agreed to hold the thematic session 
in November 2020.  
The session will cover voluntary third -party assurance as part of national SPS control systems, with 
the main objectives to: receive updates from the international standard -setting bodies on their work 
in the area; facilitate an exchange of information among Members on their use of voluntary 
third-party assurance as part of national SPS control systems ; obtain the perspectives and 
experiences of the private sector; and learn about  capacity -building initiatives in this area.  
Further to Belize's proposal, Members were invited to submit any inputs on the programme and 
speakers by 29 November 2019. This programme is based on the structure suggested by Belize.2 
The thematic session will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 3 November 2020, starting 
at 10:00 , and continuing in the afternoon at 15:00 , as necessary. The thematic session will take 
place at the WTO and can also be attended virtually through the Interprefy platform.  
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Morning  
Chairperson : Mr. Gregory MacDonald   
1  RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS  
Speakers:  
▪ Ms Gracia Brisco , Codex Secretariat.  Relevant work of Codex on the use of voluntary third-
party assurance . 
 
1 G/SPS/W/316 . This original proposal referred to "a thematic session or workshop", however in the 
July 2019 SPS Committee meeting, Belize informed the Committee that the four areas indicated in its proposal 
would be best covered in a one -day thematic session, as opposed to a two -day workshop.  
2 G/SPS/W/3 20. G/SPS/GEN/1754/Rev.3  
 
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  ▪ Mr Steve Wearne , Vice -Chair Codex Alimentarius Commission and Director, Global Affairs, 
Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom.  A perspective from the UK and an u pdate on the 
Codex "Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Assessment and Use of Voluntary Third ‑Party 
Assurance" . 
▪ Mr Brent Larson , Implementation and Facilitation Unit Leader, IPPC Secretariat.  Relevant 
work of IPPC in the area . 
Followed by Q&A session and discussion . 
2  EXPERIENCES  WITH VOLUNTARY THIRD -PARTY ASSURANCE PROGRAMMES  
2.1  MEMBERS' EXPERIENCES WITH VOLUNTARY THIRD -PARTY ASSURANCE 
PROGRAMMES AS PART OF NATIONAL SPS CONTROL SYSTEMS  
Experiences of exporting and importing Members with the use  or application  of these progra mmes 
as part of national SPS control systems to facilitate trade.  
Speakers:  
▪ Ms Delilah Cabb , Coordinator, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Enquiry Point, Belize Agricultural 
Health Authority  (BAHA), Belize. Voluntary Third -Party Assurance Programmes - Pilot Project 
in Belize.  
▪ Mr Hussein Mansour , Chairman, National Food Safety Authority, Egypt.  
▪ Ms Emma Pagotto , Acting Senior Trade Policy Analyst, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 
Canada. Canada's experiences with the consideration of voluntary third -party assur ance 
programmes as part of our national food safety control systems.  
▪ Dr Peter Wend , Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety Department, Food 
Safety Unit, Monitoring Strategy and Coordination, Germany.  Consideration of private 
assurance schemes in official controls - various approaches in Europe . 
▪ Ms Jennifer Thomas , Senior Advisor, US Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food 
Safety and Applied Nutrition, United States.  
Followed by Q&A . 
2.2  PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCES REGARDING V OLUNTARY THIRD -PARTY ASSURANCE 
PROGRAMMES USED AS PART OF NATIONAL SPS CONTROL SYSTEMS  
Private sector experiences with  the use of voluntary third -party assurance schemes as a means to 
facilitate safe trade – benefits and challenges.  
Speakers:   
▪ Ms Anne Gera rdi, Senior Manager, Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) : GFSI 
Benchmarking . 
Followed by Q&A session and discussion . 
Afternoon  
3  CAPACITY -BUILDING EFFORTS  
Presentations on capacity -building efforts regarding use of voluntary third -party assurance 
programmes as part of national SPS control systems.  G/SPS/GEN/1754/Rev.3  
 
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  Speakers:   
▪ Ms Marlynne Hopper , Deputy Head, Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) . 
STDF Pilot projects and other relevant work . 
▪ Ms Miriam Bueno, Deputy Director General of the Deputy Directorate General for Food 
Safety , Honduras.  Expectations, challenges and opportunities of Honduras for the STDF vTPA 
pilot project in Central America . 
▪ Mr Ali Badarneh , Chief of the Sustainable Food Systems Division , United Nations Industrial 
Development  Organization (UNIDO).  Building capacities for national vTPA programmes . 
▪ Dr Andrew Edewa , Director, Standards & SPS Measures Trademark East Africa.  
Voluntary Third -Party Assurance Schemes – The Case of Eastern Africa.  
▪ Dr Mukayi Musarurwa , SPS Expert, Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa 
(COMESA) . The Evolving vTPA Landscape in the COMESA Region: Regional Capacity Building 
Supportive Initiatives . 
▪ Mr Jompie Burger,  Managing Director , Dairy Standard Agency,  South Africa . 
Ensuring legal co mpliance of dairy in South Africa – a collaborative initiative between local 
health authorities and the organised dairy industry.  
▪ Ms Anne Gerardi , Senior Manager, GFSI: GFSI Global Markets Programme . 
Followed by Q&A . 
4  CLOSING  
Panel Discussion  
Discussion on overarching themes , such as:  
▪ Based on the discussions throughout the thematic session, in Member's views, what are 
aspects of voluntary third -party assurance programmes that enable the facilitation of 
international trade?  
▪ What are the key challenges of third-party assurance programmes faced by industry and by 
importing and exporting countries that Members should seek to address?  
▪ As a next step, how can capacity -building efforts better address the challenges faced in this 
area? 
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