G/SPS/GEN/2138  
 
6 July 2023 
(23-4592) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 
INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION (CODEX)  
The following communication, received on 5 July 2023, is being c irculated at the request of the  Codex  
secretariat.  
 
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1  INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS  
1.1  43rd Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses 
(Düsseldorf, Germany, 7 -10 March 2023)  
1.1.  CCNFSDU43 completed the revision of the Standard for follow -up formula (CXS 156 -1987) 
(renamed the S tandard for Follow -up Formula for Older Infants and Product for Young Children).  
1.2.  CCNFSDU43 also amended the Standard for Canned Baby Foods (CXS 73 -1981) and the 
Advisory list of nutrient compounds for use in foods for special dietary uses intended for infa nts and 
young children (CXG 10 -1979).  
1.3.  These texts will be forwarded to CAC46 (2023) for final adoption.  
1.2  53rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (Hong Kong, China, 
27-31 March 2023)  
1.4.  CCFA53 finalized the specifications for the identity and purity of several substances for addition 
to the List of Codex Specifications for Food Additives (CXA 6 -2021).  
1.5.  CCFA53 also finalized the revision of the Class Names and the International Numbering System 
for Food Additives (CXG 36 -1989), the alignment of p rovisions for food additives in 19 commodity 
standards with the General Standard for Food Additives (CXS 192 -1995) (GSFA) including one set 
of guidelines.  
1.6.  CCFA53 also finalized around 800 new/revised maximum levels (MLs) for food additives for 
inclusion in  the GSFA, which includes provisions for beta-carotenes , riboflavin and trisodium citrate 
as well as food additives in wine.  
1.7.  These provisions will be forwarded to CAC46 for final adoption.  
1.3  16th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (Utrec ht, Netherlands, 
18-21 April 2023)  
1.8.  CCCF16 finalized MLs for lead for soft brown, raw, and non -centrifugal sugars, and ready -to-eat 
meals for infants and young children as well as MLs for ochratoxin A and total aflatoxins in chili 
pepper, paprika and nutmeg  respectively.  G/SPS/GEN/2138  
 
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  1.9.  CCCF16 also finalized the Code of practice for the prevention and reduction of mycotoxin 
contamination in cassava and cassava -based products and the sampling plans for total aflatoxins in 
certain cereals and cereal -based products including f oods for infants and young children the latter 
being integral to the application of MLs for the aforesaid food categories already adopted 
by CAC45  (2022).  
1.10.  CCCF16 further agreed to recommend approval of new work on guidance to prevent or reduce 
ciguatera po isoning (e.g. application of surveillance and monitoring programs, food safety 
management systems, data sharing, etc.). The document will build on and complement available 
guidance from FAO and WHO and other international organizations in this regard.  
1.11.  These MLs and texts will be forwarded to CAC46 for final adoption and approval of new work 
respectively.  
1.12.  CCCF16 continues work on the establish of MLs for lead in culinary herbs (fresh/dried) and 
spices (dried), total aflatoxins in ready -to-eat peanuts and ass ociated sampling plan, sampling plans 
for ochratoxin A and total aflatoxins (chili pepper, paprika and nutmeg) and other matters that may 
lead to new work in future.  
1.4  26th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification  Systems (Hobart, Australia, 1 -5 May 2023)  
1.13.  CCFICS26 finalized the Guidelines on recognition and maintenance of equivalence of National 
Food Control Systems (NFCS) and the Principles and guidelines on the use of remote audit and 
inspection in regulatory fra meworks.  
1.14.  CCFICS26 agreed to recommend approval by CAC46 (2023) new work on the review and 
update of the Principles for Traceability/Product tracing as a tool within a food inspection and 
certification system (CXG 60 -2006).  
1.15.  These will be forwarded to CAC46 for final adoption and approval of new work respectively.  
1.16.  CCFICS26 will continue work on guidelines on the prevention and control of food fraud, the 
consolidated Codex Guidelines related to equivalence, and the list of emerging issues relevant to 
its work.  
1.5  47th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labeling (Ottawa, Canada, 
15-19 May 2023)  
1.17.  CCFL47 continued work on the elaboration of guidelines on the provision of food information 
for pre -packaged foods to be offered via e -Commerce; guidelines on the use of  technology to provide 
food information; and the revision to provisions relevant to allergen labelling in the General Standard 
for the Labelling of Pre -packaged Foods (CXS 1 -1985).  
1.18.  These texts will be forwarded to CAC46 for preliminary adoption and further  development 
by CCFL48 (2023).  
1.6  42nd Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Budapest, 
Hungary , 13–16 June 2023)  
1.19.  The meeting report will be published in the coming weeks on the CCMAS42  webpage and 
further information will be provided to the next session of the SPS committee.  
1.7  54th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR54, Beijing, China, 
26 June – 1 July 2023)  
1.20.  The meeting report will be published in the coming weeks on the CCPR54  webpage and further 
information will be provided to the next session  of the SPS committee.  G/SPS/GEN/2138  
 
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  1.8  Other matters  
1.21.  Further information on the work of these committees can be found in the report of the Session 
available on the Codex website: CCNFSDU43 , CCFA53 , CCCF16 , CCFICS26 , CCFL47 . The reports of 
CCMAS42 and CCPR54 will be available on the meeting webpages shortly.  
2  FORTHCOMING CODEX MEETINGS OF SPS RELEVANCE (AS OF JULY 2023. SEE THE 
CODEX WEBSITE FOR THE FULL MEETING CALENDAR)  
2.1  CCEXEC  
− 84th Session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission ( CCEXEC84 , 
Geneva, Switzerland, 10 -14 July 2023) (physical)  
2.2  International c ommittee meetings  
− 33rd Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles ( CCGP33 , Bordeaux, France, 
2-6 October 2023) (physical)  
2.1.  Regular updates on  the status of work of these Committees are published on their dedicated 
webpages: CCEXEC84 , CCGP33 . 
2.2.  For specific questions on the status of work in Codex committees of interest to SPS delegates 
please check the dedicated webpages or send an email to codex@fao. org. 
3  GENERAL  
3.1.  The Codex Secretariat in collaboration with Host Country Secretariats are continuing to convene 
virtual and physical working group meetings and webinars in advance of Codex subsidiary sessions 
to support delegations’ preparations and facilitat e discussions and consensus -building in plenary. 
Further information is available on the Committee webpages and the Codex calendar . 
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