G/SPS/GEN/1515  
11 October  2016 
(16-5463) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  ACTIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ON  
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
INFORMATION PRESENTED BY THE INTER -AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR  
COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA)  
The following communication, received on 8  October  2016, is being circula ted at the request of 
the IICA. 
 
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The observer organizations of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports on the activities they have carried out to promote 
the understanding and  implementation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) . The IICA would like to present some of the actions and 
activities that it considers relevant to the work of this Committee . 
1  EFFORTS  TO MAKE GREATER USE OF MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL FORUMS  
1.1  Codex Alimentarius  
1.1.  A seminar was organized by the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling 
(CCMAS)  under the IICA twinning programme . The event took  place on 2 1 September  in La Paz, 
Bolivia, and was attend ed by more by 50 technical personnel from 30 public, private and academic 
institutions and cooperation agencies with links to the National Codex Alimentarius Committee  
(NCAC)  and the Technical Committee  on Quinoa . 
1.2.  The event included  presentations on the following aspects : the work and operation of 
the NCAC in Bolivia ; the Standard on Quinoa, developments regarding the electronic working 
group (e -WG), and the deadline for completing Step  2 in December  2016; the recognition and 
accreditation status of laborat ories belonging to the Network of Official Food Analysis Laboratories 
(RELOAA) ; saponin in quinoa grains for human consumption  and its implications ; and the structure 
of the International Codex and the various committees with which Bolivia's proposed Stand ard on 
Quinoa may be linked . 
1.3.  The seminar provided the necessary tools to improve the wording of the Standard on Quinoa 
with regard  to the test methods included in the current draft text, which must be scientifically 
based . 
1.4.  Participation Programme : This pro gramme is a competitive fund to facilitate participation 
by some countries in selected committees . It has recently provided support for the  Committee on 
Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods.  
1.5.  These activities benefitted from the financial support of the Un ited States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA), Canada and the European Union, and from the IICA's own resources . 
In addition, they were or will be supported by officials from the Latin American and Caribbean 
countries . G/SPS/GEN/1515  
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  2  SUPPORT FOR STRENGTHENING THE INSTITUT IONAL, TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY 
FRAMEWORK  
2.1.  The pilot project on setting up antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance programmes, 
which was launched in May and July in seven Caribbean countries (Barbados, Belize, Guyana, 
Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Surina me, and Trinidad  and Tobago) , is nearing completion . We are 
beginning to analyse  the results with a view to determining  the next steps to be taken.  
2.2.  The initiative forms  part of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures project, which 
receives support f rom the 10th European Development Fund, under the programme "Support 
to CARIFORUM States in the Implementation of the C ommitments Undertaken under 
the CARIFORUM -European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) : Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary (SPS) Meas ures", which is implemented by  the IICA with support from 
the European Union . 
2.3.  The initiative  was developed on the basis of the specific needs identified by the region, 
in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Medicine of Ohio State University (OSU ). 
2.4.  Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) : On 22 August , the IICA held a FSMA workshop 
in Port-au-Prince, Haiti . The aim of the workshop was to raise awareness of FSMA  provisions that 
are to be implemented by Haitian exporters. 31 people from the public and pr ivate sectors 
received training in this area . 
2.5.  On 30 August , in Kingston, Jamaica, the IICA gave a Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance  
(FSPCA ) training course for lead instructors and preventive controls  qualified individuals . The aim 
of the course was  to train representatives from the public and private sectors and academic 
institutions  to be lead instructors and preventive controls  qualified individuals . Training was 
provided to 17 participants  in total . 
2.6.  Good Agricultural P ractices (GAP ): The IICA office in Costa Rica held a GAP training 
workshop for public and private sector representatives from 11 to  15 July in San José . The course, 
attended by  38 technical personnel from both sectors , was organized with a view to  improv ing the 
safety of fresh produc ts and providing  guidance on the proper implementation of standards for 
exports  to the United States . 
2.7.  Project  STDF/PG/502 COSAVE : On 6 September , the IICA held an initial regional 
workshop on general phytosanitary surveillance  in Asunción, Paraguay . The ev ent was the first 
activity organized under the STDF/COSAVE project, and was very well attended and received by 
attendees  from the participating countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru 
and Uruguay) . The workshop's main achievements are as follows : 
 Training for 20 technical personnel on the implementation of general surveillance based 
on ISPM No. 6 and the aspects  currently under review ; 
 
 Strategic guidelines for the implementation of general surveillance and the prompt  
notification of ch anges in pest status at regional level ; 
 
 Identification of the characteristics and content  of a general surveillance implementation 
guide . Consideration will be given to ISPM No. 6 and the IPPC Plant Pest Surveillance  
Guide during the drafting process ; 
 
 Guide to IT system development and adaptation : identification of the needs to be met by 
an IT system in terms of organiz ing and communicating information, and the content 
and functionality that it should have ; 
 
 Identification of each country's progress in im plementing  general surveillance systems , 
and the challenges faced . 
2.8.  Cadmium in cocoa : On 11 July, the IICA office in Ecuador held a technical forum in Quito on 
cadmium in cocoa . This event, organized within the framework of the Chains flagship p roject and  
attended by 30 participants from Colombia, Costa Rica , Ecuador, Haiti, Panama and Peru , G/SPS/GEN/1515  
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  encouraged the exchange of information on the issue of cadmium in cocoa, Ecuador's experience s 
in this area , and good practices for the remediation of soil contaminated with cadmium . 
2.9.  Risk management  in agriculture : Within the framework of the Resilience  flagship p roject, 
the IICA organized a demand and status workshop, which was held from 4 to 6 July in Quito . 
The purpose of the workshop was to collect input to analyse  the status of agricultural risk 
management poli cies and instruments in Ecuador . The event, in which  25 people participated, 
provided a preliminary overview of the current situation, identified the main problems and the 
courses of action needed to resolve the m, and gave attendees the opportunity to discuss proposals 
for strengthen ing the institutional framework  and instruments for risk management . 
2.10.   On 1 9 July, under the Resilience  flagship project , the IICA office in Ecuador held a 
videoconference on Argentina' s experience s of comprehensive  agricultural risk management . 
The aim of this  activity, in which  20 people  from Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru 
participated , was to learn more about  comprehensive  risk management in Argentina, with a view 
to strengthen ing risk management in Ecuador . 
2.11.   Common vision sessions and i mplementation of the Performance, Vision and 
Strategy (PVS) instrument : On 26 July, the IICA office in  El Salvador held a common vision 
session in Santa Tecla on the PVS instrument for sanitary an d phytosanitary measures  (SPS) . 
15 public and private sector representatives participated in this event, the aim of which was to 
create a vision for both sectors following the implementation of the PVS SPS, with a view to 
improving national SPS services in  El Salvador . 
2.12.   On 29 August , the IICA office i n Ecuador held a common vision session in Quito on the PVS 
instrument for animal and plant health and food safety. 125 public and private sector 
representatives participated in the event, which sought to establi sh a common vision for setting 
priorities and f acilitating strategic planning . 
 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)  
Agricultural Health and Food Safety  
http://www.iica.int  
 
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