G/TBT/GEN/229  
 
11 July 2017 
(17-3728) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
ACTIVITIES OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORG ANIZATION RELATED  
TO THE WORK OF THE T BT COMMITTEE  
STATEMENT BY THE WHO  
This document contains information provided by WHO at the TBT Committee meeting of  14-15 
June 2017  under Agenda Item 5 (Updating by Observers )  
 
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1.1.  During the discussions in Agenda item 3 (B) on Specific Trade Concern, there were a number 
of issues brought up which related to public health actions and various policy measures being 
implemented by Member s in their efforts to address increa sing problems of obesity and diet -
related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).   
1.2.  Regarding nutrition labelling, as stated at previous TBT sessions, WHO considers nutrition 
labelling as one of the policy options for promoting healthy diets. This was highlighted  by various 
global commitments and action plans endorsed by the World Health Assembly (WHA), including 
the Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition, the Global 
Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunic able Diseases 2013 – 2020, and the 
Declaration and Framework for Action adopted by the 2nd International Conference on Nutrition 
(ICN2) in 2014 which served as a basis for the UN General Assembly proclaiming 2016 – 2025 as 
the Decade of Action for Nutritio n. 
1.3.  Various Members had referred to Codex standards and guidelines and WHO agrees the 
importance of policy coherence. The Codex Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling (CAC/GL 2 – 1985) 
provides detailed guidance on how to implement nutrition labelling, particula rly related to the 
component on nutrient declarations. These guidelines have been going through a series of updates 
and revisions, in particular during the last 10 years, to take into consideration of increasing public 
health problems of obesity and diet -related NCDs as part of Codex’s commitment to implement the 
WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. The revisions which have been made to 
this Codex Guidelines include the expanded list of mandatory nutrients to be declared (such as 
total sugars, saturated fat and sodium), and the establishment of nutrient reference values (NRVs) 
for NCDs, such as saturated fat, sodium and potassium, in accordance with the WHO guidelines 
which are developed based on extensive evidence reviews.  
1.4.  Furthermore,  responding to the increasing interests and guidance requests from various 
Members, the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) has agreed at its 43rd Session in 2016 
to start a new work to revise the Nutrition Labelling Guidelines to take into considerat ion of front -
of-pack labelling. CCFL also agreed that the work should take into consideration of the outcomes of 
the WHO Technical Meeting held in December 2015 and the background evidence review paper 
prepared for the meeting. Currently WHO is developing a guiding principle manual to help guide 
the process of developing front -of-pack labelling, taking into consideration the outcomes of the 
2015 Technical Meeting and various country experiences we have reviewed.  
1.5.  The use of WHO/PAHO nutrient profile models was also mentioned by some Members. 
Nutrient profile models are algorithms for classifying or ranking foods. They are tools that can be 
used to implement public health strategies and interventions to promote healthy diets, such as 
marketing of food and non -alcoholic beverages to children, procurement of foods in public 
institutions (e.g. schools), nutrition labelling (e.g. front -of-pack labelling), health claims or fiscal G/TBT/GEN/229  
 
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  policies (e.g. taxation or subsidies). To date, 5 of the 6 WHO Regional Offices have d eveloped 
regional nutrient profile models for regulating marketing, through incorporating the WHO 
guidelines which are developed based on robust evidence reviews. Currently a global model is 
being prepared, putting together these 5 regional nutrition profi le models. In addition, we are in a 
process of testing the feasibility of the use of these nutrient profile models to regulate promotion 
and sales of foods and beverages in (and possibly around) schools in several countries in different 
Regions.  
1.6.  The issues  related to the work of Codex vs the work of WHO were also mentioned by some 
Members. WHO is a parent organization of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and as such WHO 
considers the coherence between the work of Codex and WHO guidelines and policies (inclu ding 
WHA resolutions) is critical in order to protect the health of consumers and achieve global public 
health objectives and goals adopted by all Member s, such as the Sustainable Development Goals 
2030.  
1.7.  The need for coherence of the work of Codex and WHO  guidelines and policies has been on 
the agenda of various Codex meetings, including the Codex Executive Committee and the Codex 
Commission. As mentioned at the last TBT meeting, some Codex Committees, such as CCFL and 
the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Food for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), have been 
working for last 10 years to ensure the coherence of their work in developing and/or updating 
Codex standards and guidelines by their respective Committees through taking into consideration 
and incorporati ng the references to relevant WHO guidelines and WHA resolutions. These can be 
observed in a number of newly developed or updated Codex standards and guidelines, including 
most recently regarding the updating of the Standard for Follow -up Formula where CCN USDU at its 
38th Session last year has agreed to include the reference to the Code of Marketing of Breastmilk 
Substitutes and relevant WHA resolutions in order to ensure the policy coherence.  
1.8.  Finally, we noted the increasing numbers of concerns expressed by Members regarding 
alcohol, particularly during the last several TBT meetings. The harmful use of alcohol is one of the 
key risk factors for global health. It is one of 4 risk factors for NCDs responsible for not less than 
2.5 million deaths per year. Th e WHO Global Strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, 
endorsed by WHA in 2010, recommends policy options across 10 key areas of action at the 
national level to protect health of populations which were referred by some Members. In May this 
year, the W orld Health Assembly endorsed a set of priority measures for prevention and control of 
NCDs, that also encompass measures to reduce the harmful use of alcohol, and these measures 
include, among others, providing consumer information and labelling to indica te the harm related 
to alcohol.  
 
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