G/SPS/GEN/1555  
 
22 June 2017  
(17-3342) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM I SO 
(REPORT OF ACTIVITIES ) 
The follow ing communication, received on 22  June 201 7, is being circulated at the request of the 
International Organization for Standardization  (ISO).  
 
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The International Organization for Stand ardization (ISO) has prepared this information paper as 
part of ongoing updates and communication between the SPS Committee and the ISO Central 
Secretariat. It provides a summary of current work undertaken by ISO that may be of interest to 
Members of the W TO SPS Committee and is intended to support and enhance dialogue and 
coordination between the two organizations.  
Any general information regarding the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) can be 
found on http://www.iso.org/ . ISO counts more than 2 1,470 international standards , 238 active 
technical committees and 488 active  subcommittees managing some 2, 560 working groups.  
1  ISO'S INTERNATIONAL STAT US 
1.1.  ISO has a specific status with many UN agencies, includin g the WHO and FAO. It is also an 
observer at the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), the WTO Committee on 
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS) and also at the Codex Alimentarius Commiss ion (CAC) and the World Organi sation for 
Animal Health (OIE). ISO entered into a liaison relationship with the International Plant Protection 
Convention (IPPC).  
2  ISO STRATEGY 2016 -2020  
2.1.  The ISO Strategy 2016 -2020 outlines the ISO priorities for the forthcomi ng years and focuses 
on six interlinked strategic directions: ISO will Develop high -quality standards  through ISO global 
membership, by ensuring to effectively Engage stakeholders and partners . A strong foundation in 
People and organization development , effective Use of technology , and a focus on Communication , 
will help to achieve the ultimate objective of ISO standards used everywhere . 
3  ISO ACADEMY  
3.1.  In 2016, technical assistance and training projects were carried out in line with the ISO 
Action Plan 2016 -2020 to strengthen standardization capacities of ISO members developing 
countries in various areas. In particular, a three -day workshop on food safety standards was 
organized on the occasion of the ISO/TC 34 Plenary meeting in Paris, France, for the benefit of ISO 
developing country members from French -speaking countries on 4 -6 July 2016. The workshop was 
attended by 26 participants coming from 16 countries: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, 
Congo Democratic Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Haiti, Madagascar,  Mali, Mauritius, Mauritania, Morocco, 
Niger, Senegal, Seychelles and Tunisia.  
3.2.  Sponsorships were granted to experts from developing countries to participate in the 
standardization work of the following committees dealing with food.  G/SPS/GEN/1555  
 
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  4  ISO AND DEVELOPING C OUNT RIES  - DEVCO  
4.1.  DEVCO, ISO 's policy committee on developing country matters, established in 1961 is a 
unique forum for ISO members from developed and developing countries to discuss 
standardization and related issues, to exchange experience and best practice,  and to identify 
needs and requirements of developing countries. It is also the role of DEVCO to monitor the 
implementation of the ISO Action Plan for developing countries.  
4.2.  Today, 148 out of the 162  ISO members are members of DEVCO. Find out more about 
DEVCO on http://www.iso.org/iso/home/about/iso -and-developing -countries.htm . 
5  ISO TECHNICAL WORK U PDATES  
5.1.  The priority areas of mutual interest on which ISO would like to mainta in and nurture 
dialogue with the SPS Committee are the work of ISO/TC 34 on food products and the generic 
work of the ISO Committee on conformity assessment (ISO/CASCO).  
6  ISO'S CONFORMITY ASS ESSMENT COMMITTEE  - CASCO  
6.1.  It is this body within ISO that is close st to covering the same subject matter as the Codex 
Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS). To date, 
CASCO has 13 5 members. More information about the scope, the structure and the membership 
as well as a quick lin k to the work programme of ISO/CASCO  is available on the ISO website . 
6.2.  Topical issues currently being addressed in CASCO:  
 CASCO hosted its 1st Stakeholder Forum  on 25 November 2016 in London to explore the 
role and benefits of standards and conformity assessment in managing risk for the 
insurance industry;  
 CASCO published t he 2015 ISO Survey  of Management System Standards with a total of 
nine standards surveyed;  
 CASCO continues to issue its eNewsletter on a regular basis with 3 -4 issues a year. With a 
subscription list of just over 2,900; CASCO will co ntinue to issue the eNewsletter as 
needed to update the conformity assessment community. Subscription is freely available 
from the CASCO Resources page ; 
 The IAF -ILAC-ISO Joint St rategic group met twice in 2016 and continues to monitor the 
implementation of their strategic plan. The next meeting is scheduled for 2017.  
6.3.  A full description of the technical work is available form the CASCO Committee page . 
7  ISO TECHNICAL COMMITTEE  34 COOPERATION WITH CODEX, OIE AND OTHER S 
7.1.  There is a long history of collaboration between the Codex Committees and ISO/TC 34, Food 
products . ISO/ TC 34 supports the collaboration between Codex and ISO, in order to enhance the 
mutual coordination of work and the elimination of duplication and contradictions. This also 
includes interest to support any joint or collaborative communication on each other s' work.  
7.2.  ISO's observer status to the CAC provides an opportunity for the coordination of issues 
related to a variety of ISO standards that are adopted and used by Codex in its work. ISO methods 
have been endorsed in the document " Recommended methods of an alysis and sampling " (CODEX 
STAN 234 -1999) which is updated each year during the CCMAS meeting.  
7.3.  Codex and ISO activities are complementary. Codex, as a governmental organization, 
prepares documents to assist governments in their statutory and regulatory wo rk to protect their 
citizens from health hazards caused by food consumption. ISO, as a non -governmental 
organization, prepares standards in particular on test methods to assist stakeholders along the 
whole food chain to fulfil both the statutory and regula tory requirements, as well as the 
requirements of consumers of these products. ISO/TC 34 also works on how to involve more 
developing countries in the works.  G/SPS/GEN/1555  
 
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  7.4.  ISO/TC 34 will continue to offer its full support and cooperation to the Commission with a 
view to  avoiding duplication of work and will adopt, for its own documents, the conclusions of the 
Commission on all matters concerning food hygiene requirements.  
7.5.  Annex 1 lists the projects that might be of interest to the SPS Committee . It is to be noted 
that pr oject ISO/TS 34700 Animal welfare management — General requirements and guidance for 
organizations in the food supply chain , which is developed with the participation of OIE and other 
international organizations and is based on OIE codes, was published at the end of 2016.  
  Development of methods of analysis for vitamins and nutrients on Infant Formula and 
Adult Nutritionals, in collaboration with AOAC (SPIFAN project: Stakeholder Panel on 
Infant Formula and Adult Nutritionals) and IDF;  
  Work on a definition  for "Natural": project ISO/TS 19657, Definition of criteria for a food 
ingredient to be considered as " natural "; 
  Validation of 15 methods of analysis for food microbiology;  
  Revision of ISO 22000, Food safety management systems — Requirements for any 
organization in the food chain ; 
  Publication of ISO/TS 34700, Animal welfare management — General requirements and 
guidance for organizations in the food supply chain  (for food -producing animals), in 
collaboration with the OIE;  
  Development of a standard for sustainable and traceable cocoa beans: ISO 34101 (with 
requirements for sustainability management systems, for performance (related to 
economic, social, and environmental aspects), for traceability, and for certification 
schemes). See the news item: Big step forward for the cocoa sector with new global 
standards in the pipeline . 
8  CONCLUSION  
8.1.  It is recognized that the SPS Committee's Members , as governments, have the authority to 
regulate at the na tional level and that ISO, as a producer of voluntary international standards , 
does not. In the framework of good regulatory practice, as promoted at international and regional 
levels, international standards and guides may be considered useful by regulato rs as effective and 
efficient tools to achieve important regulatory mandates, manage risk and address market 
confidence.  
8.2.  ISO considers that by using its international standards , regulatory authorities will achieve 
their aims in public health and safety at less cost to manufacturers and consumers. Using 
international standards also assists countries to meet their WTO TBT and SPS Agreement 
obligations.  
8.3.  For any further information on technical developments within ISO that have been reported in 
this paper, plea se do not hesitate to contact Mrs Marie -Noëlle Bourquin at ISO Central Secretariat 
(bourquin@iso.org ). G/SPS/GEN/1555  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
SELECTED ISO PROJECT S HAVING CHANGED STA TUS 
DURING THE PAST TWEL VE MONTHS (AS OF MAY 2017 ) 
Project numb er Title Status  
ISO/TS 34700  Animal welfare management — General 
requirements and guidance for organizations in the 
food supply chain  Published in 2016  
ISO/TS 19657  Definition of criteria for a food ingredient to be 
considered as natural  Under developmen t 
ISO/AWI TS 26030  Sustainable development and social responsibility 
— Guidance for using ISO  26000:2010 in the agri -
food sector  Early stage of 
development  
ISO/DIS 22000  Food safety management systems  — Requirements 
for any organization in the food chain  Under revision. Public 
review since April 2017  
ISO/NP  TS 22002 -5 Prerequisite programmes on food safety — Part 5: 
Transport and storage  Early stage of 
development  
ISO 6579-1 Microbiology of the food chain  — Horizontal method 
for the detection, enumerati on and serotyping of 
Salmonella  — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.  Published in 2017  
ISO 10272 -1  
ISO 10272 -2 Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method 
for detection and enumeration of Campylobacter 
spp. Part  1: Detection method and Part  2: Colony -
count technique  Under publication  
ISO 10273  Microbiology of the food chain  — Horizontal method 
for the detection of pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica  Published in 2017  
ISO 11290 -1 
ISO 11290 -2 Microbiology of the food chain  — Horizontal method 
for the detection and enumeration of Listeria 
monocytogenes and of Listeria spp.  — Part 1: 
Detection method and Part  2: Enumeration method  Published in 2017  
ISO 15216 -1 Microbiology of the food chain  — Horizontal method 
for determination of hepatitis A virus  and norovirus 
using real -time RT -PCR — Part 1: Method for 
quantification  Published in 2017  
ISO 16140 -1 
ISO 16140 -2 Microbiology of the food chain — Method validation 
— Part 1: Vocabulary and Part  2: Protocol for the 
validation of alternative (proprietary ) methods 
against a reference method  Published in 2016  
ISO 16654, 
Amendment 1  Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs — 
Horizontal method for the detection of Escherichia 
coli O157  Published in 2017  
ISO 18465  Microbiology of the food chain — Quant itative 
determination of emetic toxin (cereulide) using LC -
MS/MS  Published in 2017  
ISO 18744  Microbiology of the food chain — Detection and 
enumeration of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in fresh 
leafy green vegetables and berry fruits  Published in 2016  
ISO 19020  Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method 
for the immunoenzymatic detection of staphylococcal 
enterotoxins in foodstuffs  Published in 2017  
ISO 19343  Microbiology of the food chain — Detection and 
quantification of histamine in fish and fish ery 
products  — HPLC method  Under publication  G/SPS/GEN/1555  
 
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  Project numb er Title Status  
ISO 21528 -1 
ISO 21528 -2 Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal methods 
for the detection and enumeration of 
Enterobacteriaceae  — Part 1: Detection of 
Enterobacteriaceae and  
Part 2: Colony -count method  Published in 2017  
ISO 21872  Microbiology of the food chain  — Horizontal method 
for the detection of potentially enteropathogenic 
Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio 
vulnificus  Under publication  
ISO 22964  Microbiology of the food chain  — Horizontal method 
for the detection of Cronobacter spp.  Published in 2017  
ISO/DIS 20635  Infant formula and adult nutritionals  — 
Determination of vitamin C by (ultra) high 
performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet 
detection ((U)HPLC -UV) Under developm ent 
ISO/CD 20636  Fortified milk powders, infant formula and adult 
nutritionals  — Determination of vitamin D by liquid 
chromatography -mass spectrometry  Under development  
ISO/CD 21446  Infant formula and adult nutritionals  — 
Determination of trans vitamin K 1 content by 
normal phase high performance liquid 
chromatography (HPLC)  Under development  
ISO/CD 21468  Infant formula and adult nutritionals  — 
Determination of total choline and carnitine content 
by Liquid chromatography and tandem mass 
spectrometry (LC -MS/MS)  Under development  
ISO/CD 21470  Infant formula and adult nutritionals  — 
Determination of vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6 content 
by liquid chromatography and tandem mass 
spectrometry (LC -MS/MS)  Under development  
ISO/DIS 34101 
series  Sustainable and trac eable cocoa beans  —  
Part 1: Requirements for sustainability 
management systems  
Part 2: Requirements for performance (related to 
economic, social, and environmental aspects)  
Part 3: Requirements for traceability  
Part 4: Requirements for certification schem es Under development  
ISO/AWI 19565  Fisheries  — Minimal requirements for fisheries 
labels: environmental aspects  Under development 
(FAO participation)  
 
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