. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/37 
23 June 2006 
 (06-3065) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
REPORT PROVIDED BY THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION  
AT THE TBT COMMITTEE MEETING OF 7 -9 JUNE 2006 
 
Agenda Item 5:  Updating by Observers
 
 
 
 The following report, dated 7 June 2006, is being circulated at the request of the Codex . 
 
 
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• CODEX SESSIONS OF INTEREST TO THE TBT COMMITTEE SINCE THE 
LAST MEETING OF THE TBT COMMITTEE (15-17 MARCH 2006) 
• The 7
th  Session of the Codex Committee on Milk  and Milk Products (Queenstown,  
New Zealand, 27 March – 1 April 2006)  
• The 23rd Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (Paris, France,  
10 - 14 April 2006)  
• The 34th  Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (Ottawa, Canada,  
1 - 5 May 2006)  
• 27th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Budapest, 
Hungary, 15 - 19 May 2006) 
 
In particular, the TBT Committee's attention is drawn to the following: 
1. The 7th Session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products  finalized several texts, 
including the amendment to the Codex General Standa rd for Cheese, the 3 standards for blend of milk 
products and vegetable fat, the revised standards fo r 16 individual cheeses, the revision of the Codex 
Standard for Whey Cheeses and the Standard for Dair y Fat Spreads.  These texts will be considered 
by the 29th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption.  The Committee also 
forwarded the proposed draft Model Export Certif icate for Milk and Milk Products to the 29th Session 
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption as a Draft, agreed to discontinue consideration of 
the issue of naming non standardized dairy products and to forward to the 29th Session of the 
Commission a proposal for new work on the amendment to the list of additives of the Codex Standard 
for Creams and Prepared Creams. 
2. The 23rd Session of the  Codex Committee on General Principles  agreed on several 
proposed amendments to the Procedural Manual, esp ecially the Procedures for the Elaboration of 
Codex Standards and Related Texts and the review of the General Principles of the Codex 
Alimentarius. G/TBT/GEN/37 
Page 2  
 
  3. The  34
th Session of the  Codex Committee on Food Labelling  finalized the Draft Revised 
List of Permitted Substances in the Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and 
Marketing of Organically Produced Foods , and the Proposed Draft Defin ition of Trans-Fatty Acids, 
for inclusion in the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling , both for adoption by the 29th Session of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission. It considered the Labelling of Foods and Food Ingredients Obtained 
through Certain Techniques of Genetic Modifica tion / Genetic Engineering and the Quantitative 
Declaration of Ingredients, and provided its view s on the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy 
on Diet, Physical Activity and Health in the framework of Codex.  
4. The 27th  Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling 
forwarded the Proposed Draft Guidelines for Settling Disputes on Analytical (Test) Results and 
Analytical Terminology for Codex Use  to the 29th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for 
adoption as Draft Guidelines, agreed to ask for further comments on the Draft Guidelines for 
Evaluating Acceptable Methods of Analysis , and endorsed the methods of analysis and sampling in 
several Draft Codex standards.  It agreed to cont inue its work on recommendations and criteria for 
methods of analysis for the detection and identif ication of foods derive d from biotechnology; the 
revision and harmonisation of analytical te rminology; and uncertainty in sampling . 
II. FORTHCOMING CODEX MEETINGS  
5. The following Codex Sessions may be of interest to the TBT Committee :   
• The 58th Session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission 
(Geneva, Switzerland, 29 June - 1 July 2006)  
• The 29th  Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission ( Geneva, Switzerland, 3 - 8 July 
2006) 
• The 28th  Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (Beijing, China, 
18-22 September 2006)   
6. The 28th  Session of the Committee on Fish and Fishery Products  will continue its work on 
the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products  that includes provisions relating to food safety and 
quality, and on several individual standards for fi sh and fishery products (sturgeon caviar, smoked 
fish and different types of molluscs).  It will cons ider the Proposed Draft Amendment to the Standard 
for Canned Sardines and Sardine-Type Products ( Clupea bentincki ) and the revision of the Procedure for 
the Inclusion of Species in Codex Standards. 
III. ABOLITION OF ACCEPTANCE PROCEDURES OF CODEX STANDARDS 
7. The 33rd Session of the FAO Conference (November 2005) and the 59th World Health 
Assembly approved the amendments to the Statutes of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, thereby 
completing the abolition process of the acceptance procedures. 
IV. MEMBERSHIP OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION 
8. The membership currently comprises 173 c ountries and the European Community.  
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