WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/566 
10 June 2005 
 (05-2405) 
Committee of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
 
INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION 
 
Submission by the Codex Alimentarius Commission 
 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 08 June 2005,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
 
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I. CODEX SESSIONS SINCE THE LAST MEETING OF THE SPS COMMITTEE 
(MARCH 2005) 
• The 3rd Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Comm ittee for Near East (7-10 March 2005, 
Amman, Jordan) 
• The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (14-19 March 2005, Buenos 
Aires, Argentina) 
• The 26th Session of the Codex Committee on Met hods of Analysis and Sampling (4-
8 April 2005, Budapest, Hungary)  
• The 22nd Session of the Codex Committee on Gene ral Principles (11-15 April 2005, Paris, 
France) 
• The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (18-23 April 2005, The 
Hague, Netherlands) 
• The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on F ood Additives and Contaminants (25-
29 April 2005, The Hague, Netherlands) 
• The 33rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food La belling (9-13 May 2005, Kota Kinabalu, 
Malaysia) 
• The 12th Session of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (16-20 May 2005, 
Mexico City, Mexico) G/SPS/GEN/566 
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 1. In particular, the SPS Committee may wish to dr aw its attention to the following meetings. 
2. The 27
th Session of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products finalized several 
sections of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fish ery Products, and in particular the sections on 
aquaculture and on shrimps and prawns, that will be submitted to the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission for final adoption.  It is proceeding with  its work on the remaining sections of the Code 
and on several standards.  This includes in partic ular the development of a code of practice and a 
standard addressing food safety issues regarding biva lve molluscs, that will take into account the 
results of the FAO /WHO expert consultations on microbiological risk assessment and on biotoxins. 
3. The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene agreed to forward to the 
Commission the draft Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the 
Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to- eat Foods, the Principles and Guidelines for the 
Conduct of Microbiological Risk Management and the draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products for preliminary adoption at Step 5 of the Codex Procedure;  endorsed the food hygiene provisions of the Code of Practice for Fish and Fish ery Products;  agreed to return the proposed draft 
revision of the Recommended International Code of  Practice for Food for Infants and Children for 
redrafting by a Working Group;  agreed to return  the document on draft Guidelines for the Validation 
of Food Hygiene Control Measures to Step 2 for redrafting by a working group;  urged FAO and WHO to address the needs of CCF H for the Provision of Scientific Advice by FAO/WHO on the 
Application of Risk Assessment to Risk Manageme nt; and submitted the terms of reference for the 
FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the uses of activ e chlorine to the Commission to forward to 
FAO/WHO. 
4. The 26
th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, in addition 
to the endorsement of methods of analysis in C odex standards, is currently working on the Draft 
Guidelines for Evaluating Acceptable Methods of  Analysis, the Proposed Draft Guidelines for 
Settling Disputes on Analytical (Test) Results and the revision of the Analytical Terminology for Codex Use.  The Committee decided to continue its work on the criteria for methods of analysis for 
foods derived from biotechnology; the methods for th e determination of dioxins and PCBs;  and to 
consider the revision of the IUPAC/ISO/AOAC Protocol for Proficiency Testing and sampling 
uncertainty at its next session. 
5. The 22
nd Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles agreed to abolish the 
acceptance procedure for Codex standards as many de legations recognized that it had not been used 
by member countries for a long time and that it w as not relevant in the framework of the WTO SPS 
and TBT Agreements.  All relevant sections of th e Procedural Manual were amended accordingly.  
The Committee also discussed the n eed for information on the use of Codex standards and agreed that 
the Codex Secretariat should initiate informal cons ultations with the WTO Secretariat on how to 
monitor information on the use of Code x standards at the national level. 
6. The Committee is also currently working on the Proposed Draft Working Principles for Risk 
Analysis for Food Safety and on new definitions of risk analysis terms related to food safety. 
7. The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Pes ticide Residues continued work on the 
elaboration of MRLs for pesticid es and submitted the proposed draft Risk Analysis Principles Applied 
by the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues to the Commission for preliminary adoption at Step 5;  
expressed its concern about the difficult financial s ituation currently faced by WHO in supporting the 
JMPR work. 
8. The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants continued 
work on the General Standard for Food Additives and the General Standard for Contaminants and 
Toxins in Foods.  The CCFAC forwarded the draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction  G/SPS/GEN/566 
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 of Aflatoxin Contamination in Tree Nuts;  the draf t Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction 
of Tin Contamination in Canned Foods;  and the dr aft Maximum Levels for Cadmium in wheat grain, 
potato, stem and root vegetables, leafy vegetables,  and other vegetables, for final adoption by the 28th 
Session of the Commission (see Annex).  Proposals for new work being submitted to the Commission for approval include:  an Appendix to the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of 
Aflatoxin Contamination in Tree Nuts, to addr ess additional measures for the prevention and 
reduction of aflatoxins in Brazil nut s;  a Code of Practice for the Reduction of Chloropropanols during 
the production of acid-Hydrolized Vegetable Proteins  (HVPs) and Products that contain acid-HVPs;  
and the revision of the Codex Class Names and Inte rnational Numbering System for Food Additives. 
9. The CCFAC agreed to forward the terms of re ference and background information for a Joint 
Expert Consultation, to conduct a comprehensive asse ssment of the use of active chlorine, to the 
Commission for transmission to FAO and WHO, along with the terms of reference prepared by the 
CCFH.  The Committee also expressed its strong con cern regarding the urgent need for increased 
financial support from WHO for the work of the Co mmission, particularly JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO 
Expert Committee on Food Additives). 
II. FORTHCOMING CODEX MEETINGS  
• The 56
th Session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission 
(30 June-2 July 2005, Rome, Italy) 
• The 28th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (4-9 July 2005, Rome, Italy) 
• The 5th Ad Hoc  Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology (19-
23 September 2005, Chiba, Japan) 
• The 26th  Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses 
(21-25 November 2005, Bonn, Germany) 
• The 14th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification Systems (28 November-2  December 2005, Melbourne, Australia) 
10. In particular, the SPS Committee may wish to dr aw its attention to the following meetings. 
11. The Codex Alimentarius Commission will hold its 28th Session at the Food and Agriculture 
Organization of the U.N., Rome, Italy, from 4-9 July 2005, preceded by the 56th Session of the 
Executive Committee.  The 28th Session will consider, among othe rs, draft Codex standards and 
related texts for final adoption at Step 8 or at St ep 5/8 (see Annex) as well as proposals to amend the 
Rules of Procedure and other texts in the Procedural Manual. 
12. The 14th Session of the Codex Committee on F ood Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification Systems will consider Principles for the Application of Traceability/Product Tracing in 
the context of Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems.  A first draft of the 
Principles, subject to approval of new work by the 28th Session of the Commission, will be elaborated 
by a Working Group, led by Australia and co-chaired by Argentina and Norway, which will meet in Brussels on 12-14 September 2005.  The Committee, among others, will start working on the elaboration of Appendices to the Guidelines on the Judgement of Equivalence of Sanitary Measures 
Associated with Food Inspection and Certification Systems and on the revision of the Guidelines for 
Generic Official Certificate Formats and the Produc tion and Issuance of Certificates.  The Committee 
will also consider draft Principles and Guidelines for Risk-based Inspection of Imported Foods and a 
discussion paper on the revision of the Guidelin es for the Exchange of Information Between 
Countries on Rejections of Imported Foods. G/SPS/GEN/566 
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 III. REVIEW OF CODEX COMMITTEE STRUCTURE AND MANDATES OF CODEX 
COMMITTEES AND TASK FORCES 
13. As a follow up to the Joint FAO/WHO Evaluation of the Codex Alimentarius and Other FAO 
and WHO Work on Food Standards , conducted in 2002, and the ongoing implementation of its 
recommendations by Codex, a team of consultant s was recruited in September 2004 to conduct a 
review of the Codex Committee structure and the mandates of Codex Committees and Task Forces, 
with a view to formulating recommendations for co nsideration by the Commission.  A Final Report 
by the consultants has been circulated for go vernment comments and will be discussed at the 56
th 
Session of the Executive Committee, followed by the 28th Codex Alimentarius Commission 
(July 2005). 
IV. FAO/WHO PROJECT AND TRUST FUND FOR ENHANCED PARTICIPATION IN 
CODEX 
14. The Codex Trust Fund became operational in March 2004.  During the March to 
December 2004 period, a total of 83 participan ts from 75 countries attended 14 separate Codex 
meetings, utilizing US$561,297 of funding from th e Codex Trust Fund.  As of 31 December 2004, 
nine national governments and the European Community had contributed a total of US$1,543,090. 
15. The main objective of the Codex Trust Fund is to enhance participation of Codex Member 
States, especially least developed countries, in the work of Codex Alimentarius.  It has been 
recognized that active participation of Member St ates in Codex significantly enhances the countries' 
ability to further develop their food safety systems, and thereby their capacity to protect the health of 
their citizens as it relates to food and to promot e food trade, nationally and internationally. 
16. In 2005, a total amount of US$1,073,926 is expected to be flowing into the Trust Fund, 
thanks to the contributions from Canada, Eu ropean Community, Germany, Sweden and the 
Netherlands.  Applications for support in 2005 from the Codex Trust Fund closed on 
31 December 2004.  Ninety one countries applied for support to send nearly three hundred 
participants to Codex meetings in 2005.  Appli cation forms for support, by way of Codex meeting 
attendance, training and other activities in 2006, are expected to be available on the WHO, FAO and Codex websites from July 2005, together with full de tails of eligibility and application procedure. 
17. Further information can be found on th e website of the Codex Trust Fund: 
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/codex/trustfund/en/
 
V. MEMBERSHIP OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION 
18. The membership currently comprises 171 Member  Nations and one Member Organization.  G/SPS/GEN/566 
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ANNEX 
STANDARDS AND RELATED TEXT S SUBMITTED TO THE CODEX 
ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSI ON FOR ADOPTION 
 
CODEX BODY DOCUMENT 
CCFAC Draft and proposed draft food additive  provisions of the General Standard for 
Food Additives 
CCFAC Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin 
Contamination in Tree Nuts 
CCFAC Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Tin Contamination in 
Canned Foods 
CCFAC Draft Maximum Levels for cadmium in wheat grain; potato; stem and root 
vegetables; leafy vegetabl es; and, other vegetables 
CCFAC Proposed draft amendments to the International Numbering System for Food 
Additives 
CCFAC Specifications for the Identity and Pu rity of Food Additives arising from the 63rd 
JECFA meeting 
CCFAC Proposed draft revision of the Preamble of the General Standard for 
Contaminants and Toxins in Foods (GSCTF) (N09-2004) 
CCFFP Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (section on Aquaculture) 
CCFFP Draft Amendment to the Standard for Salted Fish and Died Salted Fish of the 
Gadidae  Family 
CCFFP Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (Shrimps and 
Prawns; Cephalopods; Transport; Re tail; and relevant Definitions) 
CCFFV Proposed draft Standard for Rambutan 
CCFICS Proposed draft Principles for Electronic Certification 
CCFO Proposed draft Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oil; 
Amendment of Sesameseed Oil 
CCFO Proposed Draft Revised Table 1 of th e Recommended International Code of 
Practice for the Storage and Transport of the Edible Fats and Oils in Bulk 
CCMH Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Meat 
CCNEA Proposed Draft Regional Guidelines for Codex Contact Points and National 
Codex Committees G/SPS/GEN/566 
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 CODEX BODY DOCUMENT 
CCNFSDU Draft Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements 
CCPR Draft and Proposed Draft Maximum Residue Levels for Pesticides  
CCPR Proposed Draft Interim MRLs  
CCPR Proposed Draft MRLs for Spices  
CCPR Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Use of Mass Spectrometry (MS) for Identification, 
Confirmation and Quantitative Determination of Residues 
CCPR Proposed New Codes and Numbers for Commodities with Adopted MRLs 
CCRVDF Draft Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs  
CCRVDF Proposed Draft Maximum Residue Limits for Veterinary Drugs 
CCRVDF Proposed Draft Code of Practice to Minimize and Contain Antimicrobial 
Resistance 
TFFVJ Draft Codex General Standard for Fruit Juices and Nectars 
TFFVJ Draft Minimum Brix Level for Recons tituted Juice and Reconstituted Purée and 
Minimum Juice and/or Purée Content for Fruit Nectars (% v/v) grape, guava, 
mandarine/tangerine, mango, passion fruit and tamarind (Indian date)  
juices/nectars  
TFFVJ Proposed Draft Minimum Brix Level for Reconstituted Juice and Reconstituted 
Purée and Minimum Juice and/or Purée Content for Fruit Nectars (% v/v) lemon, 
lime, orange and pineapple juices/nectars  
 
 
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