WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/BHR/44 
13 February 2009 
 (09-0730) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
1. Notifying Member:  BAHRAIN  
If applicable, name of local government involved:    
2. Agency responsible:  Food Control Section, Ministry of Health 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  HS Code 2209, ICS Code 67.040 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[ X ] All trading partners, or [   ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  Kingdom of Bahrain - Vinegar  Language:  Arabic and 
English  Number of pages:   13 pages in Arabic and 10 pages in English 
http://members.wto.org/crnattach ments/2009/sps/BHR/09_0405_00_e.pdf  
6. Description of content:  This Draft Technical Regulation applies to products as: 
Acetic acid food grade:   Product made from materials of non-agricultural origin. 
Vinegar:   Liquid fit for human consumption, prod uced-exclusively from suitable products 
of agricultural origin containing starch or su gars or starch and sugars by the process of 
double fermentation, alcoholic fermentati on followed by acetous fermentation and 
containing a specified amount of acetic acid, its kinds such as: 
Grape, fruit, berry, and apple (cider) vinegar:   Liquids prepared from grape, fruit berry 
and apple (cider) by alcoholic fermentation followed by acetous fermentation or as defined 
in (3.2) except that the maximum level for volatile acids in the raw materials may be 
exceeded. 
Grain vinegar:   Liquid obtained without intermediate distillation by the process defined in 
(3.2) from any cereal grain, the starch of whic h has been converted to sugars by a process 
other than solely by the diastase of malted barley. 
Malt vinegar:   Liquid obtained without intermediate distillation by the process defined in 
(3.2) from malted barley with or without the add ition of cereal grains, the starch of with has 
been converted to sugars solely by the diastase of the malted barley. 
Distilled malt vinegar:   Liquid produced by the distillation of malt vinegar as defined in 
(3.2.3) above, under reduced pressure it contai ns only the volatile constituent of the malt 
vinegar from which it is derived. G/SPS/N/BHR/44 
Page 2  
 
   Whey vinegar:   Liquid obtained from milk whey without intermediate distillation by the 
process defined in (3.2). 
Honey vinegar:   Liquid obtained without intermedia te distillation by the process defined 
in (3.2). 
Dates vinegar:   Liquid prepared from natural dates ju ice by the process defined in (3.2). 
Sprit vinegar, distilled vinegar:   Liquid obtained by acetous fermentation from distilled 
alcohol. 
Definitions, requirements, sampling, methods  of testing and examination, packing, 
transportation, storage, labelling.  
7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection, [  
 ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests.    
8. Is there a relevant international stan dard?  If so, identify the standard:  
[ X ] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard 
or related text)  Codex Alimentarius Volume 162-1987 "Vinegar" 
[   ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number)     
[   ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM N°)     
[   ] None 
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?   
 [   ] Yes   [   ] No 
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:    
9. Other relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available:   
− European Standard for Acetic Acid Food Grade - 2000 
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) :  To be determined.  
Propose date of publication ( dd/mm/yy) :  To be determined. 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  [   ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) :  To be determined. 
[   ] Trade facilitating measure  G/SPS/N/BHR/44 
 Page 3 
 
 
  12. Final date for comments: [ X ] Sixty days  from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or ( dd/mm/yy ):  14 April 2009 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National Notification 
Authority, [   ] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:    
Mr. Abdulla Baqer 
Act. Chief, Food Control Section Ministry of Health P.O . Box 12.  Manama Kingdom of Bahrain 
Tel:  +(973) 1727 3683 
Fax:  +(973) 1727 9253 Website :  www.moh.gov.bh
 
E-mail:  webmaster@health.gov.bh 
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National Notification Authority, [   ] National Enquiry 
Point.  Address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:    
Mr. Abdulla Baqer  
Act. Chief, Food Control Section 
Ministry of Health P.O . Box 12.  Manama Kingdom of Bahrain Tel:  +(973) 1727 3683 Fax:  +(973) 1727 9253 
Website:  www.moh.gov.bh
 
E-mail:  webmaster@health.gov.bh