WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/GEN/81 
30 April 2009 
 (09-2102) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION  
 
 
 The following information was provided by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
 at the 
TBT Committee meeting of 18-19 March 2009.  
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I. CODEX SESSIONS SINCE THE LAST MEETING OF THE TBT COMMITTEE  
(1-2 JULY 2008) 
• The 17th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification Systems (Cebu, Philippines, 24-28 November 2008); 
• The 40th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (Guatemala City, Guatemala, 1-5 
December 2008); 
• The 21st Session of the Codex Committee on Fats  and Oils (Kota Kina balu, Malaysia, 16-20 
February 2009); 
• The 30th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Budapest, 
Hungary, 9-13 March  2008). 
 In particular, the TBT Committee may wish to draw its attention to the following: 
1. The Seventeenth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection 
and Certification Systems agreed to redraft the Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Foreign 
On-site Audits and Inspection. It also agreed to forward the renamed Generic Model Official 
Certificate to the 32
nd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for final adoption and to 
recommend to the Commission to request the Code x Committees on Fish and Fishery Products and on 
Milk and Milk Products to consider revising the Model Certificate for Fish and Fishery Products  
(CAC/GL 48-2004) and Model Export Certificate fo r Milk and Milk Products  (CAC/GL 67-2008) to 
ensure consistency with the Generic Mode l Official Certificate, when adopted. 
2. The Twenty-first Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils  finalised the Draft 
Amendment to the Standard for Named Vegetable Oils  to include rice bran oil and made substantial 
progress on other Proposed Draft Amendments to include  palm kernel stearin and palm kernel olein. 
The Committee proceeded with its work on the development of cr iteria to assess the acceptability of 
substances for inclusion in a List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes in the Code of Practice for the 
Transport and Storage of Fats and Oils in Bulk  and agreed to consider further the Draft and Proposed 
Draft Lists of Acceptable Previous Cargoes at its next session. As regards the Standard for Olive Oils 
and Olive Pomace Oils,  the Committee agreed to ask for further comments on the provisions on the 
level of linolenic acid in virgin olive oil and re lated parameters. The Committee also updated the list 
of additives in the current standards for fats and oils. G/TBT/GEN/81 
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  II. FORTHCOMING CODEX MEETINGS  
• The 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (Shanghai, China,  
16-20 March 2009); 
• The 3rd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (Rotterdam,  
Netherlands, 23-27 March 2009); 
• The 26th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (Paris, France,  
30 March-3 April 2009); 
• The 41st Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (Beijing, China,  
20-25 April 2009); 
• The 37th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (Calgary, Canada,  
4-8 May 2009) 
• The 18th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary (Natal, Brazil,  
11-15 May 2009); 
• The 62nd Session of the Executive Committee of  the Codex Alimentarius Commission 
(Rome, Italy, 23-26 June 2009); 
• The 32nd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Rome, Italy 29 June–  
4 July 2009). 
 
3. The Twenty-fifth Session of the  Codex Committee on General Principles will consider the  
Proposed Draft Revised Code of Ethics for Interna tional Trade in Foods, and review the Principles on 
the INGO participation as well as the Risk Analysis Policies of Codex Committees. It will also discuss issues related to "consensus" in Codex and the ques tion of the participation of developing countries in 
the Codex standards-setting process. 
4. The Thirty-seventh Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling  will consider some 
proposed drafts: Proposed Draft Revision of the Guidelines on Nutrition Labelling; Proposed Draft 
Criteria/Principles for Legibility and Readab ility of Nutrition Labels; and Proposed Draft 
Recommendations for the Labelling of Foods and Food Ingredients Obtained through Certain 
Techniques of Genetic Modification / Genetic Engi neering. The Committee w ill also discuss the Draft 
Amendment to the General Standard for the Labe lling of Prepackaged Foods (Definitions) and the 
following discussion paper: on issues Related to Mandatory Nutrition Labelling; on Labelling 
Provisions Dealing with the Food Ingredients Identified in the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health; and on the Need to Amen d the General Standard for the Labelling of 
Prepackaged Foods. In relation to the revision of Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling 
and marketing of Organically Produced Foods , the matters of inclusion of  ethylene for other products 
and the deletion of rote none will be considered. 
5. The Codex Alimentarius Commission  will hold its Thirty-Second Session at the Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, 28 June – 4 July 2009, preceded by the 
Sixty-second Session of the Executive Committee . The Commission will consider, among others, a 
number of draft Codex standards and related texts for final adoption at Step 8 or at Step 5/8 as well as 
proposals to amend the Rules of Procedure and other texts in the Procedural Manual. The 
Commission will also consider the implementation of the Joint FAO/WHO Evaluation of the Codex 
Alimentarius and other FAO and WHO Work on F ood Standards and relations between the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission and othe r International Organizations.  G/TBT/GEN/81 
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  CODEX MEMBERSHIP 
6. In January and February 2009, three new members joined the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission:  Montenegro; Comoros; and Tajikistan.  This has brought the Codex membership to 179 
member countries and one member organization (the European Community). 
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