. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/713 
12 July 2006 
 
 (06-3373) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
STATEMENT BY PERU ON  REGULATION NO. 258/97 
OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES  
 
Statement by Peru at the Meeting Held on 27 and 28 June 2006  
 
 
 The following communication, received on 6 July 2006, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Peru.  
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 1. Peru would like to thank the European Co mmunities for its reply in its communication 
G/SPS/GEN/699 and welcomes the consultations in itiated through document G/SPS/GEN/700 with a 
view to introducing changes to Regulation No. 258/97  of the European Parliament and of the Council. 
2. Peru wishes to present to the WTO Members add itional arguments to those contained in its 
communication G/SPS/GEN/681 of 5 April 2006, in which it expressed concern regarding the application of the Regulation, which restricts entry into the European market of certain foods and food 
ingredients (described as "novel foods") that were not marketed in Europe prior to 15 May 1997. 
3. One of the main problems of the Regulation is that it makes no distinction between strictly 
novel foods and ingredients, that is to say, those th at have not been consumed anywhere in the world, 
and those that are novel only in the European Un ion.  The second category mainly includes exotic 
traditional products mostly originating from developing countries. 
4. According to paragraph 9 of document G/SPS/ GEN/699 of the European Communities, the 
aim of the Regulation is to protect human health on the basis of scientific principles.  Consequently, if 
it is to conform with the provisions of the SPS Ag reement, that measure should be based on a proper 
assessment of existing risks to human health fro m the products in question, including exotic 
traditional products, to which the Regulation is being applied.  Accordingly, we call upon the 
European Communities to provide us with inform ation on the studies undertaken in accordance with 
the requirements of the SPS Agreement in connection with the need to apply the measure to exotic 
traditional products. 
5. Peru considers that the Regulation and its  application constitute an unnecessary and 
unjustified barrier to international trade in e xotic traditional products, owing to the high costs 
resulting from the scientific studies required and the length of time of the process needed to approve 
the entry into the market of a product considered to be a "novel food".  The SPS Agreement requires that Members, when establishing and maintaining sanitary or phytosanitary measures, ensure that 
such measures are not more trade-restrictive than required to achieve their appropriate level of 
protection.  The measures adopted by the Eur opean Communities are unnecessary and excessive since 
they equate strictly novel products with tho se products which already have a history of safe 
consumption in other markets and which do not th erefore represent any risk whatsoever for the G/SPS/GEN/713 
Page 2  
 
  European consumer, as is the case of exotic trad itional foods.  Furthermore, by linking approval of 
entry to a specific applicant, trade is unnecessarily restricted. 
6. As an example, it is worth mentioni ng the case of "noni" juice (fruit of the Morinda genus), 
which took three years to be approved for entry in to the European Union market and required many 
scientific studies to prove that it was safe.  Author ization is not only restricted to the product in 
question (in addition, each product derived from " noni" must go through the same process to be 
accepted in the European Union market), but  is also confined to the applicant. 
7. The case of "lúcuma" shows the deleterious eff ect of the application of the Regulation on the 
flow of trade with the European Communities, as since it was included in the category of "novel 
foods" (in 2000) there has been a significant drop in e xports, which, prior to lúcuma's classification as 
a novel food, had shown considerable increases. 
8. Further evidence of the potential economic imp act of this kind of measure on trade is 
provided by paprika, which began to be cultivated in Peru on a commercial ba sis less than ten years 
ago and which, since it has not been considered to  be a "novel food", has achieved sustained growth 
in the European market, achieving an f.o.b. valu e of US$42 million per annum in 2005, with forecasts 
of greater increases with the industrialization of th e raw material in oleoresins.  This product has 
shown an increase not only in the European  Union but also in other markets. 
9. Another example is the case of "camu camu", a traditional Peruvian product with a high 
natural ascorbic acid content, a major antioxidant for human health and rich in vitamin C, having 
more than twice the level in azarole and 56 times more than lemons.  The nutritional benefits of 
"camu camu" and its safety have b een proved through scientific studies and it is currently consumed 
in such exacting markets as the United States and Japan.  This  product is currently cultivated and 
exported with organic certification by the in ternational organic certification body SKAL. 
10. Bearing in mind these examples, as well as the rules and principles laid down in the 
SPS Agreement, Peru reiterates its request to th e European Communities not to include the exotic 
traditional products in the category of novel foods a nd, furthermore, to make a distinction between 
strictly novel foods and ingredients and those that are novel solely in the European Union , since some 
of these products are already being exported to re gions other than Europe, as in the case of such 
products as lúcuma, yacón, camu camu, etc.  In this  way, the traditional use in the country of origin 
and in other countries would be take n into account and exotic traditiona l products that have a history 
of safe consumption would be allowed entry.  In addition, that would have the effect of ensuring 
compliance of the Regulation with the SPS Agreement,  which establishes that in determining the level 
of sanitary and phytosanitary protection Members must  take into account the objective of minimizing 
the negative effects on trade. 
11. The adverse effects on trade in traditional pr oducts originating for the most part from 
developing countries could thus be avoided, since th e inclusion of exotic traditional products within 
the regulation on novel foods has considerable effect s on the developing countries.  Consequently, we 
should be grateful if the European Communities would explain how the special needs of the 
developing and least developed countries have been taken into account in the preparation and 
application of this measure, as require d under Article 10 of the SPS Agreement. 
 
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