WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/747 
2 February 2007 
 (07-0465) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
SUBMISSION TO THE 38
TH MEETING OF THE SPS COMMITTEE 
(GENEVA, 28 FEBRUARY - 1 MARCH 2007) 
 
INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES OF THE  
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION 
 
Submission by the Codex Alimentarius Commission  
   The following communication, dated 30 January 2 007, is being circulated at the request of the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
I. CODEX SESSIONS SINCE THE THIRTY-SEVENTH MEETING OF THE SPS 
COMMITTEE (11-13 OCTOBER 2006) 
- The 9
th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for North America and South 
West Pacific (Apia, Samoa, 10-13 October 2006) 
- The 23rd Session of the Codex Committee on Pro cessed Fruits and Vegetables (Arlington, 
United States of America, 16-21 October 2006) 
- The 28th Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses 
(Chiang Mai, Thailand, 30 October-3 November 2006) 
- The 15th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the 
Caribbean (Mar del Plata, Argentina, 13-17 November 2006) 
- The 15th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification Systems (Mar del Plata, Argentina, 6-10 November 2006) 
- The 15th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia (Seoul, Republic of 
Korea, 21-24 November 2006) 
- The 6th Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Food Derived from 
Biotechnology (Chiba, Japan, 27 November-1 December 2006) 
- The 38th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (Houston, United States of 
America, 4-9 December 2006) 
- The 25th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Europe (Vilnius, Lithuania, 
15-18 January 2007) 
- The 17th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa (Rabat, Morocco, 23-
26 January 2007) G/SPS/GEN/747 
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  In particular, the SPS Committee may wish to  draw its attention to the following: 
 1. The Twenty-eighth Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special 
Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) agreed to forward the Draft Revise d Standard for Infant Formula and 
Formulas for Special Medical Purposes Intended for Infants for final adoption and the Draft Revised 
Advisory List of Nutrient Compounds for Use in F oods for Special Dietary Us es Intended for the Use 
by Infants and Young Children for provisional adoption by the 30
th Session of the Commission 
(Rome, 2-7 July 2007).  The Committee also agre ed to start new work on the establishment and 
application of risk analysis principles. 
2. The Fifteenth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection 
and Certification Systems agreed to advance the renamed proposed draft Guidelines for Generic 
Official Certificate Formats and the Design, Production, Issuance and Use of Certificates for final adoption by the 30
th Session of the Commission. In view of the several attestations that may be 
included in a food certificate e.g. animal health and/ or plant health attestations, and of the possible 
inconsistencies among these attestations, the Committee finalised to recommend that the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission coordinates its work  on certificates with the World Organisation for 
Animal Health (OIE) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and other 
organisations as appropriate.  The Committee agreed to further redraft the proposed draft Appendices 
to the Guidelines on the Judgement of Equivalenc e of Sanitary Measures Associated with Food 
Inspection and Certification for c onsideration by its next session. 
3. The Sixth Session of the Codex ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived 
from Biotechnology , while having been able to finalize most  of the sections of the proposed draft 
Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assess ment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA 
Animals, decided to invite comments on the sections  on antibiotic resistance marker genes and to 
continue its elaboration at its ne xt meeting.  The Task Force agr eed to further redraft the proposed 
draft Annex to the Guideline for the Conduct of Foods Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from 
Recombinant-DNA Plants Modified for Nutritional or H ealth Benefits.  The Task Force also agreed to 
undertake new work to elaborate an annex to the Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety 
Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants :  an annex on the Low-level Presence of 
Recombinant-DNA Plant Material. 
4. The Thirty-eighth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene  agreed to forward the 
draft Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Management, the draft Code 
of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products , and the draft Guidelines on the Application of 
General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of  Listeria monocytogenes in Foods to the 
Commission for final adoption.  The Committee also  agreed to consolidate two proposals on broiler 
chicken into a single one and to initiate new wo rk on the proposed draft Guidelines for Control of 
Campylobacter  and Salmonella  spp. in Broiler (Young Bird) Chicken Meat. 
II. FORTHCOMING CODEX MEETINGS  
- The 20th Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (London, United Kingdom, 19-
23 February 2007) 
- The 4th Session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Co mmittee for Near East (Amman, Jordan, 
26 February-1 March 2007) 
- The 28th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Budapest, 
Hungary, 5-9 March 2007) 
- The 24th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles (Paris, France, 2-
6 April 2007)  G/SPS/GEN/747 
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  - The 1st Session of the Codex Committee on Contamin ants in Foods (Beijing, China, 16-
20 April 2007) 
- The 39th Session of the Codex Committee on F ood Additives (Beijing, China, 24-
28 April 2007) 
- The 35th Session of the Codex Committee on F ood Labelling (Ottawa, Canada, 30 April-
4 May 2007) 
- The 39th Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (Beijing, China, 7-
12 May 2007) 
In particular, the SPS Committee may wish to  draw its attention to the following: 
 
5. The Twentieth Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils  will consider the lists of 
acceptable previous cargoes in the Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of Edible Fats and 
Oils in Bulk on the basis of the scientific advice provided by the FAO/WHO Technical Meeting on the 
Development of Criteria for Acceptable Cargoes, a nd the finalisation of the additives section in the 
draft Standard for Fat Spreads and Blended Spreads. 
6. The Twenty-eighth Session of the Committee on Methods of Analysis  and Sampling will 
consider the draft Criteria for Evaluating Acceptabl e Methods of Analysis, the draft Guidelines for 
Settling Disputes over Analytical (Test) Results, and the conversion of the methods of analysis for 
heavy metals into criteria. 
7. The Twenty-fourth Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles  will consider 
the proposed draft Working Principles for Risk Anal ysis for Food Safety, proposed new definitions of 
risk analysis terms related to food safety and amendments to the Rules of Procedure and the 
Procedure for the Elaboration of Codex Standard s and Related Texts.  The Committee will also 
review the General Principles of the Codex Alimenta rius, questions related to the Code of Ethics for 
International Trade in Foods and the structur e and presentation of the Procedural Manual. 
8. The First Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods  will consider the 
proposed drafts of the Preamble of the GSCTF, of the Sampling Plan for Aflatoxin Contamination in 
Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Hazelnuts, and Pistachio, of the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A Contamination in Wine, of the Maximum Levels for 3-MCPD in Liquid 
Condiments Containing Acid Hydrolyzed Vegetabl e Proteins (acid-HVPs) (excluding naturally 
fermented soya sauce, of the Code of Practi ce for the Reduction of Chloropropanols during the 
Production of Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable Proteins  (acid-HVPs) and Products that Contain acid-
HVPs, of the Code of Practice for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Food, and the Code of Practice for 
the Reduction of Contamination of Food with P AH from Smoking and Direct Drying Processes.  The 
Committee will also consider the drafts of the Ma ximum Levels for Ochratoxin A in wheat, barley, 
and rye, for Total Aflatoxins in Almonds, Hazelnut s, and Pistachios for further processing, and for 
Tin in Canned Foods (other than beverages) and in Canned Bevera ges.  The Committee will discuss 
the Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in "r eady-to-eat" Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios and 
the Aflatoxin Contamination in Brazil Nuts.  In addition, many discussion papers not under 
elaboration procedure will also be consider ed:  Discussion Papers on Deoxynivalenol (DON); on 
Ochratoxin A (OTA) in Coffee; on Ochratoxin A (O TA) in Cocoa; on Aflatoxin Contamination in 
Dried Figs.  The Committee will also consider ame ndments and/or addition to the priority list of 
Contaminants and Natural Occurring Toxicants Proposed for Evaluation by JECFA. 
9. The Thirty-ninth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives will primarily be 
involved in the continued elaboration of the Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA).  It 
will examine other issues related to the General Standa rd, including: the inclusion of the food additive G/SPS/GEN/747 
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  provisions of the commodity standards; the endorse ment of food additive provisions arising from 
other Codex Committees; specifications for the ident ity and purity of food additives arising from the 
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additiv es with a view to their adoption as Codex 
specifications; proposals for the amendments to the International Numbering System for Food Additives.  The Committee will consider other i ssues related to food additives, such as: the 
elaboration of guidelines for the use of flavour ings; the inventory of processing aids and the 
development of guidelines for their use; and, the revision on the Codex Class Names and International 
Numbering Systems.  It will also consider amendments and/or addition to the priority list of food additives proposed for evaluation by JECFA.  In addition, the Committee w ill review its terms of 
reference adopted by the 29
th Session of Codex Alimentarius Co mmission and consider other matters 
referred to it by the Commission and ot her Codex Committees and Task Forces. 
10. The Thirty-ninth Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues will continue to 
elaborate maximum residue limits for pesticides (MRLs) and extraneous maximum residue limits (EMRLs) in or on foods and feeds moving in inte rnational trade and revise or recommend to revoke, 
if appropriate, existing MRLs/EMRLs based on its  previous discussions and recommendations made 
by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Resi dues (JMPR).  The Committee will consider the 
Priority List for the establishment of MRLs for ce rtain pesticides, the policy to be followed in the 
establishment of MRLs for processed foods, and the discussion paper on how Codex MRLs are used at national level. 
 
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