WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/777 
1 June 2007 
 (07-2250) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
SUBMISSION TO THE 39
TH MEETING OF THE SPS COMMITTEE 
(GENEVA, 27-28 JUNE 2007) 
 
INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES OF THE  
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION 
 
Submission by the Codex Alimentarius Commission  
   The following communication, dated 24 May 2007, 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 
(28 FEBRUARY – 1 MARCH 2007) 
- The 20
th 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)  
- 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 Food 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: 
1. The Twentieth Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils  proceeded with its work 
on the lists of acceptable previous cargoes in the Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of 
Edible Fats and Oils in Bulk and criteria  for inclusion of substances in the lists on the basis of the 
scientific advice provided by the FAO/WHO Technical Meeting on the Development of Criteria for G/SPS/GEN/777 
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  Acceptable Cargoes, and finalised the additives sect ion in the Draft Standard for Fat Spreads and 
Blended Spreads. 
2. The Twenty-fourth Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles agreed to 
forward the proposed amendments to the Commissi on for adoption: i) the Proposed Procedure for 
Consideration of the Entry and Review of Food A dditive Provisions in the General Standard for Food 
Additives; ii) the Draft Risk Analysis Principl es Applied by the Committee on Pesticide Residues; 
iii) the Proposed Draft Risk Management Methodol ogies, including Risk Assessment Policies in the 
Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in F oods; and iv) the Proposed Draft Working Principles 
for Risk Analysis for Food Safety for Applicati on by Governments. The Committee also agreed to 
circulate the Proposed Draft Code of Ethics for Inte rnational Trade in Food to the member countries 
for comments.   
3. The First Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods agreed to further 
review maximum levels of Ochratoxin A in wheat, ba rley and rye and of total aflatoxins in almonds, 
hazelnuts and pistachios "for further processing" and "ready-to-eat".  The Committee also decided to 
reconsider Codes of Practice for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Food and the Reduction of 
Contamination of Food with Polycyclic Aroma tic Hydrocarbons (PAH) from Smoking and Direct 
Drying Process.  
4. The Thirty-ninth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives  decided to forward 
the proposed amendments for adoption by Code x Alimentarius Commission: i) food additive 
provisions of the General Standard for Food A dditives (GSFA); ii) the International Numbering 
System for Food Additives; and iii) Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives 
arising from the 65
th JECFA meeting. The Committee also agreed to endorse the food additive 
provisions, which subsidiary bodies of Codex Alimentarius Commission had requested to endorse, in 
the proposed draft standards with some modifications.  
5. The Thirty-ninth Session of the  Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues finalised several 
maximum residue limits for pesticides (MRLs) in f oods and feeds moving in international trade and 
revise or recommend to revoke existing MRLs based on its previous discussions and 
recommendations made by the Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR).  The 
Committee established a Priority List  for the establishment of MRLs fo r certain pesticides, considered 
the policy to be followed in the establishment of MRLs for processed foods, and the revision of the 
Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds.  
II. FORTHCOMING CODEX MEETINGS  
- The 59th Session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Rome, 
Italy, 26-29 June 2007) 
- The 30th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Rome, Italy, 2-7 July 2007) 
- The 17th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods 
(Breckenridge, Colorado, the United States of America, 3-7 September 2007) 
- The 7th Session of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Food Derived from 
Biotechnology (Chiba, Japan, 24-28 September 2007) 
- The 1st Session of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance 
(Seoul, Republic of Korea, 23-26 October 2007) 
6. The Codex Alimentarius Commission  will hold its Thirtieth Session at the Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy, from 2–7 July 2007, preceded by the 
Fifty-ninth Session of the Executive Committee.  The Commission will consider, among others, a  G/SPS/GEN/777 
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  number of draft Codex standards and related texts for final adoption at Step 8 or at Step 5/8 (see 
Annex) as well as proposals to amend the Rules of Procedure and other texts in the Procedural 
Manual.  The Commission will also adopt  the Strategic Plan for 2008-2013. 
7. The Seventeenth Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in 
Foods will consider the draft MRLs for flumequine (in black tiger shrimp), for melengestrol acetate, 
for colistin, for ractopamine, for erythromiycin, and for triclabendazole.  The Committee will also 
discuss the Draft Guidelines for the Design and Impl ementation of National Regulatory Food Safety 
Assurance Programmes Associated with the Use of Veterinary Drugs in Food Producing Animals. 
8. The Seventh Session of the Ad Hoc  Intergovernmental Task Force on Food Derived from 
Biotechnology  will consider the section of the Use of Antibiotic Resistance Marker Genes and any 
other amendments necessary to accommodate non her itable applications.  The Task Force will also 
review the Proposed Draft Annex to the Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of 
Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plant, the Food Safety Assessment of Food Derived from 
Recombinant-DNA Plants Modified for Nutritional or Health, and the Proposed Draft Annex to the 
Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assess ment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA 
Plants on Low-level Presence of Recombinant-DNA Plant Material.  
9. The First Session of the Ad Hoc  Intergovernmental Task Force on  Antimicrobial 
Resistance  will discuss new work items, ai med at protecting human health from the presence in food 
and feed of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms,  to be undertaken by the succeeding sessions of the 
Task Force and set priorities among them. 
 G/SPS/GEN/777 
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  A
NNEX  
Standards and Related Texts submitted for FINAL Adoption 
 
CODEX BODY SUBJECT 
CCCF Draft Maximum Levels for Tin in Ca nned Foods (other than beverages) and 
in Canned Beverages 
CCCF Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of 
Ochratoxin A Contamination in Wine  
CCFA Draft and proposed draft food additive provisions of the General Standard for 
Food Additives (GSFA) 
CCFA Proposed draft amendments to the International Numbering System for Food 
Additives 
CCFA Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives arising from the 
65th JECFA meeting 
CCFFP Proposed draft Code of Practice for Fish  and Fishery Products (Quick Frozen 
Coated Products, Salted Fish and relevant Definitions) 
CCFFV Draft Codex Standard for Table Grapes 
CCFFV Proposed draft Sections 2.1.2 - Maturity Requirements and 3.1 - Minimum 
Bunch Weight 
CCFH Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products 
CCFH Draft Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to 
the Control of Listeria monocytogenes in Foods 
CCFH Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk 
Management 
CCFICS Proposed draft revision of the Guidelines for Generic Official Certificate 
Formats and the Design, Production, Issuance and Use of Certificates 
CCFL Draft Amendment to the Guidelines fo r the Production, Processing, Labelling 
and Marketing of Organically Pr oduced Foods: Annex 2 – Permitted 
Substances: Table 3 
CCFO Draft Standard for Fat Spreads and Blended Spreads 
CCGP Proposed draft Working Principles for Risk Analysis for Food Safety for 
Application by Governments 
CCNEA Draft Regional Standard for Canned Humus with Tehena 
CCNEA Draft Regional Standard for Canned Foul Medames 
CCNEA Draft Regional Standard for Tehena 
CCNFSDU Draft revised Standard for Infant Fo rmula and Formulas for Special Medical 
Purposes Intended for Infants, Sections A and B 
CCPFV Draft Codex Standard for Pickled Fruits and Vegetables 
CCPFV Draft Codex Standard for Processed Tomato Concentrates 
CCPFV Draft Codex Standard for Preserved Tomatoes 
CCPFV Draft Codex Standard for Certain Canned Citrus Fruits 
CCPR Draft Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides  G/SPS/GEN/777 
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  CODEX BODY SUBJECT 
CCPR Proposed draft Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides 
CCMAS Methods of Analysis in Codex Standards at different steps 
CCMMP Draft Revised Standard for Cheddar (C-1) 
CCMMP Draft Revised Standard for Danbo (C-3)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Edam(C-4)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Gouda (C-5) 
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Havarti (C-6) 
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Samso (C-7) 
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Emmental (C-9)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Tilsiter (C-11)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Saint-Paulin (C-13)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Provolone (C-15)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Sta ndard for Cottage Cheese (C-16) 
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Coulommiers (C-18)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Cream Cheese (C-31)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Camembert (C-33)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Revised Standard for Brie (C-34)  
CCMMP Proposed draft Standard for Mozzarella 
 
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