INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES

Communication from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (codex)

The following communication, received on 24 March 2014, is being circulated at the request of the Codex secretariat.

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1  CODEX SESSIONs since the last MEETING OF THE SPS Committee (October 2013)

·          Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Bad Soden, Germany, 4-8 November 2013)

·          Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (Hanoi, Viet Nam, 11-15 November 2013)

·          Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (Kochi, India, 11-14 February 2014)

·          Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (Bergen, Norway, 17-21 February 2014)

·          Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Phuket, Thailand, 24-28 February 2014)

·          Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Budapest, Hungary, 3-7 March 2014)

·          Codex Committee on Food Additives (Hong Kong, China, 17-21 March 2014)

In particular, the SPS Committee may wish to note the following:

1.1.  The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene finalised Guidelines for the Control of Trichinella spp. in meat of Suidae and Taenia saginata in meat of domestic cattle; revision of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Spices and Dried Aromatic Herbs; and amendments to the definitions of the Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Assessment for adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Committee will continue to work on an annex on statistical and mathematical considerations to the Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria Related to Foods; and a Code of Hygienic Practice for Low-Moisture Foods. The Committee also agreed to start new work on Guidelines for the control of nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. in beef and pork meat and Guidelines on the application of general principles of food hygiene to the control of foodborne parasites.

Full report: ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/REPORTS/Reports_2014/REP14_FHe.pdf