INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES

Communication from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (codex)

The following communication, received on 19 March 2015, 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 2014)

· 21^st Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification (Brisbane, Australia, 13-17 October 2014)

· 42^nd Codex Committee on Food Labelling (Rome, Italy, 21-24 October 2014)

· 19^th FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia (Tokyo, Japan, 3-7 November 2014)

· 19^th FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (San José, Costa Rica, 10-14 November 2014)

· 46^th Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (Lima, Peru, 17-21 November 2014)

· 36^th Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Bali, Indonesia, 24‑28 November 2014)

· 21^st FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa (Yaoundé, Cameroon, 27‑30 January 2015)

· 24^th Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (Melaka, Malaysia, 9-13 February 2015)

· 36^th Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis (Budapest, Hungary, 23-27 February 2015)

· 29^th Codex Committee on General Principles (Paris, France, 9-13 March 2015)

·    9^th Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (New Delhi, India, 16-20 March 2015)

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

1.1.  The Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification agreed to start new work on: development of principles and/or guidelines for the exchange of information (including questionnaires) between countries to support food import and export; Guidance for monitoring the performance of National Food Control Systems; revision of the Principles and Guidelines for the Exchange of Information in Food Safety Emergency Situations (CAC/GL 19‑1995); and revision of the Guidelines for the Exchange of Information between Countries on Rejections of Imported Food (CAC/GL 25-1997).

Full report: ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/REPORTS/Reports_2015/REP15_FCe.pdf

1.2.  The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene concluded work on Guidelines for the Control of Trichinella spp. in Meat of Suidae and Code of Hygienic Practice for Low-Moisture Foods. The Committee will continue work on Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Foodborne Parasites; Guidelines for the Control of Nontyphoidal Salmonella spp. in Beef and Pork Meat; and the need to revise the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CAC/RCP 53-2003) and will consider a paper on the revision of the General Principles of Food Hygiene (CAC/RCP 1-1969) and its HACCP annex. The Committee agreed to discontinue work on the Annex on statistical and mathematical considerations to the Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria Related to Foods (CAC/GL 21-1997).

Full report: ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/REPORTS/Reports_2015/REP15_FHe.pdf

1.3.  The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils will continue work on review of the List of Acceptable Previous Cargoes of the Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of Edible Fats and Oils in Bulk (CAC/RCP 36-1987).

Full report: ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/REPORTS/Reports_2015/REP15_FOe.pdf

1.4.  The Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis endorsed several methods of analysis, including methods for safety provisions; and concluded explanatory notes to the Principles for the Use of Sampling and Testing in International Food Trade. The Committee will continue work on development of information document on Practical Examples and Procedures for determining uncertainty of measurement results –; development of procedures or guidelines for determining equivalency to Type I methods; development of a criteria approach for methods which use a "sum of components"; and will review and update methods in CODEX STAN 234 - 1999.

Full report: ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/REPORTS/Reports_2015/REP15_MASe.pdf

1.5.  For the following Committees, an oral report will be made for matters relevant to the SPS Committee:

· 29^th Codex Committee on General Principles (Paris, France, 9-13 March 2015)

· 9^th Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (New Delhi, India, 16-20 March 2015)

2  Forthcoming CODEX Meetings

· 47^th Codex Committee on Food Additives (Xi’an, China, 23-27 March 2015)

· 47^th Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (Beijing, China, 13-18 April 2015)

· 22^nd Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (San Jose, Costa Rica, 27 April-1 May 2015)

· 8^th FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Near East (Beirut, Lebanon, 18-22 May 2015)

· 70^th Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Geneva, Switzerland, 30 June - 3 July 2015)

· 38^th Codex Alimentarius Commission (Geneva, Switzerland, 6-11 July 2015)

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

2.1.  The Codex Committee on Food Additives will proceed with its work on food additive provisions in the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), amendments to the International Numbering System for Food Additives, and Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives. It will consider the Priority List of Food Additives proposed for evaluation by JECFA and discussion papers on secondary additives and the inconsistent terminology related to flavourings in Codex texts. The Committee will also consider the endorsement of the proposals for food additive provisions in Codex standards put forward by other committees.

For the agenda see http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/report/924/fa47_01e.pdf

2.2.  The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues will discuss new and revised maximum residue limits for pesticides in various commodities/commodity groups; will continue with the revision of the Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds; will continue work on minor crops/specialty crops to facilitate the establishment of MRLs for pesticides these commodities; will consider guidance on performance criteria specific for methods of analysis for determination of pesticide residues and will continue to considering priority lists of pesticides for evaluation/re-evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues (JMPR).

For the agenda see http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/report/926/pr47_01e.pdf

2.3.  The Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods will discuss maximum residue limits and risk management recommendations for veterinary drugs in foods amendments and/or addition to the priority list of veterinary drugs requiring JECFA evaluation or re-evaluation; and a database on the need of developing countries for MRLs for veterinary drugs. The Committee will continue its discussion on the development of provisions for the establishment of MRLs for honey (for inclusion on the Risk Analysis Principles applied by the CCRVDF).

For the agenda see http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/report/925/rv22_01e.pdf

2.4.  The 70^th Session of the Executive Committee and 38^th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission will be held in Geneva (Switzerland) on 30 June - 3 July 2015 and 6‑11 July 2015, respectively.

For the agenda see http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/report/925/exec70_01e.pdf; and http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/report/925/cac38_01e.pdf.

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