INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES

Communication from the Codex Alimentarius Commission (codex)

The following communication, received on 9 March 2017, is being circulated at the request of the Codex secretariat.

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1  CODEX SESSIONs since the last MEETING OF THE Committee (october 2016)

·    48^th Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (Los Angeles, United States of America, 7‑11 November 2016)

·    20^th FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (Viña del Mar, Chile, 21–25 November 2016)

·    38^th Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Hamburg, Germany, 5–9 December 2016)

·    22^nd FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Africa (Nairobi, Kenya, 16–20 January 2017)

·    3^rd Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (Chennai, India, 6–10 February 2017)

·    25^th Codex Committee on Fats and Oils (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 27 February – 3 March 2017)

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

1.1.  The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene concluded work on revision of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CAC/RCP 53-2003). The Committee agreed to continue its work on revision of the General Principles of Food Hygiene and its HACCP Annex (CAC/RCP 1-1969) and development of guidance on histamine control.

Full report: _http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FMeetings%252FCX-712-48%252FReport%252FFinal%252FREP17_FHe.pdf

2  Forthcoming CODEX Meetings

·    49^th Codex Committee on Food Additives (Macao SAR, China, 20–24 March 2017)

·    11^th Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3–7 April 2017)

·    49^th Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (Beijing, China, 24–29 April 2017)

·    23^rd Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (TBA, 1–5 May 2017)

·    38^th Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Budapest, Hungary, 8–12 May 2017)

·    9^th FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee For Near East (Rome, Italy, 15–19 May 2017)

·    73^rd Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Geneva, Switzerland, 10‑13 July 2017)

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 of the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA). The Committee will examine other issues related to the GSFA including: the results of the 82^nd meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) as well as the specifications for the identity and purity of food additives with a view to their adoption as Codex specifications; the use levels for adipic acid (INS 355) in various food categories; the use of food additives in the production of wine; and the use of nitrates (INS 251, 252) and nitrites (INS 249, 250). The Committee will also consider the priority list of food additives proposed for evaluation by JECFA; and the endorsement of the proposals for food additive provisions in Codex standards.

For the agenda see _http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FMeetings%252FCX-711-49%252Ffa49_01e.pdf

2.2.  The Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods will proceed its work on the establishment of maximum levels for lead in selected fruits and vegetables (fresh and processed) and other selected food categories in the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CODEX STAN 193-1995); maximum levels for cadmium in chocolate and cocoa-derived products; and maximum level for total aflatoxins in ready-to-eat peanuts; and the development of the code of practice for the prevention and reduction of arsenic contamination in rice; an annex for ergot/ergot alkaloids to the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Mycotoxin Contamination in Cereals (CAC/RCP 51-2003); and the code of practice for the prevention and reduction of mycotoxin contamination in spices. The next session of the Committee will also consider discussion papers on; maximum levels for mycotoxins in spices; maximum levels for methylmercury in fish; and non-dioxin like PCBs in the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Dioxins and Dioxin-like PCB.

For the agenda see _http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FMeetings%252FCX-735-11%252FINV-PA%252Fcf11_01e.pdf

2.3.  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 to consider examples of selection of representative commodities (vegetable and other commodity groups) (for inclusion in the Principles and guidance for the selection of representative commodities for the extrapolation of maximum residue limits for pesticides to commodity groups); guidelines on performance criteria for methods of analysis for the determination of pesticide residues; priority lists of pesticides for evaluation/re-evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Meetings on Pesticide Residues (JMPR). The next session of the Committee will also consider discussion papers on: the possible revision of the IESTI equations; information on national registrations of pesticides; and the establishment of a Codex database of national registrations of pesticides.

For the agenda see _http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FMeetings%252FCX-718-49%252FINV-PA%252Fpr49_01e.pdf

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