ACTIONS AIMED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
WTO AGREEMENT
ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY THE INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE
FOR COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA)
The following communication, received on 25 October 2024, is being
circulated at the request of IICA.
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The observer organizations of the WTO
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) are
invited to submit reports on the activities they have carried out to promote
the understanding and implementation of the Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). IICA would like to present
some of the actions and activities that it considers relevant to the work of
this Committee.
1 SUPPORT FOR MULTILATERAL FORa ASSOCIATED WITH SANITARY AND
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
1.1 Codex Alimentarius Colloquia
1.1. In collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), the Codex Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean
(CCLAC), the African Union's Inter‑African Bureau for Animal Resources
(AU-IBAR), and the Arab Industrial Development, Standardization and Mining
Organization (AIDSMO), IICA hosted the following Interregional Virtual
Colloquium for countries of the Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA),
the Codex Committee for the Near East (CCNE), the CCLAC, and the United States:
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June 2024 – 86th
Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC86), 84
participants;
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September 2024 –
44th Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses
(CCNFSDU44), 78 participants;
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October 2024 – 27th
Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF27), 73
participants.
1.2. In addition, IICA supported the organization of three CCLAC regional
coordination meetings:
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86th Executive
Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC), 33 participants;
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27th Codex
Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems
(CCFICS), 20 participants;
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44th Codex
Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), 18 participants;
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36th Codex
Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (CCFFP), 14 participants.
1.3. These events/activities provided an opportunity for delegates from
these three regions and the United States to analyse issues of common
interest and develop regional participation strategies prior to those Codex
Committee meetings.
1.4. In the framework of the Codex Initiative for the Americas and the
support of the US Codex Office, IICA supported the attendance of country
delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean to the following committee
meetings:
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Committee on
Pesticide Residues (CCPR), four country delegates;
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Executive
Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CCEXEC), one country delegate;
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Codex Committee
on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS), five
country delegates;
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Codex Committee
on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), five country
delegates.
1.2 First Strategy Session on WTO SPS matters
1.5. Adding to the regional efforts to strengthen capacities in the
hemisphere for the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and
working in collaboration with several of its members, IICA conducted in
October 2024 its First Strategy Session on WTO SPS Committee Matters.
The meeting was hosted in IICA Headquarters with the in-person
participation of 27 delegates from 25 IICA member countries. Considering
the current prominent subjects under discussion in the WTO SPS Committee,
the Strategy Session addressed matters related to the Sixth Review of the
Operation and Implementation of the WTO SPS Agreement and participants
coordinated joint positions on the document _G/SPS/W/371.
1.3 Strategy Session on the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH)
Guidelines
1.6. Aiming at improving coordination and promoting the development of
harmonized comments on the WOAH Terrestrial Animal Health Code chapters, IICA,
in partnership with the USDA, hosted in August 2024 another virtual edition of
the Strategy Session on WOAH Guidelines. Matters related to brucellosis,
zoning, foot and mouth disease were discussed.
1.7. At the request of the WOAH Collaborating Center for Veterinary
Services Capacity Building (Americas) at the University of Minnesota, members
of veterinary services from Africa, Europe and Oceania countries, involved in
their training, participated as observed in the session with representatives
from the Americas. The session was attended by 168 participants (116 are from
America and 52 from the other mentioned regions) from 43 countries (21 are from
the Americas, 16 from Africa, five from Europe and one from Oceania).
2 OTHER ACTIVITIES
2.1 Cooperative Agreement IICA-FDA: Activities between July and October
2024
2.1. The Cooperative Agreement between IICA and the United States Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) main focus is on disseminating the "Growing
Safe Produce" (GSP) Programme, as well as continuing the webinar series.
The webinars are available on IICA's webpage for anyone interested in the
topics discussed (https://iica.int/en/press/events/produce-fsma-regulations-and-guidelines). This information is
available in English and Spanish. As for the GSP Programme, it can be found on
its webpage (https://pci.iica.int/) and is currently
available in Spanish and English.
2.1.1 Virtual and in-person dissemination activities of the "Growing
Safe Produce" Programme
2.2. IICA has been implementing virtual and in-person activities
disseminating the "Growing Safe Produce" Programme, as a training
tool to improve the understanding of the regulatory requirements of FSMA's
Produce Safety Rule (PSR). From July to October more than 15 activities have
been organized with the attendance of more than 3,000 growers and/or food
industry representatives from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala
and Mexico.
2.1.2 Virtual dissemination activities of the "Growing Safe
Produce" Programme
2.3. IICA has organized, in collaboration with PSA Trainers and Lead
Trainers, virtual meetings with producers to disseminate the "Growing Safe
Produce" Programme.
2.4. During these events, IICA technical specialists and PSA Trainers and
Lead Trainers present the Programme, the web platform and some of the materials
available, and help the participants register in the platform and provide some
examples of the training materials and how to access and download printable
materials. These events take place via Zoom and last about two hours.
2.5. Since the start of the dissemination activities, the number of
people registered on the Growing Safe Produce platform has been progressively
increasing because of the presentation of the platform in both face-to-face and
virtual formats. Thus, since the start of the dissemination activities on 25 October
2023, there has been an increase of more than 200% in the number of
registrants, reaching 3,344 registrants, in the different profiles found on the
platform.
2.1.3 Webinar series 2024
2.6. An important part of the Cooperative Agreements between IICA and FDA
has been the development of several webinar series addressing different food safety-related
regulations from the regulator's as well as the industry's point of view, both
in general and specifics. All the webinars are coordinated jointly by IICA and
FDA's Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LAO) and have the support of
subject matter experts. From July to October two (2) webinars were organized:
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August 2024 –
"Agricultural Water: Final Rule and questions". 650 participants from
32 countries;
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August 2024 –
"Traceability Standard for Food Under FSPCA Preventive Controls - News and
Resources". 470 participants from 30 countries.
2.1.4 Symposia - Safety of Fresh Agricultural Products Export to the
United States
2.7. IICA, together with the FDA and the Colombian Agricultural Institute
(ICA), joint efforts to promote food safety and prevent risks throughout the
fresh produce production chain. This collaboration was focused on key
topics such as the US Food Modernization Act (FSMA), the importance of
traceability for consumer protection, changes in preharvest water requirements,
and other FDA requirements for imported foods. Additionally, the FDA's
experience in the prevention and diagnosis of Cyclospora
cayetanensis contamination in fresh agricultural products such as
basil was shared. The symposia were held in Bogotá and Espinal with the
participation of nearly 140 producers of avocados, blueberries, and cape
gooseberries, as well as exporters of basil.
2.2 Regional meeting of Food Safety Directors
2.8. Hosted by IICA in Panamá, with the participation of food safety
directors from Central America, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Peru, the event
hosted in August 2024 promoted the discussion of risk-based inspection systems
and technical regulations being developed for dairy and meat products.
2.3 Capacity building activities under FSMA
2.9. IICA, in collaboration with USDA/FAS, delivered in August 2024 an
official Preventive Controls for Qualified Individuals (PCQI) workshop in The
Bahamas. The workshop provided free FDA-certified training materials on FDA's
FSMA and the Preventive Controls for Human Food final rule, preparing
participants to lead and support the creation, development and implementation
of a Food Safety Plan in processors.
2.4 STDF Pilot Project (STDF/PG/682) – Voluntary Third-Party Assurance
(vTPA)
2.4.1 Piloting the use of vTPA - Visit to the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency (CFIA)
2.10. As part of the programme "Piloting the use vTPA" to
improve food safety outcomes for public health and trade in Central America
(Belize and Honduras), two officials from BAHA Belize, two from SENASA
Honduras, a technical consultant, and an IICA specialist visited the Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in September 2024. The visit provided a detailed
understanding of the CFIA's Risk Evaluation Model (ERA) and helped
identify best practices for replication in Belize and Honduras.
2.11. Constructive feedback was also provided on adapting these tools for
low-income countries. Additionally, the opportunity was taken to present
updates on the models of both countries, particularly their risk-based
inspection matrices. A space for exchange was held with the IICA Representation
in Canada and international missions from beneficiary countries in Ottawa to
share project achievements.
2.4.2 New Risk Inspection System - Belize
2.12. In September 2024, Belize's new risk-based inspection system was
launched to the industry, as part of the programme "Piloting the use
vTPA" to improve food safety outcomes for public health and trade in
Central America (Belize and Honduras). The event provided an overview of the
project background, introduced the concept of risk-based inspection, and
included a presentation on the risk-based model implemented by BAHA.
Additionally, a Q&A session was held, enabling participants to discuss and
share insights on improving food safety practices.
For further information, please contact José H. Urdaz (jose.urdaz@iica.int).
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on
Agriculture (IICA)
Agricultural Health and Food Safety
http://www.iica.int
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