SUMMARY OF THE MEETING OF 1-2 march 2018

NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT^[1]

Corrigendum^*

Please note that paragraph 2.1. should read as follows:

2.1.  Japan provided an update on the most recent data from its food monitoring programme. The data showed that the rate of products exceeding the Japanese standard limits had decreased and all the test results, with the exception of wild edible fungi, wild plants and game meats, were below the Codex guideline level. Japan thanked Argentina, the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States for relaxing their import restrictions. Japan reported that 51 out of the 54 Members who had introduced import restrictions on Japanese foods had either lifted or eased these restrictions. Japan also drew Members' attention to the circulation of the Panel report on DS 495: Korea – Radionuclides (Japan) on 22 February 2018, highlighting that the Panel had found that certain types of import restrictions on Japanese food were inconsistent with the core obligations of the SPS Agreement. Therefore, Japan urged Members with import restrictions on Japanese food to lift or relax these restrictions. Japan signalled its openness for further visits from Members to better assess the current food safety situation, and also to engage in discussions with counterpart authorities. Japan also recalled that the FAO and IAEA had acknowledged and evaluated the efforts made by Japan to ensure food safety.

__________