JOINT FAO/WHO FOOD STANDARDS PROGRAMME

CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION
Twenty-second Session
Geneva, 23–28 June 1997

Note: This document incorporates Codex Circular Letter 1996/45-GP

MATTERS FOR ADOPTION BY THE 21st SESSION OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION

Amendment to the Rules of Procedure

1. Amendment to Rules II and IX to provide for the appointment of Members of the Commission as Coordinators and to confirm their attendance as Observers at sessions of the Executive Committee (para. 22, Appendix II)

AMENDMENTS TO THE PROCEDURAL MANUAL

Proposed Appendix to the Procedural manual

2. Inclusion of the four Statements of Principle on the Role of Science in the Codex Decision-Making Process and the extent to which Other Factors are taken into Account, to be incorporated into an Appendix to the Procedural Manual entitled “General Decisions of the Commission” (para. 7).

3. Inclusion of four Statements of Principle relating to the Role of Food Safety Risk Assessment in the above mentioned Appendix (para. 20, Appendix III).

Definitions for the Purposes of Codex Alimentarius

4. Inclusion of Definitions of Risk Analysis Terms related to Food Safety (para. 21, Appendix III).

Guidelines for Codex Committees (Section G)

5. Amendment to the Composition of Codex Committees - Observers, clarifying the modalities of participation of international organizations, and to the Preparation and Distribution of Papers concerning the publication of comments (paras. 41 and 43, Appendix IV)

Guidelines for the Inclusion of Specific Provisions in Codex Standards and Related Texts (Section H)

6. Deletion of the Principles for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria to Foods and the Guidelines for the Use of Codex Committees on the Inclusion of Provisions on Nutritional Quality in Food Standards and Other Codex texts (para. 40, Appendix IV)

Criteria for the Establishment of Work Priorities and for the Establishment of Subsidiary Bodies of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - Section J

7. Amendments to the current text to incorporate a reference to the Medium-Term Plan of Work and to strategic planning in specific project areas (para. 40, Appendix IV)

Relations between Commodity Committees and General Subject Committees - Section K

8. Recommendations to clarify the relations between the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants and commodity committees (para. 40, Appendix IV)

Other recommendations

9. Recommendations providing for a clarification of the status of “advisory” Codes, Guidelines and related texts (para. 32)

Governments and international organizations wishing to submit comments on the above documents should do so in writing to the Secretary, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, FAO, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy, before 1 April 1997.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The summary and conclusions of the 12th Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles are as follows:

Matters for adoption by the Commission:

The Committee:

• recommended that Rules II and IX be amended to provide for the appointment of Members of the Commission as Coordinators and to confirm their attendance as Observers at sessions of the Executive Committee (para. 22, Appendix II)

• recommended the addition of an appendix to the Procedural Manual entitled “General Decisions of the Commission” including:

  • the four Statements of Principle on the Role of Science in the Codex Decision-Making Process and the extent to which Other Factors are taken into Account (para. 7)

  • the four Statements of Principle relating to the Role of Food Safety Risk Assessment (para. 20, Appendix III)

• agreed to revise the following sections of the Procedural Manual:

  • Definitions (para. 21, Appendix III)
  • Guidelines for Codex Committees (paras. 41 and 43, Appendix IV)
  • Guidelines for the Inclusion of Specific Provisions in Codex Standards (Section H) (para. 40, Appendix IV)
  • Criteria for the Establishment of Work Priorities (para. 40, Appendix IV)

  • Relations between Commodity Committees and General Subject Committees - Section K (para. 40, Appendix IV)

• proposed specific recommendations in order to clarify the status of “advisory” Codes, Guidelines and related texts (para. 32)

Other Matters of Interest to the Commission

The Committee:

• recommended that the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products be redrafted as a standard (para. 15)

• recommended that the Draft Guidelines for Codex Contact Points and National Codex Committees prepared by CCASIA be circulated to other regional Coordinating Committees (para. 8)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Adoption of the Agenda

Matters referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other Codex Committees

Risk Analysis: Definitions, Procedures and Principles

Review of the Rules of Procedure (Rule II and IX)

Review of the Acceptance Procedure for Codex Standards in the perspective of the WTO SPS and TBT Agreements

Review of the Status of Codes, Guidelines and Related texts

Review of the Elaboration Procedure

Revision of the Procedural Manual

Consumer Participation in Codex Work

Other Business, Future Work and Date and Place of the Next Session

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix I List of Participants

Appendix II Draft Amendment to Rules II and IX of the Rules of Procedure

Appendix III Risk Analysis: Draft Statements of Principle and Definitions

Appendix IV Proposed Amendments to the Procedural Manual