CODEX COMMITTEE ON COCOA PRODUCTS AND CHOCOLATE*
The Codex Alimentarius Commission received a report from Professor O. Högl (Switzerland), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate. It was reported that since the first session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission this Codex Committee had held two full meetings and there had also been a meeting of a drafting committee. The Codex Committee had discussed various aspects of cocoa and chocolate products and reached tentative agreement on definitions and values appropriate to these definitions for the following products:
Various permissible treatments (with alkalizing material) had been discussed by the Codex Committee.
Professor Högl also reported that the work which had been done by the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius in providing a list of 80 technical terms in 19 European languages would be made available to the Commission and the participants of the Codex Committee. The Commission expressed its appreciation of the work which had been undertaken by the European Council of the Codex Alimentarius and continued by the Codex Committee.
Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate should continue to elaborate worldwide standards for these products under the Chairmanship of the Government of Switzerland. It was anticipated that the Drafting Committee would probably need to meet once more in the late autumn of 1964 and that the third meeting of the Codex Committee would be held in March 1965 in Zurich, Switzerland.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON FATS AND OILS
The Codex Alimentarius Commission received a progress report from Mr. J.H.V. Davies (United Kingdom), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils.
At the first meeting of the Codex Committee specifications of identity (including definitions) had been prepared for the following twenty-one crude fats and oils of vegetable and animal (including marine animal) origin:
| Arachis (syns. nut, peanut, groundnut) | Safflower (syns. Carthamus, Kurdee) |
| Sesame (syn. Gingelly) | |
| Babassu | Soya (Soy) Bean |
| Coconut | Sunflower |
| Cottonseed | Beef - Premier Jus |
| Grapeseed (syns. grape pip, raisin seed) | Lard - pure, unrefined |
| Herring | |
| Maize (syn. corn) | Menhaden |
| Mustard Seed | Pilchard |
| Palm | Whale |
| Palm Kernel | |
| Rape Seed, including Jamba and Rubsen | |
| Shea nut |
The specifications had been circulated for comment to all governments and international organizations participating in the work of the Codex Committee, including those who had advised of their interest but had not been able to send representatives to the meeting. The Codex Committee would consider at the next meeting the comments received on the specifications of identity and proceed to the elaboration of standards for products for direct consumption, such as cooking fats and oils, lard, shortening and table oils. The Codex Committee on Fats and Oils had agreed at its first meeting on the importance of internationally accepted standard methods of analysis for the determinations of the characteristics for which values had been proposed in the specifications of identity. The Codex Committee had recommended that the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis adopt the methods published by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and give priority to the elaboration of determinations not yet covered by the I.U.P.A.C.
The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.8 that the Codex Committee under the Chairmanship of the United Kingdom should continue to elaborate worldwide standards for fats and oils. The Commission widened the scope of this Codex Committee by including olive oil and margarine within its terms of reference and requested that when olive oil and if margarine were discussed by the Codex Committee, representatives of the International Olive Oil Council and the International Federation of Margarine Associations should be invited to participate in the work.
The Chairman of the Codex Committee extended an invitation to all Members of the Commission to participate in its meetings either by attendance or by submitting written comments and proposals before 31 December 1964, also advising the Secretary of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO, Rome, of their participation in the work of the Codex Committee. It was intended to hold a second meeting of the Codex Committee early in April 1965 in London.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD ADDITIVES
Professor Dr. M.J.L. Dols (Netherlands), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives, reported to the Commission on the progress made by the Codex Committee at its first meeting. The Codex Committee had not proposed any specific tolerances for additives in particular foods but the report of the meeting had indicated which antimicrobials and antioxidants were under consideration by the Codex Committee.
During the discussion of the progress report, the Commission sought a clarification of the inter-relationship and the main functions of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and of the Codex Committee on Food Additives under the Chairmanship of the Netherlands Government.
Codex Committee on Food Additives
Membership - The Codex Committee was under the Chairmanship of the Government of the Netherlands and was made up of government representatives.
Responsibility - The main responsibility of the Codex Committee was to establish tolerances for individual food additives in specific food items. A further responsibility was the preparation of lists of food additives for the guidance of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives when the Joint Expert Committee was considering future work.
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
Membership - The Joint Expert Committee was made up of experts who served in their individual capacity as scientists and who were appointed by the Directors-General of FAO and WHO.
Responsibility - The main responsibility of the Joint Expert Committee was to establish acceptable daily intakes, for the various additives, based upon a toxicological evaluation, and to prepare specifications of identity and purity.
The Commission, having noted the membership and main responsibilities of the Codex Committee and the Joint Expert Committee, recommended the following procedure for the clearance of a food additive.
A government which wished to have an additive considered for use in a food on an international basis, must submit a comprehensive summary of the information concerning the additive to the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, The Hague, The Netherlands. The information submitted should include the technological justification for its use in the food together with a suggested level of use. A copy of the above information should be sent to the Secretary of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO, Rome.
Simultaneously with 23(a) above,
The specifications of identity and purity of the additive should be sent to the Joint Secretary, Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, Food Science and Technology Branch, Nutrition Division, FAO, Rome, and
The toxicological data should be addressed to the Joint Secretary, Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, Nutrition/Food Additives, WHO, Geneva.
The Codex Committee on Food Additives should evaluate the data dealing with the technological need for the use of the additives, prepare priority lists and transmit this information to the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. Priority should be given to those food additives which were used in foods entering into international trade in substantial amounts.
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives should, as expeditiously as possible, establish acceptable daily intakes and specifications of identity and purity for these additives. This data would be communicated to the Codex Committee on Food Additives.
The Codex Committee on Food Additives would then recommend tolerances for the food additive in specific foods and submit such tolerances to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission would invite governments comments on these tolerances in the usual manner.
The Commission reaffirmed its view that the various Codex Committees and international bodies entrusted with the elaboration of draft standards for individual foods should prepare lists of additives used in these foods and submit their lists together with details of the levels of use consistent with good manufacturing practice, and information on the per capita consumption of the foods in question to the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives.
After discussing Appendix G of the Report of the First Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission concerned with general principles for the use of food additives, the Commission recommended that Appendix G, together with the comments of Member Governments thereon, should be referred to the Codex Committee on Food Additives for such action as the Codex Committee considered necessary. The Commission requested the Codex Committee on Food Additives to specify in particular what was meant by “food additives” as no existing definition appeared to be sufficiently accurate.
The Commission thought that the lists of antimicrobials, antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilisers, maturing and bleaching agents contained in Appendices H 1–4 of the Report of the First Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission had been inappropriately described as draft standards of permitted lists of additives. The Commission emphasized that the lists were of additives for which the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives had established acceptable daily intake zones and were not to be understood as comprehensive lists of all acceptable food additives in these classes of additives. The Commission therefore decided that these lists, together with the comments of Member Governments thereon, should be referred to the Codex Committee on Food Additives for such action as the Codex Committee considered necessary. Any draft list of permitted additives which the Codex Committee draws up should contain a statement indicating the implications of acceptance of this list by any country. It was further recommended that, in accordance with the procedure set out in paragraph 23 above, Member Governments should supply support ing data with any proposals for changes or additions to these lists.
The Commission was informed that the second meeting of the Codex Committee on
Food Additives would probably be held in The Hague during the last week of
April 1965.
The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.8 that the Chairmanship of the Codex
Committee was under the Government of the Netherlands.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD HYGIENE
Mr. Nathan Koenig (U.S.A.) made a progress report to the Commission on the work of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. At its first meeting the Codex Committee had established a broad working basis and agreed upon priorities for future work. Various aspects of the work on food hygiene had been assigned to participating countries to draft proposals for consideration at the next meeting. After a full discussion of the subject the Commission recommended the following clarification of the scope of work and terms of reference of the Codex Committee to assist it in its future work.
The Commission decided that the scope of work of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene should be as follows:
Develop, with regard to the protection of public health, principles encompassing basic requirements for food plant sanitation, such as layout, facilities, water supply, waste disposal, procedures, practices and employee cleanliness, needed to ensure the production or manufacture of food products fit for human consumption.
Develop, to safeguard against health hazards, basic hygiene principles for the storage, transportation, and other handling of food products in international trade.
Develop specific food hygiene specifications on the request of any Codex Committee referred to it through the Secretary of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO, Rome.
Support the work of Codex Committees by technical advice, guidance, and consultation on food sanitation and microbiological problems when requested by these Committees through the Secretary of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The Commission decided that the Terms of Reference of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene shall be as follows:
Food hygiene specifications for commodities for which another specific Codex Committee has been appointed by the Commission shall be left to the discretion of that Codex Committee which may refer matters to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene if it so desires. The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene must, in any event, be informed of any food hygiene specifications developed by other Codex Committees through the Secretary of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene shall request through the Commission referral when, in its expert opinion, a Codex Committee responsible for a specific food has not adequately covered the hygienic considerations.
The hygiene aspects of foods not assigned to a specific Codex Committee shall at the request of the Commission be dealt with directly by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene until such time as a specific Codex Committee on the particular food may be established. Any recommendations of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene concerned with this particular food shall be sent to the newly established Codex Committee for consideration.
The Commission reaffirmed the following principles for the guidance of the Codex Committee as previously outlined in paragraphs 30 and 31 of the Report of the First Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Alinorm 63/12:
“30. The Commission decided to treat the existing Joint FAO/WHO Expert Panel on Meat Hygiene as its advisory body on this question. The Commission further requested the Expert Panel to make recommendations on basic principles of meat hygiene, including microbiological standards, for later inclusion in the Codex following the Commission's normal procedures of acceptance through governments.”
“31. All questions concerning milk hygiene come within the terms of reference of the Joint FAO/WHO Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products, now a Committee of the whole of the Codex Alimentarius Commission functioning under Rule IX.1(a) of the Commission's Rules of Procedure.”
The Commission confirmed U.S.A. Chairmanship of the Codex Committee under Rule IX.8.
THE JOINT UNECE/CODEX ALIMENTARIUS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON STANDARDIZATION OF FRUIT JUICES
The Codex Alimentarius Commission had before it a progress report of the work of the Joint United Nations Economic Commission for Europe/Codex Alimentarius Commission Group of Experts on Standardization of Fruit Juices for consideration. The main developments in the work of standardization of fruit juices had been the elaboration of draft standards for apple juice, orange juice and grape juice preserved exclusively by physical means. These draft standards had been referred back to participants for detailed comment and further detailed elaboration by the delegations of Switzerland, Spain and France respectively. The Group of Experts' programme of future work would covert the elaboration of standards for the following juices: apple, apricot, bilberry, blackberry, black currant, cherry, cranberry, grape, grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, passion fruit, peach, pear, pineapple, pomegranate, raspberry, sour cherry, strawberry and eventually tomato. The Group of Experts had agreed that this list should be regarded as provisional, and that of the juices mentioned priority should be given to the completion of the standards for apple juice, orange juice and grape juice. It was proposed to elaborate standards in due course for all the above mentioned juices, whether preserved exclusively by physical or by chemical means. It was expected that the next meeting of the Group of Experts would be held in Geneva tentatively towards the end of March 1965.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS
Dr. F. Krusen (Federal Republic of Germany) reported to the Commission that invitations had recently been sent to interested Members of the Commission to participate in the first meeting of the Codex Committee on Meat and Processed Meat Products. The meeting was to be held 28 – 30 October 1964 in Kulmbach, Bavaria. A working paper had been prepared for the meeting and on the basis of this the Codex Committee would need to decide upon the relative priorities to be given to various facets of the work of the Codex Committee. The Codex Committee would take fully into account work which had been done by other international organizations, and in particular the recommendations of the Standing Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Meat Hygiene. The Commission under Rule IX.8 confirmed that the Federal Republic of Germany should have the chairmanship of and be responsible for the Codex Committee on Meat and Processed Meat Products. The Commission amended the terms of reference of the Codex Committee to exclude poultry and processed poultry products (see also paragraphs 75 and 76 of this Report on Poultry Meat). The terms of reference of the Codex Committee were approved as follows to elaborate worldwide standards for:
Classification and grading of carcasses and cuts of beef, lamb, mutton, pork and veal.
Definitions, labelling and other requirements for such processed meat products as the Codex Committee might feel desirable excluding poultry and processed poultry products.
JOINT FAO/WHO COMMITTEE OF GOVERNMENT EXPERTS ON THE CODE OF PRINCIPLES CONCERNING MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS
The Commission was informed by the Secretariat of the progress made by the Joint FAO/WHO Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products at its Seventh Session in May 1964. The report of this meeting had been distributed to governments for action on several matters. The Commission requested the Secretariat to remind governments about the time limits for comments. The Commission noted that action had been taken by the Secretariat to refer a number of specific questions raised by the Government Experts to the various appropriate subsidiary bodies of the Commission.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON PESTICIDE RESIDUES
Professor Dr. M.J.L. Dols (Netherlands) on behalf of the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, presented a brief progress report to the Commission.
Because of the large amount of work to be done on this subject, it was pointed out in discussion that it was essential to consider first the residues of pesticides found in the main items of food which entered international trade.
The Commission was informed by the delegate of Czechoslovakia that some East European countries had compiled information on the toxicity of, and analytical methods for the determination of pesticide residues. The Commission expressed the hope that this information would be made available to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Commission was also informed that the International Organization for standardization (ISO) had surveyed the work being done in various international organizations and 34 countries on pesticide residues.
During the discussion of the report of the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues the Commission sought a clarification of the main functions and inter-relationship of the various FAO and WHO committees, working in the areas leading up to the establishment of international tolerances for pesticide residues.
(A) FAO Committee on Pesticides in Agriculture:
Membership - The Committee was made up of scientists who served in their individual capacity and who were appointed by the Director-General of FAO.
Functions -
to advise and assist the Director-General on matters related to the use and marketing of pesticides in agriculture; and in the planning and organizing of inter-governmental pesticides conferences;
to meet, in addition to its normal sessions, at the same time as the above mentioned inter-governmental pesticides conferences in order to take part in such conferences;
to recommend, in the light of the findings of the FAO Conference on Pesticides in Agriculture, 1962, the establishment by the Director-General of subsidiary bodies, under the Committee, to consider specific problems, including pesticide residues, occupational hazards, registration, labelling and marketing of pesticides, and resistance to pesticides. One of the subsidiary bodies of direct interest to the Codex Alimentarius Commission established in 1963 by the FAO Committee on Pesticides in Agriculture was the FAO working party on pesticide Residues (see below).
(B) FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues
Membership - The Working Party was made up of scientists who served in their individual capacity and who were appointed by the Director-General of FAO.
Purpose and Terms of Reference - To advise and to assist the Director-General on all matters related to pesticide residues with particular reference to:
The working party was responsible to the FAO Committee on Pesticides in Agriculture.
(C) WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues
Membership - The Committee was made up of scientists who served in their individual capacity and who were appointed by the Director-General of WHO.
Responsibility - The Committee, in collaboration with the FAO Committee on Pesticides in Agriculture, is to evaluate the toxicological data on pesticide residues and to propose acceptable daily intakes for man for these residues.
(D) Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues
Membership - The Codex Committee was made up of government representatives named by their respective governments and was open to all member governments of FAO and WHO.
Responsibility - To recommend international tolerances for pesticide residues in specific food products. A further responsibility was the preparation of a list of priorities of those pesticide residues found in food commodities entering international trade for the guidance of the WHO Expert Committee on pesticide Residues when considering future work.
The Commission, having noted the membership and main functions of the FAO and WHO Committees working towards the establishment of tolerances for pesticide residues on an international basis recommended the following procedure:
A government wishing to have an international tolerance established for a particular pesticide on specific food products, must submit a comprehensive summary of the information concerning the technological justification, levels of residues resulting from their use, tolerances, and consumption of foods concerned, to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, Ministry of Health, The Eague, The Netherlands. A copy of the information should be sent to the Secretary, Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, FAO, Rome.
Simultaneous with 39(a) above,
details regarding the levels of use, the residue resulting from good agriculture practice, methods of analysis and consumption of food concerned should be submitted to the Secretary of the FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues, FAO, Rome;
detailed data on the toxicological studies carried out on the pesticide should be submitted to the Secretary, WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues, Nutrition/Food Additives, WHO, Geneva.
The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues should prepare priority lists from among the requests received, having in mind their importance in international trade. These lists would be submitted to the Secretary of the WHO Committee on Pesticide Residues. The extensive use of pesticides and fumigants on cereal crops before and after harvest made it most desirable that methods of analysis were established to determine the presence of these chemicals. The Commission emphasized that pesticides used on cereal should be given priority.
The WHO Committee on Pesticide Residues meeting Jointly with the FAO Committee on Pesticides in Agriculture would, where possible, propose acceptable daily intakes for the various pesticides. This information would be communicated to the FAO Working party on Pesticide Residues.
The FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues would then establish a provisional tolerance for the pesticide together with a method of analysis in specific food items. This information would be communicated to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues.
The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues would then recommend an international tolerance for the pesticide in specific food and submit such tolerance to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission would invite governments comments on these tolerances in the usual manner.
The Commission was informed that the first meeting of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues would be held in autumn of 1965. The date and place would be communicated to member countries of the Commission by the Secretariat. The Commission was also informed that the next meeting of the FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues and the next Joint Meeting of the FAO Committee on Pesticides in Agriculture and the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues would deal with pesticides in cereals.
The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.8 that the Chairmanship of the Codex Committee was under the Government of the Netherlands.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON PROCESSED FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
Mr. Nathan Koenig (U.S.A.) made a progress report to the Codex Alimentarius Commission on the work of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruit and Vegetables. The Codex Committee at its first meeting had formulated and agreed upon general definitions for the various categories or types of processed fruits and vegetables and also had agreed upon the type of standard to be developed in accordance with the Codex Alimentarius Commission's guidelines for the elaboration of standards. The Codex Committee had proposed that the following basic outline of a standard for an individual product would be the most suitable for canned fruits and vegetables:
The Codex Committee had decided initially to elaborate standards for the following canned fruits and vegetables: peaches, fruit salad, fruit cocktail, pineapple, apple sauce, grapefruit sections, plums, strawberries, raspberries and asparagus, peas, green and wax beans, sweet corn, tomatoes. Other processed food products which had been assigned priority were jams and dried vine fruits (raisins and sultanas).
The Commission fully discussed whether prunes and canned dried peas and beans should be considered by the Codex Committee. It was decided that canned dried peas and beans should fall within the scope of work of the Codex Committee but that prunes could more appropriately be considered by the Economic Commission for Europe on a joint basis with the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Commission also recommended that the Codex Committee should use the words “ingredients and additives” in place of “additions and additives” in paragraph 41.2.
The Commission under Rule IX.8 confirmed that the Codex Committee on Processed Fruit and Vegetables should be the responsibility of the U.S.A. and be under the Chairmanship of the United States Government with the following amended terms of reference: to elaborate worldwide standards for all types of processed fruits and vegetables including dried products, canned dried peas and beans, jams and jellies, but not dried prunes or fruit and vegetable juices. It was anticipated that the second meeting of the Codex Committee would be held towards the end of June 1965 in Rome.
CODEX COMMITTEE ON SUGARS
The Codex Alimentarius Commission received a progress report from Mr. J.H.V. Davies (United Kingdom), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Sugars. At its first meeting the Codex Committee had agreed to exclude from its consideration the numerous intermediate products of sugar manufacturing and refining processes which were not used either by other industrial users or directly by consumers and also those products in which the volume of international trade was small. The Codex Committee decided to include in its consideration the following products: white sugar, powdered sugar (icing sugar), soft sugars and brown sugars, liquid sugar, golden syrup, treacle, invert sugar, glucose syrup, dried glucose syrup, starch sugar, dextrose, lactose and fructose. The Codex Committee considered the health aspects of these products first and then criteria of quality. Trading standards had been elaborated by the Codex Committee for extra white sugar, white sugar, powdered sugar (icing sugar), soft sugars and brown sugars, and minimum platform standards for glucose syrup, dried glucose syrup, dextrose monohydrate and dextrose anhydrous for consideration by the Commission. In view of the amount of detailed comment which had since been received in the United Kingdom from countries participating in the Codex Committee and other countries which had not been able to attend the first meeting, the Codex Alimentarius Commission agreed that the standards should be withdrawn and re-considered at the next meeting of the Codex Committee, which would be held early in March 1965.
Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the Codex Committee, under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom, should continue its work on the elaboration of worldwide standards for all carbohydrate sweeteners, excluding honey.
The Chairman of the Codex Committee invited all Members of the Codex Alimentarius Commission to submit comments on the draft standards for Sugars to the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Sugars, Food Standards Division, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Horseferry Road, London, S.W.l. before 31 December 1964.
