PART VII

OTHER FOODS CONSIDERED BY THE COMMISSION

EGGS

72. The Codex Alimentarius Commission at its first session decided to defer consideration of work on the standardisation of eggs until more information was available concerning the programmes of work of the International Egg Commission and the Economic Commission for Europe. The Commission received a report from the Secretariat that it was unlikely that the Economic Commission for Europe would resume its work on the standardisation of eggs in the near future and that the International Egg Commission was not at the present time concerned with this type of work. The Commission decided therefore to take no further action in this field for the time being but would review the need for standards for eggs at a future session.

    OLIVE OIL**

73. The Commission had before it a report on the recent activities of the International Olive Oil Council. The Commission noted that these activities included the preparation of standardised international nomenclature for and definitions of the various grades of olive oil, and the development of methods of analyses for olive oils. The Commission also noted with appreciation the statement from the International Olive Oil Council that the Council attached importance to the close collaboration which had been established with the Commission.

** The French Delegation considered that elaboration of standards of a commercial character was not within the scope of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, whether these standards emanated from another organ of the United Nations or from an inter-governmental agreement, and therefore reserved the position of their Government on this recommendation.

74. The Commission discussed Appendix M of the Report of the First Session of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, which included Extracts from the International Olive Oil Agreement and Annex A to the Convention. The Commission recommended that these documents, together with all government comments, be referred to the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils under the Chairmanship of the Government of the United Kingdom. It further recommended that the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils elaborate specifications of identity for olive oil having in mind the special characteristics of the various grades of the oil. The Commission also recommended that the International Olive Oil Council be invited to attend meetings of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils when olive oil was considered (see also paragraph 19 of this Report).

    POULTRY MEAT

75. The Commission had before it a Background Study on Standards for Poultry Meat prepared by the Government of the United States of America. The attention of the Commission was also drawn to the Second Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Meat Hygiene.

76. It was the general consensus of opinion of Members of the Commission that if standards for poultry meat were to be elaborated, they should be done by a Codex Committee established under Rule IX.1(b)1 specifically for that purpose. The Commission, however, did not recommend the establishment of such a Committee at this time. The Commission thought that this matter should be placed on the agenda for the next Session of the Commission.

    SAMPLING

77. The Commission had before it a report of the scope and programme of work of Technical Committee No. 34 of the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). In addition, the Commission received a statement on the activities of this organization dealing with their work in the fields of sampling and testing methods. The Commission noted with satisfaction the progress of this work and recommended that ISO continue its activities in the field of sampling. The Commission further agreed to supply ISO with a list of foodstuffs indicating the priority which it would like ISO to deal with them.

78. The Commission considered that the section of the Codex on sampling should deal with the principles and the general method of taking samples, the method of taking samples for physically similar product groups and the mathematical considerations involved in sampling large consignments.

79. The Commission decided that all these problems should be referred to ISO. The Commission further decided that Appendix F of the Report of the First Session of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission and the comments made by Member Governments thereon should be referred to ISO in order that ISO could prepare a general statement dealing with sampling. The Commission noted with satisfaction that ISO was prepared to undertake this work.

80. The Commission further recognized that the responsibility for recommending a method of sampling for a specific product should lie with the Codex Committee responsible for developing a draft standard for that product.

    SOFT DRINKS

81. The Commission had before it a paper dealing with Soft Drinks prepared by the Government of the United Kingdom, and a paper dealing with the Labelling of Soft Drinks prepared by SOCSIL, S.A. In addition, the Commission received a report from the representative of the Aerated Drink Association of the European Economic Community Countries (UNESDA).

82. After a full discussion, the Commission concluded that the subject of the elaboration of standards for soft drinks should not be proceeded with at this time. The papers dealing with Soft Drinks would be made available to any member of the Commission wishing to receive them.