13. The Codex Alimentarius Commission received a progress report from Mr. R. Souverain (France), Chairman of the Codex Committee on General Principles. At its first meeting the Codex Committee had agreed upon the general principles which it thought should guide the Codex Alimentarius Commission in the drawing up of the Codex Alimentarius. The Appendix to the report of the first meeting of the Codex Committee contained recommendations on the Purpose and Scope of the Codex Alimentarius, the Nature of Standards to be included in the Codex, and also on the ways in which such Standards could be accepted by Member Countries. After discussing these recommendations, the Commission decided to adopt them as the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius and to publish them as part of the Procedural Handbook recommended by the Commission at its Second Session. For the advance information of Member Governments pending the issue of the Procedural Handbook the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius are contained in Appendix III to this Report.
Regarding the future work of the Codex Committee on General Principles concerning the definitions of terms required for use in the Codex Alimentarius, the Commission requested FAO and WHO to prepare draft definitions for these terms and to send them as soon as possible to Governments for comment with a closing date for comments at the end of February 1966. A small working group convened by the Chairman of the Codex Committee on General Principles in co-operation with FAO and WHO would examine government comments and prepare a working paper for the second meeting of the Codex Committee.
14. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the Codex Committee, under the chairmanship of the Government of France, should continue its work on general principles as proposed above and a second meeting of the Committee should be convened as and when the completion of preparatory work would justify this.
15. Dr. D.G. Chapman (Canada) made a progress report to the Commission on the work of the first meeting of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling. The Committee had formulated and agreed upon general principles for the labelling of food. These dealt with such matters as the declaration of the name of the food, list of ingredients, net contents, name and address of the person responsible for the product, grade designations, inspection legends, country of origin, date marking, the size and location of mandatory information and the labelling of specific foods. The Committee had sought the comments of Governments on a number of specific matters relating to the above general subjects and hoped to deal with these at its second meeting. The Secretariat of the Commission undertook to arrange for the issue of the report to Governments other than those who had participated in the first meeting in order to secure their comments and also the specific information required by the Committee. The Commission recommended that 31st January 1966 should be the closing date for comments.
16. The Commission examined the Committee's request regarding the inclusion in the Committee's programme of future work of the problem of (a) labelling which may be necessary for foods normally sold without labels (non-prepackaged foods) and, (b) labelling which may be necessary on food vending machines. The Commission confirmed that this proposed work was within the Committee's terms of reference. The Commission also decided to approve a recommendation of the Committee regarding the timing of the Committee's review of labelling questions arising on individual Codex Standards for commodities. This recommendation reads as follows:
“Schedule of reviewing labelling provisions of standards. The Committee considered at what stage it should deal with labelling questions arising on individual Codex Commodity standards. It agreed to recommend to the Commission that these standards should be referred to the Committee at Step 3 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of Worldwide Standards. It recognized that where a standard was substantially revised after Step 3 it might be necessary for the Committee to reconsider labelling aspects and requested that the Secretariat of the Commission be instructed to consider in each case whether re-submission was required and to take the necessary action. The Committee further considered that its study of the labelling aspects of a standard should not be allowed to delay the progress of that standard from Step 3 to Step 4 or to any subsequent step of the procedure. For standards which have already passed Step 3, the Committee proposed that such standards be forwarded as soon as possible.”
The Commission further confirmed that in the view of the General Principles adopted by the Commission, labelling included presentation.
17. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the chairmanship of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling should continue to be with the Government of Canada. The next meeting of the Committee would be held in Ottawa in July 1966.
18. Mr. H. P. Mollenhauer (Federal Republic of Germany) gave a progress report to the Commission on the work of the first meeting of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis. The Committee had agreed upon a general framework for its work and how this should appear in the chapter of the Codex Alimentarius on Methods of Analysis. The Committee had decided to give priority to the elaboration of international referee methods and intended to take account of work already done in specific fields. An essential part of the establishment of priorities would be the drawing up of a bibliography of existing methods of analysis. The participants of the Committee had been requested to assist in this and information from other members of the Commission and international organizations would be welcomed by the Secretariat of the Committee. The Committee was already receiving valuable cooperation from ISO. The participants at the first meeting had accepted various work assignments and the results of this work would be examined at the next meeting of the Committee. The Commission approved the proposed outline of work and the priorities established for the Committee and, in accordance with the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius, decided that the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis should include Sampling within its scope of work. In this field the Committee should collaborate closely with ISO.
19. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the chairmanship of the Committee should continue to be the responsibility of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and that in the future it should be known as the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling. The second meeting of the Committee would be held in Berlin in September 1966.
20. The Commission noted the comments of the representative of ISO concerning a report by the Secretariat of the Technical Committee ISO/TC 34 on the progress of work of ISO in the field of sampling methods and methods of analysis for agricultural products. The Commission also received information about a report on the methods and the general principles on sampling for foods which ISO had undertaken to prepare for the Commission. The Commission expressed its appreciation for the cooperation of ISO and decided that the two above reports should be sent to the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling for its consideration.
21. The Commission received a report from Professor Dr. M. J. L. Dols (Netherlands), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives. At its second meeting the Committee had further considered possible tolerances for antimicrobials and antioxidants. The Commission decided that the General Principles for the Use of Food Additives as prepared by the Codex Committee on Food Additives should be sent, amended in the light of the discussion, to Governments for comment in accordance with Step 3 of the Commission's Procedure for the Elaboration of Standards.
22. The Commission again took note of the membership and main responsibilities of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. These were set out in paragraph 22 of the Report of the Second Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and read as follows:
“(a) 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.
(b) 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.”
23. The Commission, having further considered the membership and main responsibilities of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, decided to modify the procedure for the consideration of food additives by these Committees (as was set out in paragraph 23 of the Report of the Second Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission) and recommended the following in its place:
Codex Committee on Food Additives
The Codex Committee on Food Additives should carry out a general review of the whole field of food additives and plan the work required to be done. Taking into account the lists, prepared by Codex Committees and other international bodies, of additives used in specific foods, the Codex Committee on Food Additives should evaluate the technological need for the use of the additives and prepare priority lists. Priority should be given to those food additives which were used in foods entering international trade in substantial amounts.
Any government which wished to suggest the inclusion of any particular additive belonging to the classes of additives under consideration by the Codex Committee on Food Additives in a Codex list of permitted additives should submit full information about the additive, including evidence of need, suggested level of use and consumption of the foods concerned, to the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, The Hague, Netherlands. At the same time data on
If the Codex Committee considers that a case has been established on the basis of need, it will ask the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives to consider the additive concerned.
Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives
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 all additives so submitted. These data would be communicated to the Codex Committee on Food Additives.
The Codex Committee on Food Additives would then recommend levels of use for the food additive in specific foods and submit such levels of use to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission would invite Government comments on these tolerances in accordance with its Procedure for the Elaboration of Standards.
24. The Commission during its consideration of the progress reports on fish and fish products and meat and meat products discussed briefly the use of antibiotics in food and animal feedstuffs. In this respect the Commission was informed that WHO had published a report entitled “The Public Health Aspects of the Use of Antibiotics in Food and Feedstuffs” (WHO Technical Report Series No. 260, 1963). Both the Codex Committee on Food Additives and the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives had this subject under consideration and would be reporting to the Commission in due course. With regard to sugars which the Commission examined at Step 5, it was decided that the Codex Committee on Food Additives should include within its scope of work consideration of such substances as arsenic, lead and copper in foods. In order to facilitate the work of the Codex Committee on Food Additives, it would be necessary to obtain from the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives acceptable daily intake figures for these substances as they are found in food. The Commission emphasized that the evaluation of the substances should deserve high priority among the items to be considered by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. The Commission also noted that the Codex Committees concerned with commodity standards would have to bear in mind that the levels of the substances in the products were in some cases a reflection of good manufacturing practice.
25. The Commission noted that the Second Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives (1963) had widened the scope of work of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives to include consideration of animal feed adjuncts which may result in residues in human food. The Commission therefore widened the terms of reference of the Codex Committee on Food Additives to include consideration of intentional and unintentional residues of animal feed adjuncts in food for human consumption. The Commission asked the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee through the Codex Committee on Food Additives to expedite this work and consider also the significance of any changes in final food which might result from the use of animal feed adjuncts or any residue of the animal feed adjuncts which might be present in the final food.
26. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX. 8 that the chairmanship of the Codex Committee on Food Additives should continue to be with the Government of the Netherlands. The third meeting of the Committee would be held in The Hague during the first half of May 1966.
27. Mr. Nathan Koenig (USA) gave a progress report to the Commission on the work of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. At its second meeting the Codex Committee agreed upon “Draft Provisional General Principles and Guidelines for the Development of Food Hygiene Standards”. This standard had reached Step 3 of the Commission's Procedure for the Elaboration of World-wide Standards and had been sent to Governments for comments. Likewise “Draft Provisional Hygiene Standards for Dried Fruits” and “Draft Provisional Hygiene Standards for Canned Fruits, Vegetables and Related Products” had reached Step 3.
28. The Commission discussed a proposal of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene for an extension of the Committee's terms of reference especially with regard to the subjects of cereal grains and the retail handling of foods. The Commission confirmed that the terms of reference for the Committee should be as set out in paragraph 30 of the Report of the Second Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Commission therefore concluded that the retail handling of foods was essentially a matter for local authorities and would not normally from the point of view of international activities of the Commission fall within the scope of work of the Committee. Moreover, the scope of work of the Committee as set out in paragraph 29 (A), (B), (C) and (D) of the Report of the Second Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission would not cover such an item. After a full discussion of whether hygiene standards for cereal grains should be prepared by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, the Commission concluded that this Committee should examine the question of the necessity of developing such standards and should indicate the nature and content of such standards in a report to the Commission. In the drawing up of this report the Committee should have regard to the General Principles on the Scope of the Codex Alimentarius as adopted by the Commission.
29. The Commission, after receiving a report from the representative of ECE concerning the progress of the Working Party on Perishable Foodstuffs on standards for tree-nuts and kernels, recommended that the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene should examine the draft standards prepared by ECE and consult with that body before contemplating proceeding with its proposed work on hygiene standards for tree-nuts, both shelled and unshelled, and including desiccated coconut.
30. In view of the scope of work proposed by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, the Commission recommended that priority for hygiene standards should be given to completion for the work on the “Draft Provisional General Principles and Guidelines for the Development of Food Hygiene Standards”, to those foodstuffs which were being standardized by other Codex Committees and to other foodstuffs which might present special health hazards to the consumer. Regarding the latter foodstuffs it should be left to the Committee to determine its own schedule of priorities. In connection with special health hazards the delegate of the U.S.S.R. drew the Commission's attention to the need to specify the pathogens and toxic substances which might be involved in canned foods as mentioned in paragraph 15(b) of the Committee's report. The delegate of India drew the Commission's attention to his Government's concern regarding the problem of aflatoxin. The Commission was advised of research being carried out in India and of the Government of India's wish to be kept fully informed of developments in this field.
31. The Secretariat informed the Commission of a request made by a recent OECD meeting concerned with “Sanitary Regulations affecting International Trade in Livestock and Meat” that urgent action be taken to establish a list of detergents, disinfectants and pesticides which would be recognized by the Codex Alimentarius to have no harmful effects on the wholesomeness of meat when used properly. The Commission was informed that the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene would consider these matters at its third meeting and would submit the detergents and disinfectants specified to the Codex Committee on Food Additives for further consideration. Similarly, in the case of pesticides these would be submitted to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues.
32. The representative of ECE drew to the attention of the Commission a request from the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on the Standardization of Quick-frozen Foods that the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene should elaborate a draft standard on hygiene covering the harvesting, transportation and processing of food products intended for quick freezing, as well as the handling of quick frozen products during storage and distribution. The Joint Group had also expressed the wish that the draft be put before it prior to it being sent to Member Governments of the Commission for comments. The Commission therefore requested the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene to examine this matter at its third meeting.
33. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed the chairmanship of the U.S.A. of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. The third meeting of the Committee would probably be held in either Washington, Geneva or Rome, early June 1966.
34. The Commission received a brief oral report on arrangements being made for the first session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues which is scheduled to be held in The Hague from 17 to 22 January 1966. The Commission was informed that it was hoped to make available the provisional agenda for this meeting early in November.
35. The Commission again took note of the membership and main responsibilities of the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues and the FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues. These were set out in paragraph 38 (B) and (C) of the Report of the Second Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and read as follows:
“(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:
(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.”
36. The Commission, having been informed that in future the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues would meet jointly with the FAO Working Party on Pesticide Residues (hereafter referred to as the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues), decided to modify the procedure set out in paragraph 39 of the Report of the Second Session of the Commission and recommended the following revised procedure:
The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues should, in the light of the work already being done by the various FAO and WHO Committees, plan the future work. It should prepare a list of pesticides together with priorities for further consideration by the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues. Priorities should be given in the list to those pesticides which leave substantial residues in food of importance in international trade.
Any Government which wishes to suggest that an international tolerance be established for a particular pesticide on specific food products should submit full information regarding technological justification, levels of residues resulting from their use, tolerances, consumption of food concerned, methods of analysis for residues to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, Ministry of Health, The Hague, Netherlands, with copies to the Plant Production and Protection Division, FAO, Rome. At the same time, two copies of all toxicological and related data should be sent to Nutrition/Food Additives, WHO, Geneva.
If the Codex Committee considers that a case has been established on the basis of need, it will ask the Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues to consider the pesticide concerned.
The Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues should, as expeditiously as possible, establish acceptable daily intakes, tolerances on specific foods based on good agriculture practice checked against the acceptable daily intake and methods of analysis. They should transmit their report to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues.
The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues would then recommend, where necessary, tolerances for acceptance by Governments for the pesticide in specific foods and submit such tolerances to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission would invite Government comments on these tolerances in accordance with its Procedure for the Elaboration of Standards.
37. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed the continuing chairmanship of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues to be the responsibility of the Government of the Netherlands.
38. The Commission received a report from Professor O. Högl (Switzerland), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate. Standards for the following products were considered by the Committee as being ready for Step 3 in the Procedure for the Elaboration of World-wide Standards:
In the case of the last-named material (9), the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Food Additives requested information on the food additives to be used in these Cocoa Powder Mixtures and it was agreed that the quantity and nature of these food additives would be discussed at the next meeting of the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate. This information would be transmitted to the Codex Committee on Food Additives as soon as possible for their consideration.
39. The Codex Committee had reported that agreement in principle only could be reached on the following eleven draft standards because these products involved the use of cocoa butter, upon which there was still a divergence of opinion. These standards were therefore not yet ready to be issued at Step 3:
40. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate should continue to elaborate world-wide standards for these products under the chairmanship of the Government of Switzerland. The fourth meeting of the Codex Committee would be held in Switzerland in early March 1966.
41. The Commission received a report from Mr. J.H.V. Davies (United Kingdom), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils.
At the second meeting of the Committee it was agreed that, as a first selection, the following fats and oils for direct human consumption warranted the preparation of draft standards:
Lard
Margarine
Tallow
Cooking Fats
Olive Oil
as did the following refined vegetable oils:
Arachis (syns. groundnut, peanut)
Cottonseed
Maize
Rapeseed
Safflower
Sesame
Soya Bean
Sunflower
42. An agreed format was developed for standards for fats and oils for direct human consumption. This format included a definition and specifications, both chemical and physical as well as specific tests for certain oils. The Chairman of the Committee reported that the draft standard prepared by the International Federation of Margarine Associations for margarine was to be considered at the third meeting of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils in accordance with the decision of the Fifth Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Chairman had already held preliminary discussions with representatives of IFMA concerning the format of the draft standard.
43. It was understood that the International Olive Oil Council was considering a request from the Codex Committee regarding olive oil, but in all probability it would not be possible to begin this work at the next meeting of the Committee. The Commission accepted the recommendation of the Committee that the specifications of identity for crude fats and oils should be circulated for the information of Governments as only indicative of the characteristics of most specimens of each fat and oil, as defined. The Commission decided that the question of further work on standards for crude fats and oils should be left to the Committee which should bear in mind the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius insofar as “materials for further processing into foods should be included to the extent necessary to achieve the purposes of the Codex Alimentarius”
44. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.8 that the Codex Committee under the chairmanship of the United Kingdom should continue to elaborate world-wide standards for fats and oils. The third meeting of the Committee would be held in London at the end of March or early April 1966.
45. Dr. F. Krusen (Federal Republic of Germany) reviewed the progress made at the first meeting of the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products. In accordance with the Commission's decision taken at the First Session to authorize the Committee, in view of its wide scope of activities to set up Subcommittees, the Committee at its first meeting had established six Sub-committees dealing respectively with 1) cuts of carcasses, 2) transportation and storage of carcasses and cuts, 3) classification and evaluation of carcasses and cuts of lamb and sheep, 4) meat products, 5) meat hygiene, and 6) additives used in the production of meat products. The Commission was informed that the first mentioned two Subcommittees were also under the chairmanship of the Federal Republic of Germany and would be meeting next December in Munich while the second meeting of the Committee itself would take place in May 1966 in Kulmbach. For the Subcommittee on the Classification and Evaluation of Carcasses and Cuts of Lamb and Sheep and for the Subcommittee on Additives used in the Production of Meat Products, no country had as yet accepted responsibility. The chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Meat Products had been accepted by the Government of Denmark.
46. With regard to the relationship between the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and the Subcommittee on Meat Hygiene of the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products, the Commission was informed that it was intended to follow closely the general recommendations of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene and apply these to the special problems of meat hygiene, as far as applicable. Close collaboration would also be established, once the Subcommittee on Additives used in meat had started its work, with the Codex Committee on Food Additives. This collaboration would especially be in relation to additives used in animal feeds, as well as to substances used for the tenderizing or preparation of meat. The Commission also drew attention to the need to consider the use of antibiotics and problems connected with Salmonella.
47. The Commission was informed that OECD at its meeting held from 11 to 15 October 1965 had requested that the Codex Alimentarius Commission give high priority to examining the use of marking inks on meat and establish a list of dyes which had been approved as safe and suitable for meat inspection stamps. This problem would be taken up by the Committee at its next meeting and details concerning these dyes would be referred to the Codex Committee on Food Additives. The Commission also noted that OECD had in the final stage of preparation a document on “Sanitary Regulations affecting International Trade in Livestock and Meat” which would be made available through the Committee to the Commission at its next session.
48. The OECD meeting had also considered certain definitions essential for international trade agreements and had stated that “a carcass side or quarter may be further divided into cuts” and that “cuts shall be readily anatomically identifiable”. This proposal by OECD would be taken fully into account in the work of the Committee. In the above mentioned proposed sanitary regulations OECD had also defined “frozen minced (cut, ground, chopped or diced) meat parcelled in small consumer packages of less than 1.5 kilograms (approximately 3 lbs)” as a separate item. The delegate of Denmark informed the Commission that the first meeting of the Committee regarded such consumer packaged meat as falling within the scope of work of the Subcommittee on Meat Products and that this should be made clear by changing the title of the Subcommittee from Subcommittee on Meat Products to Subcommittee on Processed Meat Products and Consumer Packaged Meat.
49. Finally, the Commission noted that OECD was pursuing work on lambs and sheep carcasses and cuts, the results of which would be utilized by the Committee, and countries such as Australia and New Zealand which are not members of OECD would have an opportunity to participate fully in this work.
50. The Commission recommended that the Committee should not proceed for the time being with its consideration of the problems involved in the use of irradiation of meat. The report of the Joint IAEA/FAO/WHO Expert Committee which met in Rome, 21–28 April 1964, on the Technical Basis for Legislation on Irradiated Foods would be available shortly.
51. The delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany recognizing the important and wide scope of the Committee's work welcomed the intention of members to participate fully in the work of the Committee and on the suggestion of the Commission stated that in addition to the various interested international groups and bodies which had already been participating in the work of the Committee, the International Office of Epizootics and the World Veterinary Association would also be invited to the next meeting. The Commission under Rule IX.8 confirmed that the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Federal Republic of Germany.
52. Mr. Nathan Koenig (U.S.A.) made a progress report to the Commission on the work of the second meeting of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruit and Vegetables. The Committee at its second meeting had agreed upon draft standards for submission to Member Governments of FAO and WHO in accordance with Step 3 of the Commission's Procedure for the Elaboration of World-wide Standards for the following canned products: sweet corn, apple sauce, tomatoes, green and wax beans, peaches, strawberries, plums, raspberries, fruit cocktail and grape fruit. Substantial progress had already been made with preliminary drafts for the following canned products: asparagus, green garden peas and mature processed peas. These drafts would be reconsidered together with a draft standard for processed raisins at the third meeting of the Committee. Additional work assignments for further products had been made to participants of the Committee and it was hoped that corresponding draft standards would be available to the Committee for consideration at its next meeting. The Commission took note of the substantial progress achieved at the Committee's second meeting and, in connection with the draft standards which had reached Step 3, drew attention to the need for close collaboration with the Codex Committees dealing with food additives, labelling, and methods of analysis and sampling. The Commission commended the Committee for its preparation of a Draft Hygiene Standard for Canned Fruit and Vegetables and Related Products and for the reference of this draft to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. A number of members of the Commission indicated a wish to collaborate in work assignments made by the Committee and were requested to communicate directly with the Chairman of the Codex Committee.
53. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the responsibility for the chairmanship of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruit and Vegetables should continue to be with the Government of U.S.A. The third meeting of the Committee would probably be held early June 1966 in either of the three cities: Washington, Geneva, Rome.
54. Mr. J.H.V. Davies (U.K.), Chairman of the Codex Committee on Sugars, reported on the progress of the Committee at its second meeting. The Committee had elaborated standards for white sugars, powdered sugars, soft sugars and brown sugars, glucose syrup, dried glucose syrup, dextrose mono-hydrate and dextrose anhydrous which were at Step 5 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of World-wide Standards. In addition, the Committee had elaborated draft standards for lactose and fructose which had reached Step 3 and had been sent to Governments for comments. Arrangements for the third meeting of the Committee were well in hand and requests had been made to ICUMSA regarding the determination of certain factors in the standards for sugars. The Secretariat of the Committee expected to be in a position to present a paper on this aspect of the work to the Committee at its next meeting. The Committee had decided not to proceed at this time with work for standards on dried sugar, liquid sugar, invert sugar, starch sugar, golden syrup and treacle. Matters concerned with the labelling of sugars and the use of anti-caking agents in certain sugars had been referred to the Codex Committee on Food Labelling and the Codex Committee on Food Additives, respectively. The report of the Committee was adopted and the standards which had reached Step 5 were considered separately by the Commission (see paragraph 56 below).
55. Under Rule IX.8 the Commission confirmed that the chairmanship of the Codex Committee on Sugars should continue to be the responsibility of the Government of the United Kingdom. The third meeting of the Committee would be held in London at the beginning of March 1966.
56. The Commission had for consideration at Step 5 of its Procedure for the Elaboration of World-wide Standards the following draft provisional standards as prepared by the Codex Committee on Sugars: white sugar, powdered sugar (icing sugar), soft sugars and brown sugars, glucose syrup, dried glucose syrup, dextrose monohydrate and dextrose anhydrous. The Commission adopted the standards for powdered sugar (icing sugar), soft sugars and brown sugars, glucose syrup, dried glucose syrup, dextrose monohydrate and dextrose anhydrous as draft provisional standards with the addition of a footnote to each standard indicating that the requirements for intentional metal contaminants were subject to examination by the Codex Committee on Food Additives. The standards would be sent to Governments for comments under Step 6 of the Procedure. The Commission decided that in view of the difference of opinion on the need for two standards for white sugar, the white sugar standard should be referred back to the Committee for further consideration at Step 4. The Committee was requested to reconsider the elaboration of standards for white sugar in the light of the General Principles as adopted by the Commission.
57. The Commission received a brief progress report from the Secretariat concerning the Eighth Session of the Joint FAO/WHO Committee of Government Experts on the Code of Principles concerning Milk and Milk Products. The Commission noted the good progress made by the Committee in the consideration of a number of applications for international individual cheese standards and the revised draft standard for processed cheese products. The Commission suggested that the Committee during its normal review of standards should examine all its standards in the light of the General Principles adopted by the Commission, in particular the nature of standards. It was however the general view of the Commission that the Committee's working procedures were consistent with the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Commission, in the light of paragraph 10 of the Report of the Commission's First Session considered whether the Code of Principles and its Associated Standards should be at this time published as part of the Codex Alimentarius. It was agreed that a Fifth Edition of the Code of Principles and its Associated Standards should be published as soon as possible in its present form for the last time. The Commission would therefore at a future session examine how the Code of Principles and its Associated Standards should be incorporated into the Codex Alimentarius. For this purpose the Commission requested the Committee of Government Experts to make proposals on how the Code of Principles and its Associated Standards should appear in the First Edition of the Codex Alimentarius.
58. The Commission received a progress report prepared by the Fisheries Division of FAO on the work carried out since the Second Session of the Commission on draft standards prepared by author countries. The Division had received from author countries and OECD draft standards for 13 of the 20 products selected by the Commission for standardization. These had been circulated for comment to those countries which had indicated an interest and in turn the comments of the Governments have been collated by the Division.
59. The Commission, in view of the inherent difficulties in the provisional procedure established by the Commission for the handling of draft standards for fishery products following the Second Session of the Commission, decided to establish a Codex Committee under Rule IX.1 (b)1. The Commission accepted an offer of the Government of Norway to undertake responsibility and chairmanship of such a Codex Committee and expressed its appreciation of the Norwegian Government's readiness to assume this responsibility. The Commission established the following terms of reference for the Committee:
The Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products should elaborate world-wide standards for fresh, frozen (including deep and quick-frozen) or otherwise processed fish, crustaceans and molluscs.
The Commission confirmed that fresh water fish would come within the terms of reference of the Codex Committee but not sea mammals such as whales. The Commission requested that the Secretariat should endeavour to obtain all outstanding comments and draft standards from Member Governments and to transmit this material to the Norwegian Codex Contact Point so that it could be made available to the Codex Committee from 1 January 1966. Details of a draft standard on Salted Herring which had been considered previously by E.C.E. should also be obtained and transmitted to the Contact Point. The first meeting of the Committee would be held in Bergen, Norway, probably in August or early September 1966.
60. In establishing the terms of reference of the new Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products, the Commission had regard to the possibility of overlap of responsibilities between the new Committee and the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts in relation to all quick-frozen foods. The Commission further recommended that the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group should not andeavour to prepare commodity standards for quick-frozen fish but that close collaboration between the Joint Group of Experts and the Codex Committee should be established. Accordingly, the Secretariat was requested to ensure with the Chairmen of the two respective Bodies that full information on each other's activities was made available.
61. The Commission expressed its appreciation for the work undertaken by the Fisheries Division on the draft standards and the preparatory work on a Code of Practice. The Commission recommended that Codes of Practice for fishery products should continue to be elaborated by the Division as part of its regular program of work. The importance of these Codes was strongly emphasized in order to assist developing countries attain Codex Standards for fishery products. The Commission recommended that close collaboration should be maintained with OECD in this work.
62. In accordance with the decision taken by the Commission at its Second Session the background study on standards for poultry meat prepared by the Government of the U.S.A. was reconsidered by the Commission. At that Session the Commission had decided that, if standards for poultry meat were to be elaborated, this should be done by a Codex Committee established under Rule IX.1 (b)1. The Commission after further consideration of the subject of poultry meat decided that the time was opportune to establish a Codex Committee on Poultry Meat and accepted with appreciation an offer of the Government of the U.S.A. to assume responsibility and chairmanship of the new Codex Committee. The Commission established the following terms of reference for the Committee:
The Commission was informed of the work of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene in respect of hygiene standards for poultry meat and requested that the draft standards should be referred to the Codex Committee on Poultry Meat for examination by its members. The delegate of the U.S.A. indicated that his Government had under consideration the possibility of holding the first meeting of the Codex Committee in Europe in the summer of 1966.
63. The Commission received a report from the Joint Secretary of the Group of Experts on the work of the first session of the Joint Group. The Group had drawn up general guidelines for quick frozen foods and also a model commodity standard dealing with strawberries. The Commission took note of the progress achieved by the Group and sought further information on the meaning of the guidelines. After a full discussion of this subject the Commission concluded that general guidelines including provisions regarding the handling, transportation and distribution of quick-frozen foods should be prepared for the guidance of Member Countries and not simply for the guidance of the Joint Group in the elaboration of standards for specific quick-frozen foods. The guidelines should be submitted to Governments at a suitable moment for comments in accordance with the procedure suggested in paragraph 9. The Commission also recommended that such subjects as labelling, packaging and sampling should form part of the commodity standards and not of the guidelines.
64. In the absence of any formal terms of reference for the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on the standardization of quick-frozen foods and in order to clarify the responsibilities of the various Codex Committees in respect of commodity standards for quick-frozen foods, the Commission proposed the following terms of reference:
The Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on the Standardization of Quick-frozen Foods will be responsible for general principles, definitions, a framework of individual standards for quick-frozen food products and for the actual elaboration of standards for quick-frozen food products not specifically allotted by the Commission to another Codex Committee such as fish and fishery products, meat and meat products and poultry and poultry meat products.
65. In addition to the Report of the second session of the Joint Group of Experts on Fruit Juices, the Commission received an oral statement from the Joint Secretary of the Group. The Joint Group had been able to elaborate a general framework for the classification and definition of fruit juices and fruit juice products as well as draft standards for apple juice, orange juice and grape juice. The Commission considered the Joint Group's request for more frequent meetings and shared the Joint Group's wishes to achieve more rapid progress in this field. The Commission considered that the Joint Group would find its work greatly facilitated if draft standards were circulated to Governments for comments between sessions so as to enable the Commission's Secretary to improve and circulate the documentation well in advance of each session. The Commission therefore recommended that the Joint Group be asked to adopt the procedure set out in paragraph 9 of this Report. The next meeting of the Joint Group should be held in Geneva in the first half of 1966.
66. The Codex Alimentarius Commission received a progress report prepared by the Joint FAO/ECE Secretariat of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Committee on Agricultural Problems. The Working Party on Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs of the abovementioned Committee had been continuing their development of European commercial standards for the export trade on seed potatos, asparagus, watermelons, cucumbers, cabbages, wood bilberries, Bruxelles sprouts, ribbed celery and horse-radish.
The Commission noted that although regional standards for Europe were the main concern of the Working Party, Member Countries of the United Nations were invited to participate in the work as observers under Article 11 of UNECE Terms of Reference.
The difficulties of developing world-wide standards were discussed and the Commission requested that the Working Party should report back to the next meeting of the Commission. This report should include a decision on whether it would be possible to undertake this task for a limited number of fruits and vegetables in interregional trade, such as apples, pears, table grapes, peaches, plums, citrus fruits, new potatoes and onions. It was recommended that bananas should be specifically excluded from consideration until the further work of the FAO Banana Study Group on this subject had been considered in the light of the report of the FAO ad-hoc Meeting on Bananas held in October/ November 1964 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The representative of ECE undertook to bring these matters to the attention of the Working Party on Perishable Food- stuffs.
