100. The Commission was informed by the delegate of the U.S.A. that while there did not appear to be a need at this stage for convening a meeting of the Codex Committee on Poultry Meat, the U.S.A. would have no objection to convening such a meeting should the Commission so decide. The Commission agreed that there was no need at present to convene a meeting of the Codex Committee on Poultry Meat and confirmed under Rule IX.10 that this Committee should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of the U.S.A.
101. The Commission had before it the Report of the Fourth Session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils introduced by the Chairman, Mr. J.H.V. Davies (United Kingdom).
102. The representative of the International Olive Oil Council indicated that the designations of olive oils had been determined by the Conference on Olive Oils of the United Nations and that they appear in an annex to the International Agreement of 1963. This text concerned international trade and a number of countries producing olive oil as well as importing countries have legally adopted these designations for their internal commerce. It would therefore be necessary to consider how to reconcile this situation with the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius when the Codex Standard for Olive Oil was issued for acceptance by governments.
103. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of the United Kingdom.
104. The Commission received a report from the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate, Professor Dr. O. Högl (Switzerland). The Committee had asked the Commission to consider the question whether among the permissible ingredients and additives for chocolate, flavours which imitated the chocolate or milk flavour might be included, and also to examine the general issue of the use of imitative flavours in products which comply with Codex standards. The Commission decided that it could not give a general ruling on this question but that the problem of imitative flavours should be dealt with by Codex Commodity Committees as each standard was discussed. The Commission would then consider any specific cases which were referred to it.
105. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of Switzerland.
106. The Commission received a report from the Chairman, Mr. J.H.V. Davies (United Kingdom), who indicated the progress made by the Codex Committee on Sugars at its fourth session.
107. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Sugars should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of the United Kingdom.
108. The Commission received a report from Mr. G. Grange, the U.S. delegate, who reviewed the progress made by the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetable at its fourth session. As requested by the Commission at its fourth session, the Committee had re-examined the question of a General Standard for Canned Fruits and a General Standard for Canned Vegetables. The Committee again decided that individual commodity standards would be more useful and, therefore, such an approach would be best even though some repetition would be involved. A General Standard might be developed later for minor products for which individual standards had not been developed. On the subject of food additives, he indicated that the Committee considered that it might be desirable to elaborate standards for processed fruits which were artificially sweetened. The elaboration of such standards would be carried out with appropriate endorsement from the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses and the Codex Committee on Food Additives. It was brought to the attention of the Commission that additives proposed in processed fruit and vegetable standards were based initially on national legislations on this subject. It was only at a later stage that technological need for such food additives would be examined by the Committee.
109. The delegate of the U.S.A. stated that the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables was empowered under its terms of reference to elaborate standards for all types of processed fruit and vegetables including dried products. He referred to the fact that the Economic Commission for Europe was elaborating standards for certain dried fruits and that this should not inhibit the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables from elaborating Codex standards for the same products. The representative of the Economic Commission for Europe pointed out that the Working Party on the Standardization of Perishable Foodstuffs of the UNECE had been developing a Standard for Dried Prunes which was now nearing completion. He further indicated that the Working Party mentioned had also decided to elaborate standards for other dried fruits. The standards in question were graded quality standards. The representative of the UNECE indicated that the U.S.A. was a Member Country of that Organization and that non-European countries could be invited to attend sessions of the Working Party and its subsidiary Expert Groups under Article XI of the UNECE's terms of reference. He indicated that members of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables interested in the work on standards for dried fruits being elaborated by the UNECE would be welcome to send representatives to meetings organized by the UNECE on this subject.
110. On the subject of table olives, the delegate of the U.S.A. indicated that a Draft Standard for this commodity had been elaborated by the U.S.A. in liaison with the International Olive Oil Council. The representative of the International Olive Oil Council indicated that certain differences still existed between the Standard for Table Olives elaborated by the IOOC and the proposed Standard elaborated by the U.S.A. These differences concerned mainly sizing and the fact that the IOOC Standard contained commercial quality grades. He indicated that the IOOC had recast its Standard in the Codex Format and stated that it would be desirable if agreement could be reached between the IOOC and the U.S.A. on a Standard to be put before the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables for consideration. He stressed the importance which the IOOC attached to having a United States expert on table olives at meetings on the standardization of this commodity organized by the IOOC and indicated that a meeting on table olives could be arranged by the IOOC to take place in November 1968. The delegate of the U.S.A. stated that the possibility of sending an expert to such a meeting would be carefully examined.
111. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of the U.S.A.
112. The Commission received a report from the Chairman, Dr. O. R. Braekkan (Norway) who reviewed the progress made by the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products at its second session. The Commission noted that the Committee had agreed on the need for a General Standard for Fish and Fishery Products and that this would be one of the main items on the agenda for the next session of the Committee. The General Standard for Fish and Fishery Products would be sent to the Norwegian Secretariat by the end of March 1968 for distribution to members of the Committee for comments. The draft, together with these comments, would be before the Committee at its next session. The Chairman of the Committee raised the question of the applicability of the General Standard for all Quick (Deep) Frozen Foods being developed by the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on Standardization of Quick (Deep) Frozen Foods to standards for frozen fish being developed by the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products. This matter has been dealt with under the section of the Report relating to the activities of the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on Standardization of Quick (Deep) Frozen Foods.
113. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of Norway.
114. The Commission received a report from Dr. F. Krusen (Federal Republic of Germany) on the Report of the Third Session of the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products, and on the Report of the Second Session of Sub-Committee I on Cutting Methods and Cuts of Carcasses. Dr. Krusen reviewed the contents of both reports, drawing particular attention to the close collaboration of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the field of meat hygiene and the description of carcasses of bovine and porcine species. The Commission agreed that the Draft Description of Cutting Methods of Commercial Units of Carcasses Moving in International Trade (Appendix II to the Report of Sub-Committee I) should not be regarded as standards intended to be submitted ultimately to governments for acceptance, but should be treated in the same way as codes of hygienic practice. The Commission further agreed that the Draft Descriptions of Cutting Methods should be sent out for government comments at Step 3 of the Procedure. The Commission agreed with the view expressed by the majority of the Committee that, in order to give the Committee Secretariat adequate time for the preparation of the substantial amount of documentation necessary for the further advancement of the work of the Committee, a meeting of the Committee should not be held in 1968. The Commission also took the view that, because of the close inter-linking of activities between the main Committee and Sub-Committee I, a meeting of Sub-Committee I should not be held either in 1968.
115. The Commission agreed with the view expressed by the Committee that the omission of a meeting of the main Committee in 1968 should not have any adverse effects on the continuance of activities of Sub-Committee IV on Processed Meat Products and Consumer Packaged Meat, for which the Government of Denmark was responsible and which could in 1968 report directly to the Commission.
116. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Meat and Meat Products, and Sub-Committee I on Cutting Methods and Cuts of Carcasses should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
117. The Commission received a report from Dr. V. Enggaard (Denmark), the Chairman of Sub-Committee IV. The Commission noted that standards for (i) Canned Hams, (ii) Canned Corned Beef, and (iii) Canned Luncheon Meat, had been sent out to governments for comments at Step 3 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of Codex Standards. The Commission also noted that at its next session, the Sub-Committee would be considering Preliminary Draft Standards for (i) Canned Chopped Meat, (ii) Salami-Type Sausages, (iii) Canned Sausages in Brine (Frankfurter Type), and (iv) Canned Stewed Steak with Gravy. The Commission also noted that this Sub-Committee intended to elaborate a definition of meat and would be considering how to determine the meat content of meat products.
118. The Chairman of Sub-Committee IV referred to the provisions of full acceptance under which a country undertook to ensure that a product to which a Codex standard applied would be permitted to be distributed freely within its territorial jurisdiction under the name and description laid down in the standard, provided that it complied with all the relevant requirements of the standard, and also undertook to ensure that a product not complying with the standard would not be permitted to be distributed under the name and description laid down in the standard. He raised the question whether this provision would prevent the distribution of a product substantially the same as that covered by the standard but bearing a name slightly different from that laid down in the standard. The Commission thought that problems of this kind could be taken care of in a general standard and that Commodity Committees experiencing any difficulties of this kind could refer them to the Codex Committee on General Principles for guidance and advice.
119. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Sub-Committee on Processed Meat Products and Consumer Packaged Meat should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of Denmark.
120. The Commission received a report from the Chairman of the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses, Dr. h.c. Edmund Forschbach (Federal Republic of Germany) who reviewed the progress made by the Committee at its second session. The Commission took note that the Committee had examined its scope of activity in relation to its terms of reference and came to the conclusion that the latter covered both special foods for certain categories of healthy persons and also dietary foods, the use of which was connected with morbid conditions of the human body. As shown in the Guidelines for the Elaboration of Codex Standards for Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Appendix II, ALINORM 68/26), the Committee dealt with both these categories of food. The Committee however decided that the term “Dietetic Foods” should be broadened to “Foods for Special Dietary Uses” to overcome linguistic problems as well as to cover the two categories of foods referred to above. The delegate of Israel reserved his Government's position regarding the terms of reference and the new designation of the Committee since, in his opinion, the Committee should be dealing only with dietetic foods in the strictest sense, i.e. foods which were designed for persons with morbid conditions of the body. The question arose as to which Committee should deal with foods which were covered by standards under elaboration by other Commodity Committees. The Commission considered that such standards, if they contained provisions for special dietary purposes, should be referred to and endorsed by the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses. It might be necessary in some cases for that Committee to work in cooperation with other Codex Commodity Committees in drawing up food standards of a special dietary nature or to elaborate standards itself for persons suffering from morbid conditions. The Secretariat pointed out that in paragraph 33 of the Report of the Committee, the words “artificial colours, chemical preservatives and …” had been erroneously left out and that these should be inserted after the second line in that paragraph. The Commission agreed that the Committee be re-named as indicated above.
121. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
122. The Commission received a report from the Chairman, Professor Dr. O. Högl (Switzerland) and noted that a Proposed Draft Provisional Standard for Natural Mineral Waters had been prepared by the Committee and that subsequently the Coordinating Committee for Europe had agreed that this Standard should be sent out at Step 3 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of Regional Codex Standards. The Commission noted that the next meeting of the Codex Committee on Natural Mineral Waters would be taking place before the next session of the Coordinating Committee for Europe. The Commission agreed that, although the Procedure for the Elaboration of Regional Standards required that comments received at Step 3 should be referred to the Coordinating Committee, it would be helpful, in the present instance, if the comments were to be examined by the Codex Committee on Natural Mineral Waters prior to formal consideration at Step 4 by the Coordinating Committee.
123. The Commission confirmed under Rule IX.10 that the Codex Committee on Natural Mineral Waters should continue to be under the chairmanship of the Government of Switzerland.
124. The Commission received a report from the Secretariat on the Fourth Session of the Joint Group of Experts. It was noted that good progress was being made in the elaboration of Standards for physically preserved Apricot, Peach and Pear Nectars, Apple Juice, Orange Juice, Grape Juice, Tomato Juice, Lemon Juice and Grapefruit Juice, and Concentrated Apple, Orange and Grape Juices. These standards had been sent out for government comments and would be considered at the next session of the Joint Group of Experts at Step 4 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of Codex Standards. The Commission also noted that the Joint Group of Experts would have a Standard for Pineapple Juice before it at its next session at Step 2 of the Procedure.
125. The representative of CLAM indicated that the organization he represented had actively participated in the work of the Joint Group of Experts and expressed his appreciation of the way in which the views of this organization had always been taken into account by the Joint Group of Experts.
126. The Commission also noted that the Joint Group of Experts would be considering methods of analysis for fruit juices in the light of a synopsis on methods of analysis for these products prepared by the delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany, and of a digest of government comments thereon to be supplied to the Joint Group by the Secretariat of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling.
127. The Commission endorsed the recommendation of the Executive Committee that the Joint Group of Experts should consider adopting the Codex Alimentarius Commission's procedures by electing at the end of each session its Chairman for the next session.
128. The Commission received a report from the Secretariat on the Third Session of the Joint Group of Experts. The Commission noted that the General Standard for Quick (Deep) Frozen Foods, together with Standards for Quick (Deep) Frozen Strawberries and Quick (Deep) Frozen Peas, were before it at Step 5 of the Procedure for the Elaboration of Codex Standards, and that these standards would be considered at a later stage in the agenda. In considering the General Standard at Step 5, the Commission would also have to consider how to regard it taking into account the decisions taken with regard to codes of practice. The Commission noted that Standards for Quick (Deep) Frozen Spinach, Raspberries, Brussels Sprouts, Peaches and Bilberries were being redrafted by the author countries and that the redrafts would be sent out for government comments at Step 3. In addition, the Commission noted that the Joint Group of Experts would have before it at its next session, redrafts of the Standards for Quick (Deep) Frozen Cauliflowers, Broccoli and Sour Cherries. The future work program of the Joint Group included Standards for Quick (Deep) Frozen Green Beans, Blueberries and Leeks, the Standards for the two last-mentioned items being redrafts.
129. While recognizing that individual Commodity Committees were experts in their own fields, the Commission stressed the need for ensuring that provisions drawn up for quick (deep) frozen foods were compatible with the provisions of the General Standard applicable to all quick (deep) frozen foods. It was agreed, however, that a sensible interpretation of the terms of reference of the Joint ECE/Codex Alimentarius Group of Experts on the Standardization of Quick (Deep) Frozen Foods and the terms of reference of Commodity Committees dealing with specific kinds of frozen foods should remove any difficulties which might arise.
130. The Commission endorsed the recommendation of the Executive Committee that the Joint Group of Experts should consider adopting the Codex Alimentarius Commission's procedures by electing at the end of each session its Chairman for the next session.
