378. The representatives of FAO and WHO briefly reported on the activities of the two Organizations referred to in ALINORM 74/34, Part III.
379. Most of the activities, such as those in the fields of food additives and contaminants, pesticide residues, food irradiation and food hygiene were joint FAO/WHO activities. In other cases, such as intake studies, food consumption surveys and food control a liaison was maintained between the two Organizations. In addition, as a follow-up on the recommendations 78 and 82 of the UN Conference on Human Environment, and with the support of UNEP, a joint FAO/WHO internationally coordinated food contamination monitoring programme had been established and support given to the work of the Commission on standards for pollutants in food and on strengthening FAO/WHO capabilities in food control.
380. The Commission was informed about the work of the 17th and 18th Sessions of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, held respectively in Geneva from 25 June to 4 July 1973 and in Rome from 4 to 13 June 1974. The two meetings had, inter alia, reviewed the principles for evaluating the safety of food additives and carried out toxicological re-evaluations and a review of the earlier specifications of a large number of food additives. The Committee had proposed some modifications in the way in which acceptable daily intakes should be expressed and had decided at its 17th Session to abandon the somewhat confusing practice of ascribing conditional acceptable daily intake. The Committee, at its 18th Session, had also carried out toxicological evaluations or re-evaluations and establishment or revision of specifications for over 80 substances, mainly those suggested by the Codex Committee on Food Additives, including certain food colours and flavour enhancers. With regard to contaminants, attention was again drawn to the conclusions of the Expert Committee that consideration should be given to the diet and not to specific foods, except in the case of very heavy pollution (see also para. 181).
381. The Joint Meeting of the FAO Working Party and the WHO Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues met in Rome during November-December 1973. It evaluated the toxicological and related data on six organophosphorous compounds and four others for the first time and re-evaluated 14 other pesticides in the light of new data. Simultaneously, efforts were being made to elicit toxicological data to assess the safety of compounds not sponsored by single manufacturers.
382. The pilot studies made by WHO had been expanded and data continued to be collected to estimate the potential daily intake of food additives and pesticide residues with a computer procedure suggested by the previous Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives meeting. In the case of pesticide residues, the pilot study now included 67 compounds on which ADIs and residue limits were available.
383. A WHO Scientific Group on the Assessment of the Carcinogenicity and Mutagenicity of Chemicals met in Geneva in August 1973. Among the points discussed were the mechanism of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, the threshold and no-effect levels of chemicals having mutagenic or carcinogenic activity, and testing procedures. The Group recommended that, since the level of carcinogens in the environment is essential in assessing the risk they present, WHO should promote more research into methods for their detection and coordinate and support international monitoring of the levels of certain of them.
384. The first international conference of this type, under the auspices of Rutgers University (U.S.A.), with participation by WHO and the U.S. Public Health Service, will be held in Geneva in November 1974. The conference would review the testing methods and interpretation of results with a view to developing suitable legislation and enforcement procedures for the safety of ceramic foodware.
385. A Joint FAO/WHO Symposium would be convened in Rome in March 1975 to consider the use of these substances and data on the levels of residues in the meat of treated animals to ensure safety.
386. A meeting on safety evaluation and the role of international agencies concerning the International Project in the field of Food Irradiation was convened by WHO in Geneva in October 1973. Another meeting was convened by WHO in April-May 1974 to consider the results of studies by the project concerning their adequacy for evaluation at a later date, and to develop a report for WHO to be used for advising the Member Governments.
387. FAO's programme in the field of food consumption surveys was designed to reveal levels and variations in household consumption of food and its relation with the economic and social factors. Such surveys provided the basic information required for the formulation of food and nutrition policies within the framework of general development plans. FAO gave technical assistance to member countries for planning, organizing and conducting such surveys and for the analysis of data. A note had been made of the recommendations of the UN Conference on Human Environment with regard to the monitoring of food contaminants and intake studies and those of the Third Joint FAO/WHO Conference on Food Additives and Contaminants. Every effort was being made to strengthen these activities.
388. FAO had continued to give increasingly growing assistance to developing countries in the area of food control and a number of feasibility studies were being carried out, particularly in Africa - Nigeria, Tunisia, Libyan Arab Republic, Upper Volta, Togo, Dahomey, Cameroon, Gabon and Zaire. The various studies made, and the discussions during the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Regional Conference for Africa and the sessions of the Commission had highlighted the fact that such assistance in strengthening the food control set-up was necessary not only to provide consumer protection from health hazards and commercial fraud but also to generally assist in the development of the food industry and trade. Besides some individual national food control projects, i.e. in Zambia, Hong Kong, two regional seminars had been organized jointly with UNICEF and WHO in Teheran and Beirut. Financial support for these activities was drawn not only from UNDP and UNICEF, but also from a number of donor countries: Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and New Zealand. In some other cases, trust fund arrangements had been made with the countries concerned, asking for such assistance. While providing assistance in food control, the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, particularly in the development of international food standards and Codes of practice was being taken into consideration.
389. As regards WHO's activities in the field of food control, continued assistance had been given to developing countries in the area of food legislation, training, fellowships and advisory services. Assistance was also being given to the environmental sanitation programmes with a poor sanitation component. A survey of existing codes and ordinances for the control of food establishments was planned.
390. The Commission noted the various pre-programming steps being taken by FAO and WHO to implement the Recommendations 78 and 82 of the UN Conference on Human Environment in the field of setting up internationally coordinated food contamination and monitoring programmes and strengthening the work of the Commission on standards for pollutants in food, and FAO/WHO capabilities in food control. Under Recommendation 78, a number of surveys had been carried out of some ongoing national food contamination monitoring activities and meetings were scheduled in October and November 1974 to select the methodology of sampling and analysis of contaminants in foods and total diets, and to advise on the development of an appropriate system for the processing, appraising and storing of data. During the second phase of the programme, a manual for establishing a national food monitoring system would be prepared and the data base extended. By seeking cooperation from additional member governments, assistance would be given to developing countries to establish such monitoring activities in the interests of the health and wellbeing of their population.
391. Under Recommendation 82, a food control manual was being prepared and background documentation was being prepared to determine the magnitude of the work involved for the establishment of international standards for pollutants in food; to consider the methods of analysis for contaminants in food which might be used as referee methods; and to assess the work already done by various bodies in the field of food microbiology and advise on the future work to be undertaken in this field, within the framework of the FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. A number of ad hoc Groups of Experts meetings were envisaged during the second phase of the programme during February-May 1975 to consider the above documentation and make recommendations for intergovernmental consideration.
392. A Study Group on Food-borne Disease: Methods of Sampling and Examination in Surveillance Programmes was held in Geneva in July 1973. Its discussions were concerned primarily with the development and application of microbiological and related methodologies in food hygiene programmes including the review of present efforts and accomplishments in the development of such methods. The Study Group recommended application of standardized methods for sampling of food on a statistical basis, and standardization of laboratory methods in food microbiology. It emphasized the need for continued national and international collaborative research in this field and it expressed the opinion that this work be coordinated by WHO which would also convene meetings at regular intervals to review progress and to provide background information and make recommendations.
393. A WHO Expert Committee on Fish and Shellfish Hygiene was held in cooperation with FAO in Geneva in September 1973. The Committee dealt mainly with the broad principles of fish and shellfish hygiene related to public health. The Committee's work was concentrated on fish and shellfish-borne diseases, on factors which have contributed to their increase in the past few years and on their prevention, giving consideration primarily to disease agents of biological origin. It recommended that WHO and FAO develop their capability to advise countries in all matters related to fish and shellfish hygiene, including legislation, training and education, and organization of control services. It further stressed the importance of developing internationally acceptable standards for fish and shellfish.
394. An Inter-regional Conference on the Control of Food-borne Diseases, Principles of Food Hygiene Practice and Food Standardization was held in Singapore in November 1973 to review recent advances in the epidemiology, surveillance and control of foodborne diseases prevalent in the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asian and Western Pacific Regions of WHO, together with the application of control measures practicable under the regional conditions. The Conference also dealt with national and international aspects of food hygiene practices, and food legislation and standardization, with the aim of providing guidance to those countries which were in the process of drafting their legislation and developing and organizing their food hygiene services.
395. As a further step in the development of the WHO Food Virology Programme, the Fifth Informal Consultation was held in Geneva in July 1973. At this consultation a data retrieval system using edge-notched cards was adopted for use by the programme. This international collection of data on viruses in foods and of their public health importance was intended to make existing information available as widely as possible to institutes and officials concerned with food hygiene. In addition to the data collection activities, a list of food virologists had been prepared and would be kept up-to-date. The list was intended to facilitate communication between laboratories engaged in related work. A third aspect of the programme was coordination of laboratory research on virus transmission by food.
396. A regional course in food microbiology and hygiene was convened in April and May 1973 in the Netherlands. In the Region for the Americas, the third annual course on food hygiene and inspèction procedures for senior health inspectors was held in Venezuela from February to December 1973. The FAO/WHO Training Courses in Meat Inspection, which have been held annually since 1966, have continued. To respond to the need for meat inspectors in the area, two courses were now run annually.
397. The delegation of Norway emphasized the importance of food consumption and of contaminant intake studies as recommended by the Meeting of the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives held in 1972. These were necessary in view of the approach taken by the Expert Committee in recommending Tolerable Weekly Intakes for contaminants.
398. The delegation of Canada raised a question regarding the availability of data to evaluate the safety of packaging components as a future activity of the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives and the priority allotted to this work. The representative of WHO assured the Commission that work would be undertaken only when adequate data became available.
399. The delegation of Canada further suggested that there should be a complete review of the organization of the Expert Committees of FAO and WHO in view of the overlap of programmes between the international organizations in the field of food safety. An overall committee on Food Safety might coordinate the work of the two organizations in this field, such as a joint FAO/WHO interagency committee on food safety with an overview of all aspects of food safety, using consultant groups and covering possibly subjects such as food additives, food hygiene, food control, pesticide residues, food contaminants, monitoring, and nutrition.
400. The Commission noted with appreciation the work being carried out by FAO and WHO for the Member Governments in areas which had a direct bearing on the programme of work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Commission wished to place on record its appreciation of the funds being provided by UNEP to strengthen the activities of the Commission and also the financial support being given by a number of countries under the FAO-Government Donor Programmes for the strengthening of food control facilities and infrastructure in developing countries.
401. The Commission had before it reports on the activities of the Council of Europe (Partial Agreement), the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) and the Arab Organization for Standardization and Metrology (ASMO), which were set forth in documents ALINORM 74/34, Parts I, II and IV, respectively.
402. The representatives of the organizations mentioned introduced the reports and drew the Commission's attention to matters in them of particular interest. In addition the representatives of the International Organization for Standardization and the European Economic Community reported verbally on activities in their organizations of particular interest to the Commission. In the case of ISO, the Commission noted that a written report on the activities of ISO/TC 34 had been submitted to the Codex Secretariat but that it had not yet been received. The report would be distributed to Member Governments as soon as it was received by the Codex Secretariat.
403. Reference was made to the work of ASMO in translating the Recommended Codex Standards into Arabic, and in surveying the needs of Arab countries in the food standards and food control field. On the latter point, the delegate of Kuwait as a Member Country of ASMO expressed the appreciation of his Organization for the assistance being given by FAO and WHO. The Commission also noted with interest the statement of the representative of the EEC that the EEC had adopted a Directive on Sugars which regulated, inter alia, the following sugars covered by Codex Step 9 Standards: White Sugar and Plantation White Sugar; Glucose Syrup; Dried Glucose Syrup; Dextrose Monohydrate Syrup; Anhydrous Dextrose. An EEC Directive on Honey would be adopted shortly. The Commission was pleased to note that the EEC Directives had been based on the Codex Standards for the products concerned. Progress of work in the EEC in other areas of the food standards field was outlined. The main objective of Community legislation was to create a common market in foodstuff through the elimination of technical barriers to trade, whilst at the same time protecting the consumer against health risks and fraud. The EEC was anxious to achieve the greatest possible measure of harmonization between Community Standards and Codex Standards.
404. The Commission noted with interest the work which had been carried out in the organizations mentioned above since its last session. The value of the food standards harmonization work of these organizations in relation to the work of the Commission was stressed, as was also the desirability of maintaining close inter-secretariat liaison.
405. The Commission noted that the date and venue for the Eighth Session of the Codex Committee on Foods for Special Dietary Uses - Bad Godesberg, 9-14 September 1974had been confirmed and that the date for the 11th Session of the Codex Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate had been altered to 2-6 December 1974.
406. The Commission considered the proposed provisional timetable for Codex Sessions for 1974–1976 which had been drawn up by the Secretariat and was set out in document ALINORM 74/38. In discussing the proposal some amendments were made. The revised timetable is attached as Appendix V to this Report. It was noted that sessions of the Codex Committee on Meat and of the Coordinating Committee for Europe had been listed in ALINORM 74/38 as being subject to agreement by the Commission on the need for sessions prior to the Eleventh Session of the Commission. As no specific work assignment had been given to these two Committees by the Commission, it was agreed that there was no need for sessions to be held prior to the next session of the Commission.
407. The Commission agreed with the recommendations of the Executive Committee that the order of the Codex Sessions to be held in North America should be in the following sequence: Food Hygiene, Processed Fruits and Vegetables and Food Labelling. It was noted that the 1975 session of the Food Labelling Committee would be held in the last week of May 1975.
408. At the second session of the Coordinating Committee for Africa a decision would be taken on whether or not that Committee should hold its third session immediately prior to the Eleventh session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It was agreed that the Fifth Session of the Codex Committee on General Principles would take place in the second half of 1975. The first session of the Coordinating Committee for Latin America would take place immediately prior to the 11th Session of the Commission.
409. The question was raised as to whether there had been a change in the expense of holding the next session of the Commission in Geneva, since this 10th Session had been held in Rome instead of Geneva for financial reasons. The Secretariat informed the Commission that in principle it was the intention to alternate the venue between Rome and Geneva but that the size of the meeting was such that it could not be accommodated in WHO. A meeting in Geneva would have to be held at the Palais des Nations where a considerable amount of rent would have to be paid. This matter of rent was an issue which would be brought to the attention of the Directors-General of FAO and WHO.
410. The Commission noted that the final scheduling of Codex Sessions would need to be done by the Secretariat in consultation with host countries.
411. The Commission agreed with the suggestion of the delegation of Cuba to indicate in the timetable in which working languages the sessions of Codex Committees would be held. The delegation of Switzerland indicated that for meetings hosted by their country simultaneous interpretation in Spanish in addition to English and French would be provided if at least two Spanish speaking delegations expressed their intention to attend the session at least three months in advance of the session.
412. Some delegations stated that, to their regret, they had not been able to prepare themselves sufficiently for the 10th session of the Commission as they had not received the documents in time or at all, due to the postal difficulties prevailing in Italy in recent months. They expressed their appreciation to the Secretariat for the efforts made to cope with these difficulties in the distribution of documents. It was pointed out that as the full success of the Programme depended on good postal communications, this matter should be considered by FAO and WHO with a view to overcoming these difficulties.
Proposal of Malaysia for the Establishment of a Coordinating Committee for Asia
Delegates of the Asian Region from Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Sultanate of Oman, and Thailand, present at the Tenth Session of the Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, met on 9 July 1974 to discuss the formation of a Coordinating Committee for Asia and resolved that the Commission be approached in this session:
To agree in principle to establish a Coordinating Committee for Asia under Rule IX(b) (2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission (Procedural Manual - 3rd Edition).
To put on the Agenda for the Food Standards Regional Conference for Asia in 1975, items for:
Signed by representatives from: Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Sultanate of Oman, Thailand.
414. The delegation of Malaysia proposed, on behalf of the delegations present for the Asian region, that the Commission agree in principle to the establishment of a Coordinating Committee for Asia. The delegation of Malaysia indicated that the members of the Asian region envisaged the possibility of the Coordinating Committee being hosted on a rotation basis and pointed out that a Coordinating Committee would greatly facilitate the harmonization of food standards in the region. He further pointed out that there was a definite interest for standardization and harmonization among the countries of the Asian region as was manifest from the large attendance to the sessions of the ASAC.
415. A number of delegations from the region, as well as outside the region, supported this proposal. The Coordinating Committee was expected to contribute to the effective participation of the countries of the region which hitherto had been represented at Commission meetings in limited numbers.
416. The Commission agreed, in principle, to the establishment of a Coordinating Committee for Asia but recognized that this was a matter having administrative and financial implications for FAO and WHO and considered that it would be necessary as a first step for the Directors-General of FAO and WHO to consider these implications. In accordance with Rule IX.9 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission, the Commission expressed the wish to have before it at its next Session a report from the Directors-General of FAO and WHO on the administrative and financial implications of setting up a Coordinating Committee for Asia. It was also agreed that this matter be considered by the Food Standards Regional Conference for Asia.
417. Mr. A. Miklovicz (Hungary), Chairman of the Commission for the 10th session, informed the Commission that he would be ineligible to serve for a further term. The Commission wished to place on record its appreciation for his chairmanship and also his long and active support of the Commission as a delegate.
418. During the session the Commission elected Dr. D.G. Chapman (Canada) as Chairman of the Commission to serve from the end of the 10th session until the end of the 11th session. The Commission also elected Dr. E. Matthey (Switzerland), Dr. E. Méndez (Mexico) and Dr. T. N'Doye (Senegal) as Vice-Chairmen of the Commission to serve from the end of the 10th session until the end of the 11th session.
