83. At the request of Brazil, the Committee agreed to add Garlic, Kiwi, Onion, Papaya, Pepper, Strawberry and Tomato to the Priority List. At the request of Costa Rica, the Committee agreed to add Tiquisque (Lilac and White) and Yucca to the Priority List and at the request of Colombia, agreed to add Uchuva and Yellow Pitahaya. At the written request of India, supported by Chile, the Committee agreed to add Grapes to the List. The Committee noted the offer of Brazil and Mexico to consider the standardization of Tomatoes and Onions, the offer of Uruguay to standardize apples and pears, and the offer of Chile to consider the standardization of Grapes at a future meeting.
84. In view of the current revision of the UNECE Standards for Apples and Pears, the Delegation of Spain requested their removal from the Priority List. However, several delegations noted that regardless of the UNECE Standards, other international bodies such as MERCOSUR and NAFTA had developed regulations for the same products which needed to be harmonized within the Codex system. These delegations noted the effective past cooperation between Codex and the UNECE in arriving at harmonized texts, and encouraged continued collaboration in the future.
85. Other delegations noted that in view of current UNECE work on apples, pears and other products suggested for standardization through Codex, the Committee should suspend the consideration of these products for the time being to allow the UNECE work to be completed and examined by the Committee before proceeding further. The burdens related to financial and human resources expended in attending meetings of both bodies was also noted. Codex delegates were invited to participate in UNECE meetings as as members of the UN under Article II of UNECE Charter in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration towards the harmonization of similar texts. The Codex delegations agreed to continue improving collaboration and cooperation with the ECE in the elaboration of Codex standards.
86. The Codex Secretariat noted the effective cooperation between Codex and the UNECE as evidenced by the successful elaboration of harmonized texts at the current meeting and encouraged continued collaboration in the future. The Secretariat noted the efforts of the Commission in this regard, as well as the potential need of Codex Member governments to elaborate similar standards in the future. However, in view of the heavy workload of the Committee, the Secretariat suggested that draft Standards considered by the next meeting should be limited. The Secretariat also noted that the Criteria for the Establishment of Work Priorities established parameters applicable to the elaboration of commodity standards and to clearly regulate new work to be undertaken (Codex Alimentarius Procedural Manual, Ninth Edition, page 109).
87. The Committee accepted the offer of Costa Rica to prepare proposed draft standards for Tiquisque (Lilac and White) and Yucca; Colombia to prepare proposed draft standards for Uchuva and Yellow Pitahaya, and; Brazil to prepare a proposed draft revised standard for Papaya. The Committee noted that these proposals would be forwarded to the Executive Committee for approval as new work.
88. The revised priority list is attached to this report as Appendix XII. The Committee noted that revisions to the Priority List would be requested on a continuing basis.
