- generally supported the relevant recommendations of the Joint
FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Management and Food Safety and noted
that it had been in a process of implementing risk analysis in its work
and it would continue this practice not only in the area of long-term
exposure but also of acute exposure (paras. 10-12);
- stressed the importance of harmonization within Codex and the need
for further coordination at the levels of Codex Committees, expert committees
and national governments, especially in the area of MRL setting for
compounds used both as pesticides and as veterinary drugs; setting of
maximum limits/levels for chemical contaminants; and methods of sampling
(paras. 70, 88 & 92-93);
- requested Germany to prepare a paper on the need for elaborating
an EMRL(s) for toxaphene in fish for consideration at the next Session
taking into consideration the FAO Manual on the Submission and Evaluation
of Pesticide Residues Data for the Estimation of Maximum Residue Levels
in Food and Feed and CX/PR 98/8 (para. 7);
- took note of the brief verbal summary of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation
on the Application of Risk Communication held in February 1998 (para.
13);
- noted the report on general considerations by the 1997 JMPR and agreed
to solicit views of Member countries on the proposal to develop maximum
residues limit for monitoring (MRLMs) and information on situations
where extrapolation of residue data to minor crops was considered feasible
at the national level (paras. 14-17);
- noted the executive summary of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation
on Food Consumption and Exposure Assessment of Chemicals and agreed
to consider at the next session its recommendations, particularly the
procedures for acute hazard exposure assessment (paras. 20-22);
- agreed that (1) Codex MRLs confirmed by the JMPR under the Periodic
Review should be included in future circular letters for comments; (2)
the JMPR would continue to recommend MRLs for feedingstuffs if there
were sufficient data to do so regardless of the adequacy of animal transfer
studies, but these MRLs could not advance to Step 8 of the Codex Procedure
unless there were adequate animal transfer studies on these commodities;
(3) the issue on aggregated exposure was difficult to address at the
international level and this issue was better dealt with at the national
level; (4) the JMPR should be requested to consider common mechanisms
of organophosphates and carbamates in connection with risk assessment;
and (5) until a methodology for estimating acute exposure had been established,
deliberation of MRLs should focus on chronic exposure (paras. 30-34);
- generally supported the suggested CCPR positions regarding potential
elements for inclusion in a set of criteria for estimation of EMRLs
and agreed that a concise paper should be prepared containing the compilation
of the suggested CCPR positions, comparison of the approached of the
CCPR and CCFAC, and government comments on outliers and violation rates
and that it would not initiate a full exercise of criteria elaboration
for the time being (paras. 85-89);
- agreed to bring the amended the Draft Revised Recommended
Methods of Sampling for the Determination of Pesticides for Compliance
with MRLs to the attention of the CCMAS and CCRVDF for consideration
(para. 93);
- agreed to seek information on (1) which of the methods included in
the List of Recommended Methods of Analysis were still commonly used;
(2) national practices in testing abamectin, dicofol, captafol, captan
and folpet for compliance with MRLs; and (3) the current national practices
on the analysis and expression of residue data for fat soluble pesticides
in milk and meat (paras. 95-98);
- decided to send the information on the analysis and expression of
residue data for fat soluble pesticides in milk and meat and the relevant
report section of the 1997 JMPR to the JECFA for consideration (para.
98);
- requested the Netherlands, Australia and the United Kingdom to prepare
a discussion paper on the revision of the Guidelines on Good Laboratory
Practice in Pesticide Residue Analysis for consideration at its next
Session (para 99);
- recommended a number of actions regarding problems relative to pesticide
residues in food in developing countries (paras. 106-111); and
- agreed to keep the document on regulatory practices to facilitate
use of Codex MRLs for pesticides as a working paper and to request the
International Toxicology Information Center and the Codex Secretariat
to prepare a revised paper for consideration at its next Session (paras.
113-115).
