MRLs/EMRLs for Fish
Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Good Animal Feeding
6. The Committee received a report on matters referred to the Committee arising from the 22nd Codex Alimentarius Commission and other Codex Committees. It agreed to consider the following items under the relevant agenda items[3]:
- potential dietary intake implications of large variability of residue levels in certain commodities;- MRLs for fenthion in virgin olive oil; and
- need for animal transfer studies for parathion-methyl.
7. The Delegation of Germany expressed the view that as its monitoring demonstrated that the level of residues of toxaphene in the North Sea, Irish Sea and Baltic Sea had been increasing and toxaphene is a potential carcinogen for humans, it was desirable that an EMRL(s) should be elaborated for fish. Germany offered to provide its monitoring data and a new method of analysis. It was noted that the Committee would consider the need for criteria for setting EMRLs under agenda item 8(b) which might have certain implications on this issue. The Committee 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 (see paras. 85-89).
8. The Committee noted that the elaboration of a Code was assigned to this Committee, among other committees, with coordinating role to be taken by the Executive Committee[4]. The Committee was informed about the discussions by the Codex Committees on Food Hygiene[5] and on Food Additives and Contaminants[6].
9. The Committee agreed to forward the following comments to the 45th Executive Committee for consideration:
- The scope of the Code should be clarified as it was not clear from the current draft whether feed items prepared at the farm level were to be covered by the code in addition to commercially available feeds; and- The term “herbicides” should be deleted from Section 3.1 as the term “pesticides” covers herbicides.
