9. The Executive Committee took note of the recommendation of FAO Conference expressed in Resolution 13/97 concerning the Review of FAO Statutory Bodies. It also recalled the consideration given to the matter by the 22nd Session of the Commission, in particular the need to define carefully the conditions and working procedures which would govern the establishment of ad hoc intergovernmental task forces which might be called upon to undertake work in place of Codex Committees. The Executive Committee was of the opinion that it would be prudent to await the outcome of discussions to be held on this matter by the Committee on General Principles before making any decisions in relation to the establishment of such task forces.
10. Nevertheless, in reviewing the list of Codex Committees included in Annex D of the Conference Resolution[4] the Executive Committee noted that some of these Committees were currently undertaking useful work in the priority area of revision and simplification of older Codex Standards (Cocoa Products and Chocolate, Processed Fruits and Vegetables, Sugars) and that the Committee on Edible Ices had been abolished by the Commission at its 22nd Session. The Executive Committee noted that the work assigned to some of the remaining Committees might possibly be combined.
11. Noting that the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe had abolished the work programme for the Joint Codex/UNECE Groups of Experts listed in Annex C of the Conference Resolution, the Executive Committee agreed to abolish the following subsidiary bodies subject to confirmation by the Commission in accordance with Rule III.2:
12. Also subject to confirmation by the Commission, it assigned the work of revision of the Codex Standards for Quick Frozen Fruits and Vegetables to the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables and any revision of the Codex Recommended International Code of Practice for the Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods[5] to the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene. It was noted that standards for certain other quick frozen food commodities, e.g., fish, had been established by other Codex Committees under their respective Terms of Reference.
13. In regard to the Codex Standards for Fruit Juices, the Executive Committee agreed that these standards required revision and up-dating and that there was a case for establishing a new Codex Committee under host government arrangements or an intergovernmental task force to undertake this work. However, in view of the concerns mentioned above, it referred this matter to the Commission for decision.
14. The Executive Committee requested the Secretariat to collect information on the production, trade, consumption and national regulations in regard to fruit juices for the Commission’s consideration. It also recommended that the Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables, in order to manage its heavy workload, apply the criteria successfully used by the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products for the screening of standards for individual cheese varieties in order to determine priorities in regard to the revision of the Standards for Quick Frozen Fruits and Vegetables. The same technique should be used in relation to the revision of Codex Standards for Fruit and Vegetable Juices.
15. Finally, the Executive Committee requested the host government Secretariats of those Codex Committees mentioned in Annex D of Conference Resolution 13/97 to inform the Commission of their intentions in regard to future work, so that the Commission could take an informed decision on the matters referred to above.
