9. The Committee recalled that its 25th Session had returned the draft Guidelines to Step 6 for additional comments. The draft Guidelines and comments submitted in response to CL 1997/10-FL were reviewed by the ad hoc Working Group immediately prior to the Committee's current meeting.
10. The Chairperson of the ad hoc Working Group, Ms. Ruth Lovisolo (Australia), presented the revised version of the Guidelines to the Committee and noted that with the exception of issues relating to animal production and animal products, the text was considered in its entirety. The Working Group made the following significant amendments to the text:
Foreword
11. The text was restructured in a more logical sequence and additional information was included on the application of the guidelines as a first step towards the international harmonization of requirements for organic products.
Section 1 - Scope
12. The text was revised to allow for the use of "words of similar intent, including diminutives ", in addition to the terms "organic", "biodynamic", "biological" and "ecological", with the understanding that the paragraph did not apply to terms, e.g., "Bio", that had no connection with the method of production and did not mislead consumers as to the true nature of the product.
Section 2 - Definitions
13. The definitions were aligned with definitions already adopted by the Commission, particularly those terms elaborated by the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS). The Working Group agreed that a definition for genetically modified organisms was necessary, but noted that the definition should be considered provisional until such time as the CCFL agreed on a definition in the framework of discussions on biotechnology and therefore would be subject to future review. The Observer of IFOAM expressed its reservation to the sentence in footnote 4: "In the interim member counties may also apply national definitions".
Section 3 - Labelling and Claims
14. The Working Group agreed that the text was intended to facilitate the development of the industry while protecting consumers and therefore, the labelling requirements were refined in order to link the ingredients list with the method of production.
15. For claims that a food is "organic", a limit of 5% m/m of the maximum level of total ingredients, including additives but excluding salt and water, was preliminarily established for components derived from non organic sources. In view of divergent opinions for organic claims on products made up of organic and non-organic ingredients, provisions were included for products containing less than 95% of organic ingredients that would enable national governments to determine labelling requirements for these products.
Section 6 - Inspection and Certification
16. In consideration of those texts already finalized by the CCFICS, the Working Group agreed that when accreditation was deferred to a designated authority, the competent authority remained ultimately responsible. It was agreed that this Section of the text should be referred to the CCFICS for advice on the appropriateness of using private bodies for accreditation purposes; a reference to further guidance developed by other international organizations (i.e. ISO 65) was added as a footnote to the text.
Annexes
17. A number of amendments were made to the principles of organic production included in Annex 1, the associated approved inputs used in traditional organic agriculture stipulated in Annex 2 and to the minimum inspection requirements set out in Annex 3.
18. The Committee expressed its appreciation for the achievements and progress made by the Working Group. While discussing the revised text elaborated by the Working Group, the Committee agreed that the term "genetically engineered organisms (GEO)" was a provisional definition intended for the guidance of governments in applying the Guidelines and therefore, supported the explanatory footnote to this effect. The Committee decided, however, to add the term "genetically modified organisms (GMO)" wherever the term GEO appeared throughout the text, as the term GMO was commonly used in some countries.
19. The Committee agreed that "ayurvedic" preparations should be added to the listing of "homeopathic" preparations in the table of Substances for Plant Pest and Disease Control (Table 2) and that other terms indicating traditional practices of this nature could be added in the future.
20. In view of divergent opinions and legislation regarding the Requirements for Inclusion of Substances in Annex 2 and Criteria for the Development of Lists of Substances by Countries (Section 5.1 only), the Committee agreed to append this Section to the report for additional comment and consideration at its next meeting.
Status of the Draft Guidelines for the Production Processing Labelling and Marketing of OrganicalIv Produced Foods
21. With the exception of Section 5.1, the Committee advanced the draft Guidelines to Step 8 for adoption by the Commission (see Appendix II). The Committee agreed to return Section 5.1 related to criteria for the development of lists of substances to Step 6 for further comments (see Appendix V); the Committee also decided that the texts related to animal production and animal products would be redrafted by Australia at Step 6 for circulation and comments. It was decided that these remaining texts would be considered by the ad hoc Working Group immediately prior to the 27th CCFL.
