2. Mr David Nhari welcomed the delegates and stressed the importance of the work of the Committee in furthering harmonization of food standards and other regulations within the Region of Africa.
3. On behalf of the Director-General of FAO, Dr Jacques Diouf, Dr Alan Randell, Senior Officer, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme welcomed the delegates and reiterated the functions of the Coordinating Committee, and wished the Committee success in its deliberations. Dr Yasuyuki Sahara welcomed the delegates on behalf of the newly elected Director General of WHO Dr G. H. Brundland, and informed the Committee that one of the priority areas of WHO was the globalization of trade and that WHO would provide continuous support to Codex.
4. The Session was opened by the Honourable Deputy Minister of Health and Children Welfare, Dr D. Parirenyatwa. The Honourable Deputy Minister pointed out that the session would be the last one in Harare and also in the millennium and so it was a historic event for Zimbabwe. Dr Parirenyatwa informed the delegates that Zimbabwe was in the process of strengthening its Food Standards Advisory Board, (FSAB) the Codex Contact Point and the National Codex Committee, thus providing direction, purpose and coordination for food safety/quality and related matters. It was pointed out that Zimbabwe planed to strengthen the Port Health Authority, laboratory testing facilities and the FSAB secretariat. Dr Parirenyatwa urged the delegates to base their national food regulations on Codex standards in order to avoid food rejections between trading partners. Finally, Dr Parirenyatwa wished the delegates well and entreated them to spare time to visit the pleasant sights of Zimbabwe.
5. The Vice - Chairman of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Mr Thomas Billy drew attention to the importance of the principles of science in the Codex decision making process, and also emphasised that the application of Risk Analysis in developing food standards was an ongoing activity within Codex, especially in relation to the SPS Agreement. Mr. Billy urged the delegates to look into the area of the application of Other legitimate factors in the Codex system, raising concern about inclusion non-scientific considerations. He also pointed out the importance of participation of international NGO’s and relevant national bodies in the work of Codex.
