28. The Committee recalled that at its 12th Session it was agreed that progress reports on the harmonization of national and regional standards with Codex Standards would be discussed at the 13th Session.
29. The delegations of Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe reported on the progress being made in harmonization, by utilising Codex texts as resource materials in the development of national food legislation. In some cases Codex final texts were used unchanged.
30. The delegations of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, informed the Committee that they had inaugurated the East African Standards Committee which was responsible for the harmonization of standards in their countries, and that the Standards Committee had adopted the Codex Standards as a basis for this work in relation to food.
31. The delegation of Tanzania expressed the view that there was need to develop a guideline, like the ISO/Guide 21, which would assist Codex member countries in the acceptance of Codex standards taking into consideration specific situations in individual countries. The Committee was informed that each member country would have to determine how best to use Codex final texts.
32. The Delegation of Botswana reported that under the Food Control Act (1993) the country was using Codex documents to develop national food regulations. The FAO/WHO Model Food Law was utilised in the development of the Act. The Act provided for the establishment of the National Food Control Board, which is empowered to develop new food legislation. Efforts were made to establish bilateral cooperation in food control with South Africa in order to exchange information and harmonize food control requirements. The regulations that were in place were those on food labelling, infant formula, iodized salt, marketing of breast milk substitutes, red meat and poultry abattoirs, and milk. It was pointed out that Botswana Bureau of Standards was newly established and was involved in developing standards for fruits and vegetables, for which Codex standards are used as resource materials.
33. The delegations of Nigeria and South Africa pointed out that in the implementation of the WTO/SPS Agreement, member countries are encouraged to use Codex standards and that this had drastically altered the previous position where it had been left to individual governments to decide whether or not they would accept the Codex Standards, and that this fact should be taken into consideration.
34. The Delegation of Zimbabwe presented the result of the “Survey on the Identification of Food Regulations & Standards within the Africa Region Codex Member Countries, that Impede Food Trade”[11]. The survey had been conducted by the Government of Zimbabwe in collaboration with 15 African countries. Unfortunately it had not been possible to include late replies from 5 countries. The survey identified microbiological spoilage, contaminants, and labelling as the major reasons for the rejection of exported food items.
35. The following training needs were identified in the survey:
36. The following constraints, in order of severity, were identified by responding African countries as the principal difficulties faced in relationship to food trade:
37. The Chairman expressed the appreciation of the Committee to the delegation of Zimbabwe for their efforts in conducting the survey and producing the document. The Committee also agreed that progress reports on harmonization efforts should be further discussed at its 14th session.
