56) The Committee recalled that following its decision to initiate the revision of the current Code, a Circular Letter had been sent to request government comments and proposals. The Secretariat had prepared the redrafted version on the basis of the complete revision proposed by Brazil with the addition of other suggestions included in government comments. The Committee agreed to establish an informal Working Group chaired by Brazil to facilitate the discussion of the revised text in the plenary.
57) The Delegation of Brazil presented the Proposed Draft Code, pointing out that it had been redrafted in the light of the revised General Principles of Food Hygiene and included notes on risk analysis and critical control points. The Working Group had retained the scope and the format, with some amendments to the definitions and other sections, and had considered issues related to the temperature of preparation and storage.
58) The Committee recognized that several sections of this new text required detailed discussion and had an exchange of views on the opportunity of proceeding with such a discussion at the present session, with a view to advancing the text to Step 5. Some delegations expressed their doubts as to the feasibility of the revision at this stage, and proposed to return the Code to Step 3 to allow for further consideration and comments. Several delegations however stressed the importance of the text and the need to proceed with its revision, especially in view of the constructive work which had been initiated during the session. The Committee therefore agreed to discuss the text section by section and made the amendments indicated below.
1. Introduction
59) The Committee agreed to divide this section into two parts and to add a new Section 2. Objectives for clarifications purposes. The numbering of the following sections was amended accordingly and appears in the revised text.
2. Definitions
60) The definitions which were originally included in the Code but which did not appear in the following sections were deleted. It was agreed to refer to "Organoleptic testing" to clarify that the definition covered the testing process.
61) The Committee had an exchange of views on the opportunity of retaining the definition of "Food and Beverages for direct consumption", and it was retained with an amendment to make it clear that the code applied to end-products ready for consumption.
3. Requirements for Inputs and Ingredients
62) The Committee noted that fruits and vegetables could be maintained at room temperature and agreed to delete the mention of "room temperature" and to specify only that "inadequate temperature" should not be allowed, as this would cover all types of perishable products.
4. Requirements for the Preparation Area
63) In section 4.1.4 (renumbered 4.2), it was agreed to replace "communicable diseases" with "foodborne diseases" as only foodborne diseases were relevant for food safety purposes.
5. Requirements for Food Preparation
64) In section 5.1.2, the reference to "fresh meat" was deleted as the section mentioned thawing and applied to frozen meat.
65) In section 5.1.3.4, the Committee had an extensive discussion on the opportunity of retaining a prohibition of the use of raw eggs for the preparation of mayonnaise and similar products. Several delegations and the Representative of INPPAZ, recalling that mayonnaise could be prepared only with raw eggs, stressed that the only effective control measure was to require the use of industrially produced mayonnaise or similar products. The use of artisanal products made with raw eggs should not be allowed in view of the risks associated with Salmonella in raw eggs. The Delegation of Mexico and other delegations pointed out that such products were consumed in practice, in particular in traditional beverages, and that should be taken into account when considering street-vended foods.
66) The Committee agreed to replace the last sentence of the section with the following text:
Do not use raw eggs in the preparation of food or beverages intended for direct consumption, if they are not cooked afterwards.67) In Section 5.2.3, the Committee agreed to refer to the time between preparation and consumption and to change the presentation to make a clear distinction between the following types of prepared foods:Mayonnaise, egg sauces, mousse and similar dishes prepared with raw eggs should originate from industrial establishments.
68) It was also specified that when refrigerating hot food, chilling time should not be superior to three hours to bring the food to a maximum temperature of 5°C. The Committee agreed with the proposal of the Delegation of the Dominican Republic to replace 10°C with 5°C in all sections referring to the temperature of refrigeration.
69) In section 5.2.4, it was specified that "sandwiches prepared in the sale point shall be prepared at the moment of consumption".
6. Requirements for the Transport of Prepared Food
70) The Committee made some amendments in the wording of sections 6.1 (protection of vehicles from environmental contamination) and 6.3 (transport of waste material) for clarifications purposes. The Committee agreed to merge sections 6.2.3.3 and 6.2.3.4 on reheating and to specify that food should be reheated only once to a temperature of 70°C.
71) In section 6.6.2, the Committee agreed to specify a temperature of 70°C (instead of "hot") and to refer to the requirements for rapid refrigeration specified under section 5.2.3 above (see para...), as suggested by INPPAZ
7. Requirements for Street Food Marketing
72) The Committee agreed to replace all references to "sale local" with "sale point", and to clarify the redaction of section 7.1.3 (protection of the sale point or mobile structure) and section 7.1.6 (personal belongings).
73) The Committee discussed extensively the opportunity of allowing the use of non disposable serving items. Some delegations and the Representative of INPPAZ, referring to the difficulties of obtaining potable water to clean plates and other material, supported the exclusive use of disposable items and stressed that this measure was essential to prevent contamination. Other delegations pointed out that due to the higher cost of disposable material, reusable plates were commonly used in certain countries; in order to take into account this reality, and improve hygienic practices, recommendations should be included in the Code to minimize risk. The Committee could not come to a consensus on this question and left section 7.2.1.1 (non-disposable items) in square brackets, as well as the corresponding section of the CCP Note.
Status of the Proposed Draft Revised Regional Code of Hygienic Practice for Street-Vended Foods
74) The Committee agreed to forward the Proposed Draft Code to the 23rd Session of the Commission for adoption at Step 5 (see Appendix II).
