- returned the Proposed Draft Guidelines on
Sampling to Step 3 for further redrafting (1) taking into consideration comments
as appropriate; (2) making the text easier, simpler and more user-friendly; (3)
incorporating a new explanatory note which elucidates what is a “sampling
plan” and which kind of sampling plan is to be used for the specific
control to be performed; and incorporating worked examples for specific cases
(paras 9-13);- confirmed its previous general acceptance of the criteria
approach for methods of analysis for chemical entities and decided to proceed
with the implementation of the criteria approach including the preparation of
guidelines on the application of criteria approach by this Committee and
amendments of the relevant sections of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
Procedural Manual (paras 19-28; see also the above);
- requested that when the Harmonized Guidelines for the Use
of Recovery Factors in Analytical Measurements was published by IUPAC, the
text of the Guidelines should be circulated to member countries of the
Commission by way of a Codex circular letter for comments in order for this
Committee to decide at its next Session whether or not to recommend the text to
the Commission for adoption by reference (paras 32-35);
- agreed that a paper should be prepared on the need and
definitions of measurement limits in relation to the Analytical Terminology for
Codex Use for consideration at its next Session (paras 36-40);
- decided to defer further discussion on measurement
uncertainty pending the publication of the EURACHEM Guide on Measurement
Uncertainty and to request a paper on the relationship between the
analytical result, measurement uncertainty and specification in Codex standards
(paras 41-46, 71);
- decided to request a paper on the use of information from
the proficiency testing studies for the elaboration of characteristics of
in-house validated methods for consideration at its next Session and agreed that
when the next draft of the Harmonized Guidelines for the In-house Validation
of Methods of Analysis became available by IUPAC, it would consider the text
to determine its suitability for Codex purposes (paras 47-51);
- agreed that it would have no objection to the use of
proprietary methods, provided that similar methods or materials supplying
similar results were available (para. 8);
- agreed to ask Codex commodity committees to provide
information as required by the Checklists contained in the Codex Alimentarius,
Volume 13, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission Procedural Manual, when
they send methods of analysis and sampling to this Committee for endorsement
(para. 60);
- recommended that commodity committees should select methods
from the existing Codex general methods wherever possible and use the SI unit
system in the specifications of Codex standards (paras 61-62);
- agreed to refer back to the Codex Committee on Processed
Fruits and Vegetables the question regarding tolerances permitted for the
declaration of net drained weight as it felt that the issue was rather a
technological problem and that it would not seem feasible to establish general
tolerances for net drained weight (para. 6);
- agreed that information should be sought from commodity
committees on the acceptance of the statistical approach to sampling when
defining compliance with the specifications in Codex standards (para.
12);
- agreed to refer the annex of CX/MAS 98/5 concerning trade
dispute situations to the Codex Committee on food Import and Export Inspection
and Certification System for consideration (paras 29-31);
- felt it inappropriate to combine the Draft Revised
Recommended Methods of Sampling for the Determination of Pesticide Residues for
Compliance with MRLs developed by the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues
(CCPR) with the Proposed Draft Guidelines on Sampling as they were based on two
different approaches; and agreed to forward all written and oral comments on the
former text to the CCPR for consideration (paras 14-18); and
- noted the report of the 13th Inter-Agency Meeting (paras
64-69)
