Melbourne (Australia), 22-26 February 1999
INTRODUCTION
1. The Seventh Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems was held in Melbourne, Australia from 22 to 26 February 1999, at the kind invitation of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia. Mr. Digby Gascoine, Director, Policy and International Division, Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service chaired the Session. It was attended by 186 participants representing 45 Members of the Commission, 1 Observer country and 18 international organizations. A complete list of participants, including the Secretariat, is given in Appendix I.
2. The Honourable Senator Judith Troeth, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in officially welcoming delegates to the meeting, reflected on the Committee’s performance record in dealing with contemporary and frequently conceptually and technically difficult issues associated with food inspection and certification systems. The Senator noted that there had been a change to the culture behind food law and to the culture within food producing industries; the fundamentals for this change included: increasing consumer demands for safe food; the emergence of new and more virulent hazards capable of being conveyed in food; and the need to secure adequate food and nutrition for all of the world’s population. She noted the enormity of the task for governments in responding to the changing environment that required food regulation to be flexible and adaptive in responding to developments such as the discovery of new food-borne pathogens, new behaviours of pathogens, and new technologies like genetic modification. Governments at the meeting were encouraged to work together, to take every opportunity to collectively examine ways to achieve an international response that will contribute to a global food supply that is safe and abundant, and that contributes to the economic stability of nations.
3. Mr. John R. Lupien, Director, Food and Nutrition Division, FAO responded on behalf of the Directors-General of FAO and WHO and thanked Senator Troeth for her remarks and the Government of Australia for its kind hospitality. He drew attention to the critical importance of the work of the Committee which was aimed at allowing Codex member countries in their programmes to assure effectively the quality and safety of their food imports and exports and foods in domestic markets. He noted that protecting the health and well-being of consumers had wider quality aspects since many food related health or economic risks were virtually impossible for consumers to detect. These could only be controlled by proper food production, storage, processing and marketing systems that started at the point of production and ensured proper inputs and practices throughout any food chain.
4. Mr. Lupien recalled the Conference held in Rome in March 1991 on Food Standards, Chemicals in Food and International Trade to examine the likely impact of the GATT Uruguay Round discussions on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and on Technical Barriers to Trade. In light of the new round of WTO discussions to begin soon, FAO was convening a new inter-governmental Conference on Food Trade Beyond the Year 2000: Science-Based Decisions, Harmonization, Equivalence and Mutual Recognition, in cooperation with WHO and WTO. Mr. Lupien announced that thanks to the kind hospitality of the Commonwealth of Australia, the State of Victoria and the City of Melbourne that this Conference will be held in Melbourne in October 1999.
