1) The 31st Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants was held in The Hague, The Netherlands from 22-26 March 1999 at the kind invitation of the Government of the Netherlands. Mr. Edwin Hecker, Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries chaired the meeting. The meeting was attended by 280 delegates representing 55 Member countries and 46 international organisations.
2) Mrs. Faber, keynote speaker and State Secretary of the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, reflected on the interesting challenges for this Committee, in particular the General Standard for Food Additives, the integration of the risk analysis principles into the activities of the CCFAC and the progress achieved in the work on contaminants. Mrs. Faber also acknowledged the great importance of taking the consumer's perspective into account in the discussions of the CCFAC and expressed the hope that the Committee would make significant progress on the important issues under discussion.
3) The Committee heard a memorial tribute from the Delegations of the United States and Canada in remembrance of Dr. John Modderman and Mr. James Drum respectively. A moment of silence was observed by the Committee in recognition of their work for the CCFAC.
