21) The Committee recalled that the 26th Session had forwarded the Draft Guidelines to Step 8 with the exception of section 5.1 Criteria and the provisions related to animal production and animal products, which were returned to Step 6 for further comments and consideration. These sections and the comments received in response to CL 1998/18-FL and CL 1998/19-FL were considered by the ad hoc Working Group immediately prior to the Committee’s meeting.
22) The Chairperson of the Working Group, Ms. Ruth Lovisolo (Australia), presented the revised sections of the Guidelines to the Committee and indicated that section 5.1 had been discussed in detail and finalized, and that the text on animal production had been significantly improved. However, further comments and consideration would be required in order to address all the issues relating to animal production. The Committee considered the amendments made to the text by the Working Group as follows.
Section 5.1 Requirements for inclusion of substances in Annex 2 and Criteria for the Development of Lists of Substances by Countries
23) The Working Group recognized the importance of providing framework criteria for use by developing countries that may not have the expertise to determine such criteria. However, having regard for the limited experience by member countries in applying the criteria, it had been agreed that section 5.1 might be used at the discretion of national governments until more experience had been gained in their use and application.
24) The substantive amendments made to the criteria included:
25) The Committee noted the final statement under 5.1 which reflects the Commission’ s recommendation for transparency in the decision process and the involvement of all stakeholders.
26) The Observer from Consumers International, supported by the Observers from IFOAM and RAFI, proposed to include an additional statement to the effect that consumer preferences and other legitimate factors such as ethical concerns should be taken into account in the process. Some delegations and the Observer from the EC pointed out that the overall purpose of the Guidelines was to address specific consumer preference and that these aspects had been taken into account in the current text; in addition the statement referred to in para. 25 clearly specified that all stakeholders should be involved.
27) The Observer from IFOAM expressed the view that the finalization of the Guidelines was a very positive step, especially as all interested sectors had been able to participate in the elaboration process; however, further input from developing and Eastern European countries would be necessary, especially when revising the Guidelines, in order to take into account the conditions prevailing in those countries. The Observer also proposed that governments should facilitate the participation of interested stakeholders in national delegations.
28) The Committee agreed to forward Section 5.1 to the Commission for adoption at Step 8 as part of the Draft Guidelines (see Appendix II).
Animal Production
29) A general decision was made to use the term "livestock" rather than "animal" and it was agreed that the text, at this stage, would refer only to the bovine (including buffaloes), porcine, caprine, equine, poultry and bees raised for food or in the production of food. Reference to aquaculture was removed from the text for the present time although it was agreed that this should be addressed in the future. The Committee noted that IFOAM had made available its standard on aquaculture for information.
30) The text was re-structured for the purposes of clarity regarding the many different and important aspects of the production of livestock and livestock products, so as to address specific issues under the following headings (in bold):
31) The Committee also agreed that the criteria for inputs within organic livestock production systems should be included under the specific sections of nutrition and health care within Annex 1.
32) The Delegation of Japan, supported by Korea, drew the attention of the Committee to the conditions of livestock production in Asia where the small size of farms might not allow compliance with all the provisions in the Guidelines. The Chairperson of the Working Group recalled that this point had been taken into account in the discussion and was covered by paragraph 3 referring to certain (traditional) farming systems.
Status of the Draft Guidelines for the Production, Processing, Labelling and Marketing of Organically Produced Foods
33) The Committee agreed to forward section 5.1 of the Draft Guidelines to Step 8 for adoption by the Commission (see Appendix II) and to return to Step 6 the sections on Livestock and Livestock Production for further comments and consideration at the next session (see Appendix IV).
34) The Committee expressed its appreciation to Ms. Lovisolo and to the Working Group for their considerable work and the progress made on complex issues, and agreed that the Working Group would be convened again prior to the next session to consider the sections on livestock production.
