36. The Executive Committee noted that the 23rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission had agreed to prepare the subsequent Medium-Term Plan for 2003-2007 to be initiated rapidly for consideration by its Session and that a Circular Letter (CL 2000/3-GEN) had been sent to Member governments subsequently. In view of the very limited response to the Circular Letter, the Executive Committee discussed which elements of the current Medium-Term Plan might be extended into the next period 2003-2007 and considered how the Medium-Term Plan could be developed further in time to be submitted to the Commission.
37. The Executive Committee was of the opinion that the Medium-Term Plans of the Parent Organizations (FAO’s Strategic Framework and the Strategic Plan of WHO), the recommendations of FAO Melbourne Conference, and elements of the Chairperson’s Action Plan should be incorporated into the Medium-Term Plan. It noted that many studies had been undertaken in the recent past on food standards and particularly food safety issues and therefore agreed to consider issues arising from Cartagena Protocol, WTO/SPS/TBT, EC White Paper of Food Safety, OIE and the OECD reports referred to under Item 5 above. It stated that issues regarding food safety and consumer protection would need to be emphasized.
38. The Executive Committee noted the need to complete on-going work included in the current Medium-Term Plan and requested all Codex Committees to assess the progress of their work within this framework so that only a few remaining areas would need to be carried forward to the next period. It also recognized the need for a streamlined coordination between Codex Committees both horizontally and vertically. Better coordination between Regional Coordinating Committees and other Codex Committees was also raised.
39. The Executive Committee also drew attention to the need for the Commission to fulfil its mandate in relation to fair trade practices and product quality.
40. The Executive Committee stressed that the development of the next Medium Term Plan should be based on the premise that certain issues would be concluded by the end of the current planning period. These included development of risk analysis principles, application of precautionary principles or approaches and other legitimate factors in risk management, and principles for microbiological risk assessment. Elements that might be considered for further consideration included guidelines for risk communication, follow-up work on foods derived from biotechnology, traceability, health claims, meat hygiene and inspection. Several Members expressed the view that the Medium Term-Plan should be developed as part of a broader vision of strategic planning.
41. The Executive Committee agreed that all these issues and areas should be considered as the basis for building Medium-Term Plan and invited a small group consisting of the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairpersons together with the Secretariat to prepare a draft of the Medium-Term Plan 2003-2007 and develop a strategic statement of the Commission’s vision for the future. It also decided to request the opinions of Regional Coordinating Committees. The Executive Committee agreed that the drafts of these documents should be made available for consideration and discussion by the next session of the Commission.
