Reactivation of the Codex Committee on Meat Hygiene
59. It was noted that this matter had been discussed under Item 7(b) of the Provisional Agenda.
Coordination between Committees: Handling of Work in a Sequential Manner
60. The Representative of North America raised the problem of the progression of work in one committee when consultation with another committee was required and the frequency of meetings of these committees was different. The work being undertaken on certain high priority items by the Committee on Food Labelling and the Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses was cited as an example. In this case, the former Committee met on an annual basis and the latter met at 18 month or longer intervals.
61. The Executive Committee recommended that in this particular case, consideration should be given to annual meetings of both Committees, with reasonable intervals between meetings so as to allow consideration of the information that was being exchanged between the two Committees. This could be followed at least until such time as the common work was concluded. The Committees might give consideration, if required, to a special joint session to discuss specific issues.
Consideration of the Chairperson’s Action Plan
62. The Executive Committee expressed unanimous appreciation of the initiative of the Chairperson in drawing up an Action Plan to address many of the issues facing the Commission in its desire to improve efficiency, timeliness and responsiveness, and ensure inclusiveness of participation and transparency of operations, thereby giving the work of the Commission higher international credibility and relevancy.
63. In discussing the Action Plan, the Executive Committee highlighted the following points under the relevant sections.
Codex Alimentarius Commission Meetings
64. There was general agreement that the Commission should meet on an annual basis, as provided for in the Rules of Procedure. Some Members questioned the proposal to divide the annual sessions between policy issues and standards issues, stating that the Commission should always give attention to the adoption of standards. The Executive Committee considered the fact that annual meetings of committees would pose additional burdens on developing countries and the costs and benefits of such a decision would have to be taken into account.
65. The Executive Committee noted that the question of the abolition of the Executive Committee was under discussion by the Committee on General Principles. It further noted that the status of the Executive Committee was guaranteed under Article 6 of the Statutes and its composition and function were governed by the Rules of Procedure. It recommended that the Secretariat in preparing its paper for the Committee on General Principles consider these facts as well as all available options in regard to abolition or possible changes in the composition and responsibilities of the Executive Committee should it be retained. The proposal to replace the Executive Committee by a “Board” based on the Chairmanship of the various Codex Committees was discouraged by the Executive Committee in view of the regional biases that would be established in such a proposal contrary to the sprit of Article 6 of the Statutes. Several Members of the Executive Committee expressed concern at the proposed participation of international non-governmental organizations in the proposed “Board” on the basis that the Commission was an intergovernmental body.
66. It was further proposed that the Chairpersons of Codex Committees and Task Forces and the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the Commission should meet at the time of each Commission session to improve coordination between committees.
Leadership of Codex General, Commodity and Regional Committees
67. The Executive Committee expressed strong interest in the proposal to appoint Vice-Chairpersons for each of the Codex Committees, but noted that there would need to be careful consideration given to their status under the Rules of Procedure. It encouraged further development of this proposal.
Trust Fund to Assist Developing Country Participation
68. There was general support for the Chairperson’s proposal, but it was considered that careful attention would need to be paid to the operation and management of such a fund to ensure its financial probity and the impartiality of operation. Several Members stressed that the first priority should be for developing countries’ participation in the work of Codex at the Committee level, rather than at Commission level or at the level of the Executive Committee or any body that might replace it.
Increased Use of the Internet
69. While welcoming the Chairperson’s proposals in this area, several Members raised the problem of access to the Internet in many developing countries, either through the lack of computers available to Codex Contact Points or adequate access to internet service providers.
Expert Advisory Bodies
70. The Executive Committee noted with interest the Chair’s proposal that a single Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Safety be established with specialist panels of experts on areas on the Commission’s interests such as food additives, contaminants, microbiological risk assessment, etc. Noting that much progress had been made in the transparency of the selection process for FAO/WHO experts, the Executive Committee was of the opinion that this could further improve the situation. Nevertheless, the Executive Committee noted that the issue was a matter for consideration by the Directors-General of FAO and WHO, and not by the Commission.
Follow-up Action
71. The Executive Committee noted that it had recommended that elements of the Chairperson’s Action Plan be incorporated into the Medium Term Plan 2003-2007, as appropriate. However, since the Action Plan contained other issues of a more immediate nature, it agreed that is should be revised in the light of the above discussion and circulated to governments for comments as well as to the Regional Coordinating Committees for their input.
