6. The Committee noted that at its last session a new approach based on the classification of bottled/packaged waters into two broad categories had been supported by the Committee (ALINORM 99/20, para, 6). Since the last session efforts had be made by several Delegations, led by Canada, to resolve many of the outstanding issues in the Proposed Draft Standard on the basis of this new approach. The Committee agreed to use the annotated text of the Proposed Draft Standard (CX/NMW 00/3) as the basis for its discussions, taking into account revised sections tabled during the course of the present session as appropriate, in particular Conference Room Document No. 7, prepared by the Delegation of Canada.
7. In agreeing to follow the new approach, the Committee noted that many of the detailed definitions of different types of bottled/packaged waters were to be removed from the standard and that revised labelling provisions would be used to provide flexibility at the national level for the designation of various types of water. It was noted that this was a compromise based on the previous approach taken in the proposed draft standard and the opinions and comments of many countries.
8. The Delegation of the United States stated that the purpose of Codex Standards was to protect consumers’ health and ensure fair practices in food trade The Delegation stated that specific definitions would be particularly useful for consumer protection and to avoid confusion and deception. Nevertheless, the Delegation stated that in the interest of recognizing cultural traditions and traditional marketing practices, it could accept the present compromise.
9. The Delegation of Japan expressed its full support for the position of the United States and stated that it would have preferred the inclusion of a specific definition for “mineral water”, but that it could also accept the compromise being proposed.
10. The Delegation of France, speaking on behalf of the Members of the European Union stated that the proposal was aimed at ensuring the free movement of goods that met the requirements of safety, protection of the consumer and fair practices in trade and that the compromise being proposed was also acceptable to these Delegations.
TITLE OF THE STANDARD
11. The Committee noted proposals to simplify the title of the standard, by deleting reference to the expressions “bottled” and “other than natural mineral waters”. The Committee also noted that the CCFH had finalized its work on the “Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Bottled/Packaged Drinking Waters (Other than Natural Mineral Waters)” and some delegations stated that it was important for the term “drinking” to be maintained. Some Delegations noted that the expression “drinking water” was frequently used in official texts to designate a much broader range of waters than those covered by the standard. The Committee decided to align the title to be consistant with that of the Code of Hygenic Practice.
1. SCOPE
12. The Committee agreed to make reference to the use of the products covered by the standard as waters “for drinking purposes” and to make direct reference to “prepackaged/bottled” waters suitable for human consumption. It was noted that the Scope as worded, referred to containers ready for offer to the consumer or for catering purposes. It was noted that the Scope took into account the possible use of packaged/bottled waters by consumers for purposes other than drinking, for example for cooking or for the preparation of infant foods.
2. DESCRIPTION[8]
2.1 Packaged Waters
13. It was agreed to deleted reference to “added” sugars, sweeteners, etc., and to enlarge the exclusion to all “foodstuffs”.
2.1.1 Waters Defined by Origin
14. The Committee agreed to the basic separation of packaged/bottled waters in two main types: waters defined by origin, and prepared waters. It was agreed that “waters defined by origin” would refer to all waters from specific environmental resources and marketed as such. These would include both ground and surface waters (including rain water) provided that they met the requirements of the standard.
2.1.2 Prepared Waters
15. The Committee agreed that “prepared waters” included all packaged/bottled waters that do not comply with the provisions established for waters defined by origin. These would include “purified water” as noted by the Delegation of India. The Committee agreed to specify that they may originate from any type of water supply.
3. ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS
3.1 Modification and Handling of Packaged Waters
16. The Committee agreed that antimicrobial treatments for waters defined by origin should be used solely in order to conserve the original microbiological safety and amended the text of Sub-section 3.1.1.2 accordingly.
3.2 Chemical and Radiological Quality of Packaged Waters
17. The Committee agreed that the standard should comply with the health-related requirements of the most recent Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality published by the WHO. It agreed that no reference need be made to the recommendations other than the health-related requirements contained in the WHO Guidelines.
18. The Committee agreed to delete reference to the addition of “other substances” in Section 3.2.2, and made reference to the possible addition of minerals in accordance with the Codex General Standard for Food Additives and/or the General Principles for the Addition of Essential Nutrients to Foods (in the latter case, where such additions were made for nutritional purposes).
4. HYGIENE
4.1 Code of Practice
19. It was noted that the Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Bottled/Packaged Drinking Waters (Other Than Natural Mineral Waters) contained provisions for packaging that referred to the Recommended International Code of Practice - General Principles of Food Hygiene. The Committee agreed to retain the reference to packaging in this Sub-section and to delete the separate Section on Packaging in the Proposed Draft Standard.
4.2 Source Approval and Inspection of the Source for Waters defined by Origin.
20. It was agreed that the microbiological standards to which the source waters must conform would be the requirements set out in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water, and the draft text was amended accordingly.
PACKAGING
21. As noted above, this Section was deleted as the relevant provisions were included in the Code of Practice referred to in Section 4 - Hygiene.
5. LABELLING (FORMERLY SECTION 6)
5.1 Name of the Product
22. All of the paragraphs dealing with the labeling of waters defined by origin were grouped together. In addition, the Committee added a new paragraph covering the possibility of blending waters of different origin, in which case the origins of the individual waters should be declared.
23. In relation to non-carbonated waters, the Committee agreed to extend the examples of the terms used to describe these products in the English version of the Standard.
5.2 Additional Labelling Requirements
Chemical Composition
24. The Committee had a brief discussion concerning the establishment of a minimal level of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), as proposed by the Delegation of India, in relation to the declaration of TDS content on the package. It was noted that the WHO Guidelines had no recommended limits, either upper or lower, for TDS and that distilled or demineralized was commercialized in some countries, as noted by the Delegation of the USA. The inadvisability of using distilled or demineralized water as the only dietary source of water was noted.
Fluoride
25. The Committee requested the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) and the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) to determine the criteria regarding the appropriate of fluoride content of packaged waters for dental hygiene and/or the criteria for mandatory declaration and permitted claims.
Geographic Location
26. The Committee had an extended discussion concerning the requirements for the designation of the geographic location of waters defined by origin. In view of the differing cultural and traditional practices in this regard, the Committee agreed to a compromise text prepared by a working group, that referred the matter to national authorities having jurisdiction in accordance with applicable legislation.
27. In the course of the discussion, a question was raised as to the applicability of the standard to products intended for export. It was noted that the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius[9] indicated that Codex standards should apply at the point of import and to domestic production: it was assumed that products for export were required to meet the requirements of the importing country.
Prepared Water from a Water Distribution System
28. The Committee simplified the proposed text and also removed reference to quantitative limits on modifications to the total dissolved solids, while maintaining the original intent of the proposal.
Treatments
29. Several Delegations raised questions concerning the mandatory declaration of disinfection treatments and the Committee noted the differing cultural and traditional practices followed in Member countries in this matter. Several delegations stated that the question was relevant only to waters defined by origin, as it would be expected that prepared waters would normally be treated. It was agreed to follow the same compromise agreed to in the case of declaration of geographic location.
5.3 Labelling Prohibitions
30. The provisions of this Section were aligned with the Codex Standard on Natural Mineral Waters (CODEX STAN 108-1981, Rev. 1-1997).
Waters Used for the Preparation of Infant Foods and Formulae
31. The Committee noted proposals for the introduction of provisions governing statements in relation to the acceptability of packaged waters for the preparation of infant foods and formulae. It was noted that this was a matter of general concern that had implications for quality and safety requirements of all types of waters. The Committee therefore requested the CCNFSDU to consider the matter in association with the CCFH and CCFL as appropriate, with the view to establishing guidance on the quality and safety criteria and on labelling requirements. Since the matter was considered to be of a general nature, the Committee was of the opinion that the guidance should be developed in the framework of the Codex Standards and Codes of Practice for foods for infants and children.
6. METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND SAMPLING (FORMERLY SECTION 7)
32. The Committee agreed to follow the formulation used in the Codex Standard for Natural Mineral Waters and make reference to Volume 13 of the Codex Alimentarius. The Delegation of Hungary noted that a comprehensive list of methods covering definition of terms, sampling of waters, measurement and reporting of water characteristics had been prepared by ISO Technical Committee 147. The Delegation of Brazil noted that difficulties existed in the interpretation of the WHO Guidelines on Drinking Water in relation to the sampling and determination of total coliform bacteria in treated water in a distribution system if these should be applied to the products covered by the Standard.
STATUS OF THE PROPOSED DRAFT CODEX STANDARD FOR PACKAGED (BOTTLED) WATERS OTHER THAN NATURAL MINERAL WATERS
33. The Committee noted that the revised text of the Proposed Draft Standard had been developed in the spirit of compromise and that consensus had been reached on all of the outstanding issues. It agreed therefore to advance the text to Step 5 of the Procedure and to request the Commission to omit Steps 6 and 7 and to consider the text for adoption at Step 8. It was noted that certain sections of the texts still required endorsement by the relevant general Codex Committees. The Committee expressed its appreciation to the Delegation of Canada for the work undertaken to enable the Committee to arrive at the such a satisfactory conclusion.
34. The complete text of the revised Proposed Draft Standard is attached to this report as Appendix II[10].
