4. The Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Mr.
Thomas J. Billy, Administrator, Food Safety and Inspection Service, USDA,
congratulated the Committee for holding its first session. He introduced his
“Chairperson’s Action Plan” indicating that he, as the
Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, would promote the following in
order to progress the work of the Commission:
- strengthening the scientific bases in the Codex decision making process,
by proposing an over-arching scientific committee to coordinate the existing
FAO/WHO scientific consultations;
- holding CAC meetings every year and forming a new committee consisting
of the Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons of the CAC, Chairpersons of the Codex
Committees and the Codex Secretariat to assist the Chairperson and the Secretariat
at the Commission’s meetings;
- increasing the participation of developing countries by establishing a
trust fund and by regularly holding Codex meetings in developing countries;
- increasing transparency and the participation of NGO’s;
- increasing total support to Codex by the parent organizations by encouraging
the World Health Organization (WHO) to match the level of support provided
by FAO;
- increasing the use of new technologies, such as Internet web casts, home
pages and chat rooms, in order to improve communication and support for Codex.
5. Mr Billy informed the Committee that the Action Plan, when
finalized, would be sent to Member Governments for their input and would be
discussed at the 24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
(July 2001).
