COMMUNICATION AND METHODS OF WORK
STRENGTHENING RISK ANALYSIS CAPABILITIES
CONSIDERATION OF SPECIFIC TOPICS IN FOOD CONTROL AND IN REGIONAL HARMONIZATION
REPORT OF A REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON RISK ANALYSIS - EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT, CAIRO, EGYPT, 27-28 JANUARY 2001
22. The Coordinating Committee recalled that Codex Circular Letter CL 2000/31-NEA had been issued in September 2000 inviting Member countries of the Region and relevant international organizations to submit information on these items. Several Delegations reported that for some reason, the content of the Circular Letter had not been brought to their attention and therefore no written reports had been provided to the Secretariat.
23. Under the circumstances, the Chairperson invited the Delegations to make short oral presentations. It was agreed that countries would be requested to submit the information to the Secretariat and Coordinator so that a comprehensive report on the situation in the different Member countries could be prepared to guide the future work of the Committee and to serve as an information source for all Member countries of the Region. Many Delegations also provided brief written reports to the Coordinator and Secretariat. In the course of the debates on these items, a number of issues were raised which led to the recommendations indicated in the following paragraphs.
24. The Coordinating Committee recommended that each Member country of the Region should ensure that the official Codex Contact Point was functioning correctly, in particular that it was able to fulfil the Core Functions of Codex Contact Points as described in the Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. These mainly related to the functions of Contact Points in ensuring that all interested government services and other interested parties were informed of Codex activities and documentation. The Committee also recommended that consideration should be given to the establishment of National Codex Committees in those countries which had not already established such a Committee. It agreed that the subject of the organization of national Codex Contact Points and Committees should be included on the Agenda of its next Session.
25. The Committee also agreed that the country appointed as Coordinator for the Region should act as a focal point for the dissemination of Codex information, and to the extent possible, should arrange for this to be done through a secretariat for the period of office of the Coordinator.
26. Several Delegations suggested that the Coordinating Committee should establish subsidiary working groups to study and report on special issues. It was noted that this would be contrary to the normal procedures of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. On the other hand, it was agreed that where required two or more countries could work together to prepare working papers or discussion papers for items on the future agendas of the Committee.
27. The Committee agreed that means should be sought to ensure that its objectives should be achieved in a sustainable manner.
28. The Coordinating Committee called for support from FAO and WHO in the establishment or strengthening, as appropriate, of regional training centers especially in the application of risk analysis including training in the development, analysis and interpretation of data on exposure assessment, contamination monitoring and food-borne illness surveillance.
29. In particular, the Coordinating Committee called on Member countries of the Region to develop data on the residues arising from the use of pesticides and veterinary drugs so that Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) appropriate to the Region could be developed. Such information should be provided to JECFA and JMPR to ensure that internationally recommended MRLs developed through the Codex process also included the approved uses of these substances in countries of the Region. The introduction of new pesticides and veterinary drugs should be properly screened and studied by the government concerned before authority was given for their registration, use and the establishment of MRLs.
30. The Coordinating Committee recommended that consideration should be given to establishing a network of regional laboratories to provide quality assurance of test results and to act as reference laboratories for specialized analyses for food control and maintaining. It was noted that in general the laboratory infrastructure of the Region was of high quality and capacity.
31. In considering current risk assessment issues facing the Region, the Coordinating Committee called upon FAO and WHO to establish an early warning or rapid alert system that would notify countries of the situation regarding important food-borne diseases such as BSE or contaminants such as dioxin. It was suggested that such a system could be extended to include other diseases especially zoonosis. The Secretariat noted that FAO and its partners were in the process of establishing an internet-based Clearing-House on Food and Agricultural Health and that one of the modules of the Clearing-House was to be a rapid alert system along these lines. It was noted however, that the information that FAO and WHO could provide in the case of outbreaks or food control emergencies depended very much upon the availability of the basic information provided by the country or countries concerned.
32. The Coordinating Committee, through the Coordinator and the Secretariat, undertook to prepare discussion papers for its next session on:
33. In association with the debate under Risk Analysis (Agenda Item 6), the Representatives of FAO and WHO reported on the outcome of a workshop organized jointly by FAO and WHO with the support of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) and held immediately prior to the Session. The Workshop had been attended by 26 delegates representing 13 countries and 2 non-governmental organizations. The conclusions and recommendations of this Workshop are contained in Appendix II.
