85) The report of the ad hoc Working Group on Endorsement of Methods of Analysis (CRD 1) was presented by its chairperson Dr. William Horwitz (USA). Dr. Gregory Diachenko served as rapporteur. The following countries and international organizations participated in the Working Group: Brazil, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the United States, AOAC International, CEN, EC, IDF, ISO and NMKL.
86) The Committee agreed to replace the Codex General Method for copper (AOAC 971.20) by the NMKL Method 139 (1991) for lead, cadmium, copper, iron and zinc in foods by AAS after dry ashing which is also identical to AOAC 999.11 (as Type II method). The Committee also agreed to endorse the NMKL Method 161 (1998), which uses AAS following microwave digestion, and the identical method AOAC 991.10 as a Type III Codex General Method for lead, cadmium, zinc, copper and iron in foods.
87) The Committee concluded that the NMKL method proposed by the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants for the analysis of Ochratoxin A in cereals and cereal products appeared to work well for the commodities specified at a level of >2ng/g. The Committee also felt that it would not be procedurally correct to endorse a method before relevant Codex provisions had been established. It was also pointed out that other methods were currently being validated for Ochratoxin A, and that CCFAC might also consider them.
88) The Committee was informed that the reference to ICUMSA GS 2/3-5 to measure invert sugar in soft sugars and brown sugar was not correct and that the correct reference was ICUMSA GS 1/3/7-3.
89) The Committee noted the written comments of CEFS regarding the difference in the results of determination of colour values for sugar with a colour higher than 60 IU using different ICUMSA methods. However the ICUMSA GS 2/3-10 (1998) method was retained on the basis of the recommendation of the Commodity Committee.
90) The Committee decided to delete the methods for determination of arsenic and lead in the sugar standards as there were no provisions for those contaminants there.
91) The Committee changed the status from “endorsed” to “temporarily endorsed” for several methods in the honey standard, due to lack of information on collaborative studies and to be consistent with earlier decisions.
92) The Committee agreed to request clarification of the Committee on Sugars regarding the availability of the specific reagent for the Phadebas method.
93) The Committee accepted the information of the Delegation of Norway regarding the availability of the collaborative studies and endorsed the WEFTA method for determination of salt in Salted Fish of the Gadidae Family as a Type II method, with the understanding that the result will be calculated on the basis of the chloride content. The Committee also agreed that the method of determination of histamine in Salted Atlantic Herring (AOAC 977.13) was applicable to all fish species were histamine was a concern and endorsed the method for “fish and fishery products”, as this would apply to all relevant standards.
94) As there were separate provisions for moisture and for solids in different cheese standards, the Committee decided to include separate entries for these provisions.
95) The Committee decided to delete the reference to a deviation of ±2° C in Whey Cheese standard as the precise information for that value had been provided in the standard, and the endorsement document included only the principle of the method.
96) The Committee deleted the reference to unpublished ISO standard for the determination of Streptococcus thermophilus in Fermented Milks (yoghurt) and decided not to endorse methods for protein and dry matter in the Standard for Unripened Cheese including Fresh Cheese as these provisions were not specified in the standard.
97) The Committee did not endorse the methods for the determination of fat content in the draft Standard for Cocoa Powders and requested the CCCPC to provide evidence of collaborative study validation and information regarding the purpose and the type of method. The Committee did not endorse the method for the determination of copper in the Proposed Draft Standard for Chocolate and Chocolate Products and requested the Committee to consider adopting one of the Codex general methods for copper that to determine the percentage of fat in these products.
98) The reference to the Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables was included in the section on Aqueous Coconut Products as the draft standard (initiated by the CCASIA) was currently under consideration in that Committee. The Committee also agreed to request the CCPFV to consider its earlier questions concerning the draft Standard for Pickles while finalizing the Standard.
Endorsement of Methods of Sampling Provisions
99) The Committee endorsed the sampling provisions in several standards for milk products. The Committee also endorsed sampling provisions in the Draft Standard for Wheat Protein Products and amended the reference to the ISO standard.
Methods for Detection of Irradiated Foods
100) The Delegation of Sweden, speaking on behalf of the Member States of the EU participating at the present Session and presenting a common EC position, introduced CRD 3 and CRD 3 Addendum and recalled that the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods required mandatory labelling of irradiated foods and it was therefore necessary to establish methods for control purposes. The Delegation pointed out that with the assistance of FAO/IAEA Joint Division of Nuclear Techniques in Agriculture, a number of methods were elaborated and validated and that those methods were subsequently standardized by CEN. The Delegation proposed to consider and endorse five methods for the detection of different irradiated foods as presented in CRD 3.
101) The Observer from AOAC pointed out that the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants had not proposed any methods for the detection of irradiation of foods, and indicated that methods are proposed by commodity committees well in advance of the meeting in order to be considered by the Working Group on the endorsement of methods under the CCMAS. Some delegations and the Secretariat recalled that the Codex provision concerned was the requirement for the labelling of irradiated foods in the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods, that it was under the terms of reference of the Committee to consider general methods and that this was not an endorsement of methods proposed by commodity committees.
102) The Delegation of the United States indicated that despite numerous references there was no bibliography provided for the methods and that the usual procedure for the Committee was to consider such a matter through the Working Group.
103) Following the request of the Delegation of Australia regarding false positive or negative results, the Observer from the EC indicated that methods provided a very high percentage of correctly identifiable samples which in some cases reached even 100%. It was pointed out that these methods were currently used in practice in some countries with a significant success and were thoroughly validated.
104) The Delegation of the United Kingdom urged the Committee to take a more proactive position on such important issues and supported the consideration and endorsement of the proposed methods at the current session. This view was supported by some other delegations and the Representative from FAO/IAEA.
105) The Committee had an extensive debate on the typing of proposed methods. Some delegations indicated that these methods could be attributed to Type I as they provide only an estimate of positive or negative results while other delegations pointed out that methods could be differentiated between Type II and Type III.
106) The Committee decided to endorse the proposed methods and concluded that the method EN 1785:1996 for detection of irradiated foods containing fat on the basis of GC/MS analysis of 2-alkylcyclobutanones should be endorsed as Type III and the remaining methods were specified as Type II (see Appendix IV).
