Argentina
40. The delegation of Argentina informed the Committee of the activities carried out with FAO support through a technical cooperation project to strengthen the National Codex Committee and application of Codex standards. The Committee was also informed that the National Food Authority had produced a web page with support from PAHO. It also referred to the dissemination activities carried out (seminars, training events, publications, etc.) and emphasized the creation of provincial contact points charged with distributing within each province information received from the Office of the National Contact Point.
Bolivia
41. The delegation of Bolivia informed the Committee about the structure, functions and activities of its National Codex Committee whose Contact Point was the Bolivian Institute of Standardization and Quality (IBNORCA). It also requested technical cooperation from FAO and WHO to reinforce Codex activities in the country.
Brazil
42. The delegation of Brazil stated that CRD 7 included information on the structure and composition of its National Codex Committee created in 1980, and on the activities that this had been pursuing since the last session of the CCLAC. The Committee noted that more information on the National Committee was available on the web page whose address was given in the document.
Chile
43. The delegation of Chile informed the Committee that its National Codex Committee, created by Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Health in April 1996, had been in regular operation for almost three years. The National Committee was made up of representatives from the Ministries of External Relations, Agriculture, Economic Affairs, Development and Reconstruction and Health, as well as representatives of consumers, universities and the food production and trade sector. All had equal status, with the right to speak and to vote. The Committee was also informed of the active participation of Chile in various Codex committees.
Colombia
44. The delegation of Colombia informed the Committee that its National Codex Committee was regulated by Presidential Decree. The Contact Point was located in the Ministry of Health while the Ministry of Economic Development provided the Chair and General Secretariat. The national standards agency, the production sector and consumers were actively involved in the work of the National Committee, which was assisted by various subcommittees equivalent to those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. Emphasis was also placed on the active participation of the National Committee in the normative work of Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV). The Committee was also informed that discussions were underway with FAO for implementation of a project to strengthen the National Codex Committee and Focal Point.
Costa Rica
45. The delegation of Costa Rica informed the Committee that it had had a Codex Alimentarius Coordinating Commission since 1987 charged with coordinating and recommending the use of Codex standards. The Committee was informed that specific committees had been formed, with representatives from the public, academic and private sectors, to study documents produced by Codex committees and thus enhance the country's participation at international meetings. The Committee was also informed that Costa Rica had participated in a number of meetings of the Codex commodity and horizontal committees and that it had made great efforts to generate political support for the work of Codex among the relevant ministries, with the participation of the private agro-industrial sector. In addition, the Contact Point had taken on the duties advocated by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in the document Core Functions of Codex Contact Points included in the Procedural Manual of the Commission.
El Salvador
46. The delegation of El Salvador informed the Committee that its National Codex Committee had been created by Executive Decree in 1994 and was made up of all sectors of the national system, including consumers. The Committee took note that El Salvador had adopted all the Codex standards as its national standards and was presently involved in an FAO regional project to establish and strengthen National Codex Committees and Codex Contact Points.
Guatemala
47. The delegation of Guatemala informed the Committee that its National Codex Committee had been reactivated and that it was open to all sectors involved in the elaboration of food standards (official, private, universities, professional associations and consumers). The Contact Point was located in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food. The delegation also referred to an FAO regional project in which Guatemala was involved to establish and strengthen National Codex Committees and Codex Contact Points.
Guyana
48. The delegation of Guyana informed the Committee that it had established its National Codex Committee in 2000. The National Committee was a multidisciplinary and multisectoral body similar to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The National Standards Office of Guyana served as the Secretariat of the Committee and the Focal Point. The Committee also took note that Guyana had requested FAO technical cooperation to strengthen the Secretariat in the performance of its functions.
Honduras
49. The delegation of Honduras informed the Committee that it had been a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission since 1987. A Presidential Accord in 1992 had established the National Codex Committee which presently had six technical subcommittees and comprised the Secretariat of Health, the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock, the Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment, the Secretariat of Industry and Trade, the Secretariat of Finance, the Science and Technology Council, higher education, private enterprise and consumer associations. The Secretariat of Health was the Contact Point and the Secretariat of the Committee, while the Secretariat of Agriculture and Livestock chaired the Committee.
Mexico
50. The delegation of Mexico spoke of the continuous efforts that were being made by the National Codex Committee of Mexico to improve the efficiency of its work. The structure and functioning of the National Committee were similar to those of the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Nicaragua
51. The delegation of Nicaragua informed the Committee that, although it did not have a National Codex Committee, there has strong interest in establishing such a body and the intention was, through FAO, to implement a project for the establishment and strengthening a National Codex Committee. The Committee was informed that the Contact Point referred to the technical committees that formulated national standards for comments on proposals arising from respective Codex committees. The Committee was informed that the relevant ministries were also involved, as were the scientific and technical sector, the agricultural, trade and industrial sectors and consumers. The Contact Point was in the Ministry of Industry and Development.
Panama
52. The delegation of Panama informed the Committee that it was revising the Executive Decree that had created the National Codex Committee so as to activate the technical subcommittees that the country considered necessary, involving both the official and the private sectors (industry, consumers, etc.).
Paraguay
53. The delegation of Paraguay outlined the structure and functions of its National Codex Committee created in 1997 and reported at the 11th Session of the CCLAC. The delegation stressed that the Committee was presently focusing on the dissemination of information about Codex to all the relevant sectors of the country. There were however many obstacles to the smooth functioning of the National Committee for which technical cooperation from FAO would be requested to strengthen Codex activities at national level.
Peru
54. The delegation of Peru informed the Committee that its National Codex Committee had been functioning since 1999 and that it was currently engaged in broadening its competence and functions. The National Committee was made up of eight State entities under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Health. Four technical commissions were currently at work: food hygiene, labelling, fruits and vegetables, and fish and fishery products. The Committee was informed that industry, consumers and universities were actively encouraged to participate in the work of these technical commissions.
Dominican Republic
55. The delegation of the Dominican Republic outlined the structure and functions of its National Codex Committee (CONCA) which had been formally established by Decree No. 170-001. The present Focal Point was the Department of Nutrition of the Secretariat of State for Public Health and Social Assistance. It was stated that the country had been a member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission since 1963 but that the National Committee had only been functioning regularly since 1996. CONCA had 24 technical subcommittees and had adopted more than 20 Codex Alimentarius standards, with more than 23 others in the process of adoption. A key role had been played in this regard by the General Directorate of Standards and Quality Systems (DIGENOR) which acted as Secretariat of the National Committee.
Consumers International
56. With regard to the participation of industry in Codex activities, the Observer of Consumers International requested that the Committee consider that industry participate at National Codex Committee level as associations and not as individual enterprises, which were able to participate as such in the technical subcommittees of the National Codex Committees.
