12. The Executive Committee noted that at its last session it had requested the Secretariat to report on the activities of other international intergovernmental organizations working in areas of interest to the Commission in addition to its report on the relationship with international non-governmental organizations (ALINORM 01/3, paras. 33, 34 and 57).
Relations with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the OECD Scheme for the Application of Standards for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables
13. The Executive Committee noted the outcome of a meeting held to consider the suggestion that had been proposed by the OECD Scheme that a "single standards-setting body" should be established in relation to international commercial grade standards for fresh fruits and vegetables. It expressed its appreciation at the efforts that had been made to resolve the issues of duplication of work and ensuring coherence of the development of standards in this field and encouraged continued efforts particularly at the preparatory stage of elaborating the proposed draft standards. Nevertheless, some members questioned the proposal to amend the footnote (No. 17) of the Terms of Reference of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, stating that the footnote contained clear guidance for avoiding duplication of work. Moreover, these members also stated that the proposals to adopt standards as "recommendations" for a trial period of two years would have serious implications for the Codex process and would undermine the value of adopted Codex standards. They drew attention to Part 3 of the Uniform Procedure for the Elaboration of Codex Standards and Related Texts dealing with the subsequent procedures concerning publication and acceptance of standards.
14. The Executive Committee emphasized the status of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables as the international body responsible for grade standards for these products, but also emphasized the need to draw upon and develop the experience and expertise of specialized bodies working in this field and ensure that the countries most concerned in individual standards were fully involved in their preparation.
On-going activities of the OECD in Response to the G-8 Consideration of Biotechnology and other Aspects of Food Safety
15. The Executive Committee noted the developments in this area. It noted that the G-8 Okinawa Summit of July 2000 has given support to the work of the Commission and had also asked FAO and WHO to convene regular meetings of food safety regulators to advance the process of science-based public consultations. It further noted the response of FAO and WHO to convene Global Fora of Food Safety Regulators to promote the exchange of information on approaches and experiences in dealing with current food safety issues of potential importance to public health and international food trade, and that such a Forum would be convened in October 2001.
16. The Executive Committee was also informed of an international conference being organized by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in cooperation with FAO, WHO, UNEP, UNEP-CBD and the Government of Thailand on the topic New Biotechnology Food and Crops: Science, Safety and Society that will be held from 10 to 12 July 2001 in Bangkok, Thailand, and an informal meeting of OECD food safety regulators that would take place on 12 July, also in Bangkok. It requested to be kept informed of the outcomes of these meetings.
UNEP: Convention on Biological Diversity - Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
17. The Executive Committee encouraged further close linkages with the Secretariat of the CBD to ensure coherence between Codex and texts arising from the Cartagena Protocol dealing with such matters as traceability, labelling and identification of Living Modified Organisms used as food.
Office International des Epizoöties (OIE)
18. The Chairperson reported on discussions that had been undertaken with the Director-General of OIE on the complimentarily of certain areas of the programmes of work of OIE and the Commission. The Executive Committee generally welcomed efforts to ensure complementarily of work with the OIE especially on questions of zoönoses and antimicrobial resistance and other areas including:
19. The Executive Committee noted that relations between the Commission and other international intergovernmental organizations were conducted by the Directors-General of the parent Organizations, but noted that the standing agreements between the individual parent Organizations and OIE had been concluded before the establishment of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and therefore may not adequately take into account the Commission's acknowledged role as an international standards-setting body or the future possible need for cooperation and joint activities.
