ALINORM 03/15



JOINT FAO/WHO FOOD STANDARDS PROGRAMME



CODEX COMMITTEE ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION



Twenty-sixth Session

Rome, Italy, 30 June - 5 July 2003



REPORT OF THE THIRTEENTH SESSION OF THE
FAO/WHO REGIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE FOR ASIA

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 17-20 September 2002

Note: This document incorporates Codex Circular Letter 2002/46-ASIA

CX 3/10.2 CL 2002/46-ASIA

To:

- Codex Contact Points

 

- Participants at the 13th Session of FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia

 

- Interested International Organizations

From:

Secretary, Codex Alimentarius Commission, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, FAO,00100 Rome, Italy

Subject:

Distribution of the Report of the 13th Session of FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia (ALINORM 03/15)

A. Matters for Adoption by the 26th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission

Proposed Draft Standard for Instant Noodles at Step 5 of the Procedure

(para 74, Appendix II)

Governments wishing to submit comments on the implications which the Proposed Draft Standard may have for their economic interests should do so in writing in conformity with the Procedure for the Elaboration of World-wide standards at Step 5 to the Secretary, Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme, FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy before 1 April  2003.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The summary and conclusions of the 13th session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Asia are as follows:
Matters for Consideration by the Commission
The Committee agree to nominate the Republic of Korea for appointment as Regional Coordinator by the 26th Session of the Commission (para.146 );

The Committee agreed to forward Proposed Draft Standard for Instant Noodles to Step 5 for consideration by the Commission and further elaboration within the Step Procedure (para.74);

Matters of Interest to the Commission
The Committee:
- considered "Trust Fund for Participation of Developing Countries in Codex and Standard-Setting Procedures" and proposed to amend the concept paper drafted by WHO(para. 10);
- exchanged opinions on the specific issues raised by member countries that had been considered in the relevant Codex Committees (para.12-32, 149-155);
- agreed that the Regional Coordinator together with the elected regional Member of the Executive Committee should consult with the Members of the Region immediately after the issuance of the Evaluation report with a view to obtaining input from all Members of the Region at the special meetings of the Executive Committee and the Commission in February 2003 (para. 37);
- noted the proposals made by member countries to amend the Draft Medium Term Plan 2003-2007 (para. 40-57);
- noted many views on traceability/product tracing and recognized criteria to be considered when implementing traceability/product tracing (para.76-84);
- recommended that FAO and WHO organize an Expert Consultation on functional foods and include Asian experts among those invited to participate (para.93);
- expressed its appreciation for the capacity building activities undertaken by FAO and WHO in this region and fully supported continuous activity from FAO and WHO (para.94-111);
- exchanged information on food control and food safety issue, consumer participation in food standard setting reported by member countries (para.112-144);
- recommended that FAO and WHO jointly organize an Asian Forum of Food Safety Regulators in 2003 (para. 157).




Table of Contents


APPENDICES Page

1. The 13th Session of the Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia (CCASIA) was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 17-20 September 2002. Datin Hajjah Dr. Harrison Aziz bt. Shahabudin, the Regional Coordinator for Asia chaired the meeting. The meeting was attended by 180 participants representing 18 Member Countries of the Region, and participants from 3 Observer Countries, and 6 international organizations. The full List of Participants is attached to this report as Appendix I.

OPENING OF THE SESSION

2. The Session was opened by the Director of Food Quality Control Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Datin Hajjah Dr. Harrison Aziz bt. Shahabudin. Dr. Harrison stressed the importance of establishing networking among Member Countries in the region, particularly through Codex work, to improve food safety and facilitate trade. The use of Codex standards as reference in the WTO SPS and TBT Agreements posed an enormous challenge to Asian countries that depend on food export as a source of foreign earnings. In this regard, the development of infrastructure and capacity building are key elements to effective food safety control and should be given top priority. Hence, technical assistance from WHO and FAO should be utilized to strengthen Asian coherency in the international arena.

3. In welcoming the delegations, the FAO representative, Dr Ezzeddine Boutrif, explained that the recent food safety crises that occurred in different parts of the world have placed food safety and quality high on the agenda of most governments and international organizations. They also resulted in a decrease in consumer’s confidence in the ability of food safety systems to assure the safety of the food supply. He informed the meeting of the high priority that FAO Governing Bodies have given to the Organization’s programmes related to food safety, both the normative aspect as well as the field programme. The FAO representative indicated that many countries of the Asian region have received or are currently receiving FAO assistance under the Technical Cooperation Programme to strengthen their capacities in various aspects of food safety assessment and control, including the establishment and functioning of National Codex Committees. He underlined the importance that FAO attached to capacity building activities and referred to the joint statement made by the Executives, Heads of FAO, WHO, WTO, OIE and WB in which they committed their respective Organizations to provide the needed capacity building assistance to developing countries to enable them to participate more effectively in SPS-related standards setting activities. He also reported on recent initiatives taken by FAO jointly with WHO and other agencies to establish a standards and trade development facility to provide developing countries with the needed support in this field.

4. Dr. Yasuhisa Nakamura, representative from the WHO, also addressed the Committee. He stated that WHO considered food safety as one of the most important public health issues and that the World Health Assembly in 2000 had adopted a resolution which requested to the Director-General to give greater emphasis to food safety in view of WHO’s global leadership in public health. Also he stated WHO Executive Board in January 2002 endorsed the WHO’s global food safety strategy. He added that a joint FAO/WHO Evaluation of the joint Food Standards Programme was now in progress to meet the needs of the people in the world more effectively.

5. The FAO and WHO representatives expressed satisfaction with the inclusion of a standing agenda item on capacity building in all Codex Regional Coordinating Committee meetings and their wish to see substantial donor contribution to fund the needed programmes.

ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (Agenda Item 1)

6. The Coordinating Committee agreed to discuss the following additional matters under Agenda Items 2 and 12 in addition to those including in the working papers for the session:

7. The Coordinating Committee also agreed that an ad hoc Working Group should be convened under the Chairmanship and co-Chairmanship of Indonesia and Japan respectively to consider the proposed draft Standard for Instant Noodles, and postponed consideration of this item until the working group could report the results of its work.

8. On this basis, the Coordinating Committee adopted the Provisional Agenda as the Agenda for the Session.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE 24TH SESSION OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION AND THE 49TH AND 50TH SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEES1 (Agenda Item 2)

9. The Committee noted that the meeting of the Coordinating Committee also provided an opportunity for member countries to state their opinions and concerns on the matters considered and discussed in the other Codex Committees which should be given due regard in deliberations of those Committees.

Trust Fund for Participation of Developing Countries in Codex Standard-Setting Procedures2

10. The Committee noted that the 50th session of Executive Committee had exchanged extensive views on the concept paper submitted by WHO and also recalled that the Executive Committee had decided to discuss this issue in the Coordinating Committee to seek comments for further revisions of this paper. The Committee expressed its general support to the concept of the Trust Fund and in particular to the use of option 3 for its operation. However, it also raised the following issues as the points to be further improved for better operation of the Trust Fund.

11. In addition to those points, the representative of FAO referred to the newly created FAO Trust Fund on Food Security and Food Safety that would be used to assist developing countries in enhancing their capacity in the area of food safety and quality and work to supplement the joint Trust Fund. The Representative of FAO also referred to a new capacity building initiative for SPS-related standards-setting activities being developed by FAO, WHO, OIE, WTO and the World Bank(see para 3, above).

Matters Arising from Other Codex Committees

Recommendations for the Proposed Draft Revised Standard for Processed Cereal-Based Foods for Infants and Young Children and the Proposed Draft Revised Standard for Infant Formula

12. The Committee noted the recommendations made by Indonesia3 regarding the Proposed Draft Revised Standard for Processed Cereal-Based Foods for Infants and Young Children and Proposed Draft Revised Standard for Infant Formula. However, the Committee could not support these recommendations due to opposition expressed by several member countries that stated that matters already agreed by the Commission should not be re-opened.

Recommendation for the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods: Class Name

13. The Committee took note of the proposal by Indonesia4 on the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods: Class Names, to retain only one category of products under the name “Milk Protein”, namely ingredients with high milk protein content with a minimum level of 50% protein.

Maximum Level for Chloropropanol

14. The Committee exchanged views on a proposal from Thailand5 to seek a support from the Committee on its proposal to set a Maximum Level of 3-MCPD for non-naturally fermented soy sauce at the level of 1 mg/kg. The members expressed diverse opinions on this issue and finally the Committee agreed to forward the matter to the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants for further deliberation. The Committee also agreed that further data collection on exposure (consumption of soy sauce and levels of 3-MCPD) was necessary. It stressed that an early conclusion on this issue was required due to the importance of the product in the region for both trade and domestic consumption.

Temperature during Storage, Transport, Loading and Discharge of Fats and Oils

15. Indonesia6 asked the Committee to support its proposal to change the temperature conditions for loading and discharge of palm kernel oil in the Table 1 of the Recommended International Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of Edible Fats In Bulk (CAC/RCP 36-1987(Rev. 1-1999)) from “Min 40°C, Max 45°C” to “Min 30°C, Max 39°C for warm climates and Min 40°C and Max 45°C for temperate climates” in order to reflect differences in the climate conditions. The Committee agreed to recommend to the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils that a footnote be added to Table 1 “for warmer climates, the loading and discharge temperature for palm kernel oil is Min 30°C, Max 39°C or ambient temperature” to address the concern expressed by Indonesia.

Proposed Draft Standard for Soy Sauce

16. The Committee recognized that the Indonesian proposal7 on the proposed draft standard for soy sauce was constructive one, and transmitted the proposal to the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables for its consideration. The delegation of Japan proposed the delegation of Indonesia to provide more information regarding sweet soy sauce at the next CCPFV.

Working Principles of Risk Analysis

17. The Delegation of India8 proposed to discuss the issue of what constituted “fair trade practices” as referred to in the Statutes of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Delegation noted that this matter had been raised recently in the Codex Committee on General Principles and that there was a need to establish a clear definition of "fair trade practices". The Committee shared this concern.

18. The Secretariat noted that historically “fair trade practice” in Codex has been closely linked with compliance to product specifications (composition) and with labelling. It was stated that it would be premature at this moment to discuss this issue because of the on-going WTO dispute settlement procedure on the “Sardine case”, the outcome of which should indicate clearly the status of fair trade labelling practices in Codex. The Observer from Consumers International expressed its concern over the influence of WTO on the consideration of fair trade practices in Codex and called for an early explanation of this phrase by Code itself.

19. The Delegation of India stressed the importance of converting the principles of risk analysis, that incorporate concerns of developing countries, into practice and recommended that a separate working group be set up to finalize guidelines as a priority activity under the Medium Term Plan. The Committee endorsed this proposal.

Code of Ethics for International Trade

20. The Committee noted the concern expressed by the Delegation of India9 that differences of the food safety standards among countries may lead to the differences of the standards applied by an exporting county to domestically marketed products and exported products. The Committee recognized that this was a matter of discussion under Code of Ethics for International Trade in the Codex Committee of General Principles.

Involvement of Inter-governmental Organizations in Codex Work10

21. Many member countries expressed their concern about the involvement of other intergovernmental organizations in the decision-making process under Codex because other organizations may have objectives that may not compatible with those of Codex such as protection of human health, were not representative of the membership of the Commission, or required excessive membership fees for participation in standards-setting activities. The delegations of India, Thailand, Malaysia proposed that the work undertaken by bodies other than Codex subsidiary bodies should only be taken as references in the development of Codex standards and hence this work should not enter the Codex procedure at all. On the other hand, Secretariat pointed out that Objective 3 of the Strategic Framework encouraged such cooperation. The Coordinating Committee recommended that the concerns expressed by the countries of the region should be taken into account in the paper to be prepared for the Committee on General Principles on the involvement of other Intergovernmental Organizations in the work of Codex.

Draft Guidelines on the Application of HACCP in Small and Less Developed Businesses

22. The Delegations of Malaysia and Thailand supported the position of India11 that Annex 2 of the Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene, currently under discussion in the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, should refer to Annex 1 so that it became an integral part of the main HACCP document. The Delegation of Malaysia stated that the seven HACCP Principles contained in Annex 1 should not be compromised. The Delegation expressed concern on the practical difficulties for Small and Less Developed Businesses (SLDBs) especially those in developing countries (including street vendors) to comply with HACCP. Taking cognizance of this situation, the Delegation proposed a statement in Annex 1 that the scope of application of HACCP should be left to the national authorities to decide. The Delegation of Thailand stated that it supported the development of guidance for SLDBs, in particular for street foods, but it expressed its concern over the implementation of all seven HACCP Principles to the SLDBs. The Committee took note the opinions of these countries.

Draft Guidelines on the Judgement of Equivalence of Sanitary Measures

23. The Committee noted that the matter raised by India12 was under discussion by the Committee on Food Import Inspection and Certification Systems and that recent discussions by a Working Group of that Committee may lead to a successful conclusion of the development of the Guidelines.

Aflatoxin levels in Peanuts and Milk

24. The Delegation of India13 stressed the importance of Member countries to recognize and apply the decisions made by the Commission on Aflatoxin levels in peanuts and milk, noting that an important trading partner had not yet done so. The Secretariat pointed out that the Commission did not have the mandate to require Member governments to accept or use Codex standards once they had been adopted.

Draft Code of Hygienic Practices for Milk and Milk products

25. The Delegation of India14 explained that the production conditions of small-scale farmers in developing countries made it difficult to meet the hygienic practices specified in the Draft Code, since the latter was designed for large scale farming using machine milking. It requested that Committee on Food Hygiene give due consideration to the recommendations of the Commission in relation to addressing the problems of developing countries.

Draft Code of Hygienic Practices for Primary Production and Packing of Fruits and Vegetables

26. The delegation of India15 proposed that the reference to contamination through indirect means under clause 3.2.3 (Personal Health, Hygiene and Sanitary Facilities) should be deleted from the Draft Code of Hygiene Practices for primary Production and Packing of Fruits and Vegetables, as it would not be possible to achieve this in developing countries, particularly, in the tropical countries, in view of prevailing farming practices and climatic conditions.

Anomalies in Governance Structures and decision-Making process in Codex and other Food Standard

27. The Committee agreed to take note of the concern expressed by the Delegation of India16 on the procedure applied to establish maximum levels for chemical contaminants that deviated substantially from the procedures applied to residues of pesticide and veterinary drugs. It was noted that the same scientific principles should apply in all cases.

Required Maturity of Oranges

28. The Committee expressed its general support to the opinion of the Delegation of India that the Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables should not establish separate maturity provisions for separate green-coloured oranges and orange-coloured oranges in the standard for Oranges under discussion. The Delegations of Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand all supported the view that the juice and juice content of these oranges was perfectly comparable.

Maximum Level of Tin

29. The Committee took note of the request by Thailand17 to support its position to maintain maximum level of tin to 200 mg/kg for canned beverages and to 250 mg/kg for other canned foods.

Draft Standard for Aqueous Coconut Products

30. The Delegation of The Philippines18 proposed to include to the section 2.1 of the draft standard for Aqueous Coconut Product “coconut milks and coconut creams”, to include provisions for the use of dispersing finely comminuted dehydrated coconut endosperm with water in the product description; to add mono-and diglycerides to the list of emulsifiers; and to delete the Annex particularly on grading levels. This proposal was supported by Malaysia, which also recommended including a provision for the use of reconstituted cream coconut powder in the product description and labelling of all these products to indicate that these are reconstituted products.

Proposal to continue Risk Assessment on Furazolidone and other substances

31. The Delegation of Thailand19 proposed to continue the Risk Assessment on metabolites of furazolidone and other substances for which JECFA had not allocated ADI nor MRLs in the past evaluation process since the information and method of analysis of metabolites was now available. The Secretariat pointed out that JECFA did not normally allocate ADIs nor MRLs for genotoxic or carcinogenic substances.

Soybean products in Food Category System of General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA)

32. The Delegation of China20 sought support from the Committee to its position to maintain category of soybean products (category 6. 8) in the light of the importance of soybean products as a source of protein in Asian Region and also in order for the Food Category System, FCS to include all soybean products as a separate category. The Delegations of Malaysia and Thailand supported Chinese position to retain category 6.8. The Delegation of Japan also expressed its concern over the treatment of soybean products in the Food Category System and stated that this should be discussed in the next Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants. In this context, Secretariat asked member countries to submit information on the products to the CCFAC for its better understanding on these products.

JOINT FAO/WHO EVALUATION OF THE WORK OF CODEX ALIMENTARIUS AND OTHER FAO AND WHO WORK ON FOOD STANDARDS (Agenda Item 3)21

33. The Committee noted that FAO and WHO had reported to the 49th (Special) Session of the Executive Committee in September 2001, that they had agreed on the need and scope for a comprehensive review of the Codex programme including an external component. Following extensive consultations between FAO and WHO on the modalities and terms of reference, a Joint Evaluation Team supported by a Joint Expert Panel were established by the two organizations to undertake a formal evaluation and to provide a report to the parent Organizations and member countries by November 2002. At its 50th Session in mid-2002, the Executive Committee discussed the terms of reference and progress of the evaluation extensively. Noting the potential importance of the outcome of the Evaluation, the Executive Committee requested the Directors-General of FAO and WHO to convene a special session of the Commission in mid-February 2003 (preceded by a special session of the Executive Committee) for the purpose of considering the findings of the Evaluation, so that the Commission’s views could be made known to the parent bodies. The Executive Committee also requested the Secretariat to re-organize the timetable of Codex meetings so that all Regional Coordinating Committees would be fully informed of the progress of the evaluation.22

34. The item was introduced by the Secretary of the Commission, who also provided an up-date of the progress of the Evaluation as presented to the 88th Session of the Programme Committee of FAO in the week immediately prior to the present meeting. He reported that the discussions of the Executive Committee had contributed substantially to the progress of the Evaluation. Moreover, in response to Members’ concerns about the composition of the Evaluation Team and the Expert Panel, adjustments had been made to allow for better regional and cultural coverage, especially from developing countries; the list of countries to be visited had also been expanded for this purpose.

35. It was reported that 24 countries plus the EC had been visited and interviewed by the Evaluation Team, and similar visits had been made to international standards-setting bodies and international organizations concerned with the application of standards in trade. In addition, Questionnaires had been sent to Member countries, interested international organizations, and national organizations in order to elicit a wide base of information and opinion about Codex. The response to these questionnaires had exceeded expectations (with 102 government replies. Finally, a public call for comments had resulted in some 60 replies from individuals and organizations.

36. The Regional Coordinating Committee welcomed the information provided by the Secretariat, but noted that it would be premature to discuss the possible outcome of the Evaluation at this stage. Nevertheless, it expressed its full support for the Executive Committee's opinion that the Evaluation should concentrate particularly on the development of science-based standards, guidelines and recommendations for food safety and the strengthening of scientific risk analysis. Member countries of the Region looked forward receiving and studying the full report in due time.

37. The Coordinating Committee also agreed that the Regional Coordinator together with the elected regional Member of the Executive Committee should consult with the Members of the Region immediately after the issuance of the Evaluation report with a view to obtaining input from all Members of the Region at the special meetings of the Executive Committee and the Commission in February 2003. It was noted that individual Member countries, if they so wished, would also be able to comment on the Evaluation report in writing and during the Commission.

CONSIDERATION OF THE DRAFT MEDIUM-TERM PLAN 2003-2007
(Agenda Item 4)
23

38. The Coordinating Committee recalled that work on the draft Medium-Term Plan 2003-2007 had been initiated by the Commission at its 23rd Session (1999). The Executive Committee, between its 47th and 48th had developed a structured model, consisting of a strategic vision statement; a strategic framework described by objectives; and a detailed medium-term plan. At the 24th Session of the Commission (2001), the Commission adopted both the strategic vision statement and the strategic framework and recommended incorporation of elements of the Chairperson’s Action Plan into the Draft Medium-Term Plan. On the basis of comments received in response to CL 2001/26-EXEC and discussions at the 50th Session of the Executive Committee, the Draft Medium-Term Plan was revised by the Secretariat for consideration of the Regional Coordinating Committees prior to its finalization and adoption by the next (regular) Session of the Commission.

39. The Regional Coordinating Committee reviewed the Medium-Term Plan activity-by-activity within the Framework Objectives.

Objective 1: Promoting Sound Regulatory Frameworks

40. In regard to Activity 22, the Delegation of India supported by that of Pakistan, recommended that the wording be amended in order to “establish international principles and guidelines for the tracing of food products/ food ingredients through various links in the food chain for having either a food safety objective or a legitimate objective as a TBT measure”.

41. The Delegation of Pakistan noted the immediate need for international standards or guidelines covering foods derived from biotechnology in order to promote national standardization of these products (Activity 25).

42. In regard to Activity 27 regarding the development of guidelines for the judgement of equivalence for specific purposes, the Delegation of India, supported by those of Japan and Malaysia was of the opinion that efforts should in stead be concentrated on generic guidelines, therefore proposed that this activity should be deleted from the Medium-Term Plan.

43. The Delegation of India noted that as a probable result of the Joint Evaluation of the Codex programme, it was likely that additional support would be needed to implement Activities 42 and 44 regarding the provision of Secretariat services to the Commission and Regional Coordinating Committees.

Objective 2: Promoting the Widest and Consistent Application of Scientific Principles and Risk Analysis

44. In regard to Activity 6 on principles and guidelines for pre-harvest and post-harvest measures, the Delegation of India expressed its disagreement with the proposal of the Executive Committee that this work should be coordinated with other international organizations as required and noted that there was no consensus on this within the Commission. The Delegations of China and Malaysia recommended that such guidelines should take into consideration existing work where post-harvest measures have been integrated in Codex commodity codes and guidelines, and should take into account the needs, constraints and economic impact on developing countries. It was proposed that the activity be rewritten to read as follows: "Developing guidelines where necessary for pre-harvest measures taking into account peculiar needs and constraints as well as economic impact on developing countries

45. The Delegations of India and Indonesia stressed that Activity 11 should emphasize the development of new MRLs of interest to developing countries as a matter of priority, and the review of existing MRLs should take into account the special interests and needs of developing countries.

46. In reference to Activity 20, the Committee recommended that this activity should be split into its two original components as contained in the draft considered by the 50th Session of the Executive Committee as activity 20 concerned global data in establishment of new standards and in review of existing standards, while activity 40 concerned models for predicting dietary intake of pesticide residues. The Committee further agreed that activity 40 be rewritten as follows: "Predicting dietary intake of pesticide residue based on deterministic and probabilistic models".

47. The Delegations of India and Japan recommended that Activity 1 should be deleted, as it covered the work of governments and not of the Commission.

Objective 3: Promoting Linkages between Codex and Other Multilateral Regulatory Instruments and Conventions

48. In regard to the Activity 12, the Committee agreed that this activity be rewritten to reflect “guidance on cooperation with other International Intergovernmental Organizations on the elaboration of Codex Standards and Related Texts” in line with the mandate of the 24th Session of the Commission.

49. The Committee agreed that Activity 13 be deleted, as there was no obligation for the alignment of Codex principles for risk analysis with those of other international instruments.

50. The Delegation of India proposed that Activity 32 on the review of the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius should be limited to countries’ obligations under the WTO SPS and TBT Agreements.

51. The Committee agreed that the description of Activity 34 should read as follows: “Review and updating of Codex Standards and related texts to take into account OIE standards and other recommendations for the management of food-borne zoönoses and vice-versa”.

Objective 4: Enhance Capacity to Respond Effectively and Expeditiously to New Issues, Concerns and Developments in the Food Sector

52. Activity 3: The Coordinating Committee was of the opinion that the restriction of five years for the development of a standard, although a useful concept, was unrealistic because in some cases the generation of the necessary scientific data combined with the time required to obtain international consensus on the proposals under discussion would require a longer period for the successful adoption of standards. Similarly, the Coordinating Committee was of the opinion that Internet Conferencing would put many developing countries that did not have access to such facilities at a disadvantage.

53. It was proposed that the amended procedures should give priority to the needs of developing countries, but it was pointed out by the delegation of Japan that the procedures for the elaboration of Codex Standards and Related Texts were of equal significance for all Codex Member countries.

Objective 5: Promoting Maximum Membership and Participation

54. The Delegations of Japan and Malaysia expressed their support for Activity 37 dealing with the treatment of written comments.

55. In relation to Activity 38 on the guidelines for the conduct of working groups, etc., the Delegation of India noted the importance that had recently been attributed to Ad Hoc Working Groups and stated that if they continue to have such an important role in drafting Codex texts, consideration for funding under Trust Fund should be considered. The Representatives of FAO and WHO stated that this would most likely be looked upon favourably .

Objective 6: Promoting Maximum Application of Codex Standards

56. The Delegation of Malaysia reiterated the statements made at the 50th Session of the Executive Committee that only Activities 16 (Codex website) and 31 (Availability of Codex Standards) should be retained because the other activities foreseen under this objective did not fall within the core competence of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The Delegations of Indonesia and Thailand however stated that these references to capacity building were of importance to developing countries. The Delegation of India stressed the importance of capacity building activities by FAO/WHO. It noted that since the budgetary allocations in the MTP were very small, and only for translation of documents of status reports, these need not be reflected as several separate activities under the Medium Term Plan, but should be part of the normal work of the Secretariat.

57. The Secretariat pointed out that reports on capacity building had been a feature of the Commission’s work for some time and that it was likely that the Commission could have a greater role in advising FAO, WHO and donor agencies on the capacity building needs of developing countries in the future. The Coordinating Committee strongly recommended that these activities be redrafted, taking also into account the recommendations of the Joint FAO/WHO Evaluation of Codex, when this became available.

Status of the Draft Medium-Term Plan

58. The Coordinating Committee noted that the above comments would be taken into consideration together with the comments of the other Regional Coordinating Committees in preparing the final draft Medium-Term Plan for the Consideration of the Commission in 2003.

PROPOSED DRAFT STANDARD FOR INSTANT NOODLES (Agenda Item 5)24

59. The Committee noted the request of Indonesia, supported by many countries to convene an ad hoc Working Group to discuss proposed draft standard in detail since there were divergent views of member countries as well as observers. The Working Group, chaired by Indonesia and Japan was attended by 9 member countries (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, the Republic of Korea and Thailand) and CI and IACFO as observers.

60. The Working Group reported to the Committee that had an intensive discussion and finally could reach a generally agreed text with amendment as follows.

Section 1: Scope

61. It was agreed to retain the text “This standard does not apply to pasta” in square brackets since there was uncertainty as to the difference between pasta and noodles. The Working Group also amended the word “are” to “may be” in the second sentence to take into consideration noodles that are packed without seasonings.

Section 2: Description

62. It was agreed to amend the sentence “Instant noodle is a product prepared from wheat flour or rice flour as the main ingredient,…” to “Instant noodle is a product prepared from wheat flour and/or rice flour and/or other flours and/or starches as the main ingredient,…” to cater for other types of flour or starches used. It was also agreed to include a provision for two styles of presentation, namely Fried noodles and non-Fried noodles in order to distinguish between the two and to provide clearer information to consumers.

Section 3. Essential Composition and Quality Factors

63. On the basis of the Working Group’s recommendation, it was agreed to remove all square brackets in the section on Essential ingredients, and to remove all of the text in square brackets in the section on Optional ingredients. It was also agreed to include the use of starch as one of the possible essential ingredients to be consistent with the product Description.

64. The Coordinating Committee agreed that the provisions for “Noodle Block Standard” should be qualified to make it clear that the “noodle block” referred to the mass of noodles of whatever shape, but excluding accompanying seasonings.

65. The Moisture Contents of the fried and non-fried noodles were set at maximum levels of 10.0% and 14.0% respectively.

66. The Committee could not come to a consensus on the need for a provision on Peroxide Value and therefore decided to retain this provision in square brackets. Many member country delegations opposed the inclusion of peroxide value. The Delegation of Japan strongly supported the inclusion of the peroxide value as a measure of quality control and for the health protection of consumers as explained in CRD 30. The Observer from IACFO supported this.

67. On the advice of the Working Group, the Coordinating Committee deleted the analytical determination of the degree of pregelatinization in view of the unavailability of a method of analysis. The Delegation of Japan made reservation on the deletion of pregelatinisation. The Working Group proposed that Japan should inform the Committee on the method of determination of the degree of pregelatinisation when it became available and this would then need to be validated by CCMAS.

Section 4. Food Additives

68. The Coordinating Committee agreed to redraft the entire section along the lines proposed by Australia, so that paragraph would then read:

“The use of food additive(s) as well as food additive(s) carry-over shall comply with the maximum level permitted by the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), CODEX STAN 192-1995 (Rev 2-1999).”

69. Member countries were urged to examine the GSFA to ensure that all food additives specific to instant noodles were listed. China25, Thailand26 and Philippines27 submitted proposal to add certain food additives to the GSFA and the Committee noted this.

Section 6. Container or Packaging Condition

70. On the basis of a proposal by Australia, the Working Group recommended the following re-drafting of this paragraph so as to make it broader and more general. The paragraph would read:

“Instant noodles shall be packaged in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the product. The containers, including the packaging materials, shall be made of substances that are safe and suitable for their intended use. They should not impart any toxic substances or undesirable odour or flavour to the product.”

Section 8. Labelling

71. It was agreed to amend the Name of the Food as follows:

“The name of the food shall be “Instant Noodle(s)”, or optionally as “Fried Noodle(s) or “Non-fried Noodle(s) in accordance to Subsections 2.1 and 2.2. Other names may be used if allowed by national legislation.”

Section 9. Methods of Analysis and Sampling

72. On the advice of the Working Group, the Coordinating Committee agreed to the following:

    1. To remove the square brackets in 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4 and replace the texts with the texts “Use Codex accepted methods.”
    2. To retain the square brackets in 9.4 and replace the texts “Under consideration” with “Use Codex accepted methods.”
    3. To delete 9.5 entirely.
    4. To add a new parameter “Extraction of oil from instant noodles (Use Codex accepted methods). Numbering would follow accordingly

73. The Committee, while welcoming the result of the Working Group, further considered the text and agreed to change “ 3.2.3. Noodle Block Standard” to “3.2.3. Analytical Requirements for Noodle Block (Noodle Excluding Seasonings)”. The delegation from Consumer International (CI) urged the Committee to give full consideration to effects of Peroxide Value (PV) for food safety. In this regard, CI also proposed Vegetarian/Non Vegetarian labelling requirement and called for reconsideration of such labelling by CCFL as necessary.

Status of the Proposed Draft Standard for Instant Noodles

74. Even though there was an outstanding issue on the inclusion of Peroxide Value to be resolved in relation to the proposed draft standard, the Committee decided to forward it to Step 5 for further consideration and elaboration in the Codex process. The Delegation of Japan expressed its strong opposition to this decision. The revised Proposed Draft Standard is contained in Appendix II to this report.

CONSIDERATION OF TRACEABILITY/PRODUCT TRACING (Agenda Item 6)28

75. The Committee recalled that the 49th (Extraordinary) Session of the Executive Committee had considered the question of traceability in the framework of Codex and agreed that Regional Coordinating Committees may wish to contribute to the debate on this question. The Committee on General Principles also referred to the role of the Coordinating Committees and agreed that the results of the discussion in those Committees would be integrated in the discussion paper to be prepared by the Secretariat for consideration by its 18th Session.

76. The Delegation of The Philippines expressed its view that consideration of traceability/product tracing was only acceptable when a risk was related to human health or no other alternative to manage the risk was available, and that the traceability/product tracing may be applied to TBT measures when necessary to meet a legitimate objectives. In this regard, the Delegation raised questions regarding the relationship between the work of Codex and TBT matters.

77. The Delegation of Indonesia expressed the view that consideration of traceability/product tracing on animal feeding was to facilitate the prompt trace-back or trace-forward of materials and products if any actual or potential health risks were identified, and where prompt and complete withdrawal or recall of products was necessary. In this regard, Indonesia supported the application of traceability/product tracing only for food safety matters and was concerned about its use for TBT measures such as consumer’s choice or animal welfare.

78. The Delegation of Thailand expressed its view that although Thailand recognized the usefulness of traceability/product tracing in commercial transactions, it was still unclear on how traceability could ensure food safety. The Delegation also stated that it would be more appropriate to use other equivalent approaches that also take into account the economic impact on developing countries. On this basis, Thailand could support the implementation of product tracing based on the principle of “one step forward/one step back” in each stage of food chain. The Delegation of China also expressed its view that the concept of traceability was still ambiguous in Codex although China had already implemented a recall system if risk had been identified in health matters.

79. The delegation of Japan informed the Committee that after the outbreak of BSE in Japan, Japanese consumers had serious concerns about food safety, therefore Japan was considering incorporation of a traceability system for the recovery of confidence in the food safety system. The Delegation noted that there was no clear definition of “traceability/product tracing” for Codex purposes and stated that guidance on this matter should be provided by the CCGP.

80. The Committee expressed the view that comprehensive application of traceability would not serve the desired purposes and so it shall be applied strictly on a case-to-case basis after taking account all the following five criteria:

81. The delegation of India stated that even genetically modified foods should be put to the test mentioned above before a decision was taken with regard to the application of traceability. In the opinion of the delegation, it was therefore felt that the scope of traceability should be well defined and it should be applicable only to processed foods and should exclude primary foods and processes, and it should be required only for the purposes of recall as a management option.

82. The Delegation of India therefore was of the opinion that Codex should only establish the working principles for traceability and the manner of development and implementation should be left to the national regulatory authorities on a case-by-case basis.

83. The Observer of Consumers International (CI) emphasized that application of traceability in Codex should be taken into consideration to ensure the consumers’ health and wholesome foods following a precautionary approach.

84. Regarding the definition of traceability developed by ISO, the Delegation of Japan expressed its view that it was unclear whether the definition of traceability in ISO could be applied or not, because the purpose of ISO definition is mainly focused on non-perishable industrial materials rather than food. The Delegation stressed that Codex should consider the definition of traceability for its own purpose. The Delegation of India supported this view.

85. The Secretariat informed the Coordinating Committee that the results of the discussion would be integrated in the discussion paper for the CCGP, together with the regional information collected from other Regional Committees.

DISCUSSION PAPER ON FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND NOVEL FOODS (OTHER THAN FROM BIOTECHNOLOGY (Agenda Item 7)29

86. The Delegation of Malaysia introduced the discussion paper prepared in response to the 47th Session of the Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission following a proposal from the Region of Asia to commence work in the area of novel foods (other than from biotechnology), functional foods, and foods that also were considered to be at the food/drug interface.

87. The first part of paper considered the need to define the scope and concept of functional foods, a classification system and criteria, conditions for making health claims, and evaluation of the safety of functional foods including methods of analysis. The second part of document referred to need for a clear definition of novel foods (other than biotechnology), guidance including product information, safety assessment etc. In order to provide guidance on these issues, the Delegation recommended the convening of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on functional foods and novel foods to examine the need for an international standard to provide better regulatory control of these foods, benefiting the industry and the consumers worldwide

88. Many Delegations expressed their compliments to the Delegation of Malaysia for its work to summarize these complex matters. The Delegations of Thailand and Indonesia supported the organization of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation. However they recommended that first priority should be given to a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on functional food. The Delegation of Japan stated that Japan had already been enforcing regulations that permitted approved health claims since 2001. However, the Delegation expressed its concern that these issues required careful consideration to avoid duplicating discussions in the CCFL and OECD.

89. The Secretariat introduced the report of the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Evaluation of Health and Nutritional Properties of Probiotics in Food including Powder Milk with Live Lactic Acid Bacteria, convened in October 2001 at the request of the Government of Argentina. This Consultation had considered the need for specific and substantiated health claims for probiotics, and its recommendations were particularly relevant with regard to the Proposed Draft Recommendations for Use of Health and Nutrition Claims. The Representatives of FAO and WHO pointed out that there was no plan at present to organize such an Expert Consultation. However, these would be considered future Expert Consultation if the feasibility and necessity of regional demand were crucial.

90. The Delegation of China informed the Coordinating Committee of the current status of functional food and novels food regulations in China covering aspects of historical use, legal aspects, labelling and functional evaluation. The Delegation also expressed that the need for a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation, because there were currently gaps in the perception of these foods according to the regional basis (or western or oriental).

91. The Delegation of Republic of Korea also informed the Committee of the current situation of functional foods in Korea. The Delegation indicated that recently Health Functional Food Act had been introduced to manage functional foods in Korea: detailed enforcement regulations were under development including those for Health Supplement products and Nutritional Supplement products which were regulated by the Food Sanitation Act. However, the Delegation noted that the Republic of Korea did not have the definition of novel food because most novel food claimed its own functionality and suggested the inclusion of novel foods in the category of functional foods.

92. The observer of IACFO supported the proposal to convene a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on functional food and also expressed the view that experts that would communicate consumer interests or consumer views should participate in the Consultation. They stressed that the expert consultation should focuse on food safety issues because labelling and claim issues were dealt with by CCFL.

93. Taking into consideration the above discussion, the Coordinating Committee recommended that FAO and WHO organize an Expert Consultation on functional foods and include Asian experts among those invited to participate. The Committee noted that there was an urgent need to initiate work on functional foods in the near future.

CAPACITY BUILDING FOR FOOD STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
(Agenda Item 8)
30

94. The Committee recalled that FAO and WHO had been called upon to strengthen capacity building activities, particularly in relation to risk analysis capabilities in developing countries at the 23rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (July 1999). It also recalled that the Executive Heads of FAO, WHO, WTO, WB and OIE, in a joint statement issued at the occasion of the WTO Ministerial Meeting held in Doha in November 2001, had expressed their commitment to strengthening the capacity of developing countries to meet the requirements of the SPS agreement.

95. The Committee invited Representatives of FAO and WHO to present capacity building activities in the region undertaken in part or in whole by FAO and WHO during the period since the last Regional Codex Coordinating Committee meeting (23-26 November 1999) including a brief on regional or national capacity building activities that are in the process of being approved.

96. The Representatives of FAO and WHO expressed satisfaction with the decision to include this subject as a standing item in all Regional Codex Coordinating Committee meetings. The presentation of the document covered global activities, regional activities and national activities undertaken during the reporting period. Except for national level activities and projects, most of the capacity building activities have been carried out jointly by FAO and WHO, sometimes in association with other organizations. Reference was made to the discussion on this subject during the first Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators (Marrakech, January 2002) and to the request made by the participating countries for increased attention and resource allocation by FAO, WHO and other agencies to cover the needs of developing countries in all food safety related matters. The meeting was informed that the second Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators will address the theme “Building Effective Food Safety Systems” and will include capacity building as a main component.

97. The representatives informed the meeting of the different capacity building initiatives undertaken by the Organizations and in particular the FAO Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety, the FAO Integrated Programme for Building Capacity in Biotechnology, Food Quality and Safety, and Phyto- and Zoosanitary Standards; and the Joint FAO/WHO/OIE/WTO/WB Facility for Capacity Building in Standards and Trade Development which will cover mainly SPS-related subjects, i.e food safety, animal and plant health. The Joint FAO/WHO Trust Fund for the Participation of Developing Countries in Codex Standards Setting Procedures (see item 2) would not cover these capacity building activities.

98. The meeting was also informed of those major international capacity building programmes and projects in which the countries of the region were direct participants and beneficiaries. These included (i) the Enhancement of Coffee Quality through Prevention of Mould Formation in which coffee research and development institutions in India and Indonesia play the role of sub-regional collaborating centers and received direct support from the project; (ii) The FAO Umbrella Programme for training on Uruguay Round and Future Negotiations on Agriculture the first phase of which was completed in 2001 and included 14 sub-regional workshops of which 2 where held in the region (Kathmandu, Nepal and Los Banos, Philippines); the second phase of the project has been formulated and is under consideration for funding.

99. At the regional level, seminars and workshops were organized to support national food safety authorities. These included: the series of meetings organized with support from ILSI to assist the SAARC countries in harmonizing their food standards and regulations with Codex; the Regional Workshop on Microbiological Risk Analysis (Beijing, May 2002); the Regional Workshop on Food Safety, organized organized in collaboration with NFPA (Bangkok, June 2002); the Regional Workshop on Operational Plans of Action for Food Safety in Western Pacific (Manila, 2000); and the pre-Codex Workshop on Applying Risk Analysis to Food Safety – Practical Approaches (Kuala Lumpur, 2002). The meeting was further informed of the WHO regional strategy for food safety which was adopted by WHO Regional Committee at its 52nd Session and which committed WHO to support advocacy and awareness-raising effort as keys to increasing political commitment to national food safety effort.

100. At the national level, the representative of FAO informed on the on-going field projects on capacity building in food safety (including the establishment and operation of national codex committees) supported by FAO’s Technical Cooperation Programme which covered the following countries: Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Mongolia, and Vietnam. He further informed of projects under funding negotiation in the following countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Thailand.

101. The WHO Representative informed in particular of the WHO/ADB project in Vietnam which provides support to the Food administration in addressing comprehensively different components of food safety programmes.

102. All Delegations welcomed the capacity building reports of FAO and WHO and expressed their appreciation for the capacity building activities undertaken by FAO and WHO in this region. The Delegation of Indonesia stated that the Coffee project which is being carried out in Indonesia is quite helpful to emphasize capacity building in coffee-producing countries, with the aim of formulating codes of practice for the coffee industry. The Delegation also stated that the use of trust fund should be shared and opened for capacity building. Indonesia has requested technical assistance with strengthening compliance of the SPS requirements for facilitating laboratory, residue analysis etc.

103. The Delegation of India, stated that for the credibility and legitimacy of the Codex process, it was important that there be substantive participation of developing countries in its work. Therefore, capacity building efforts should be at the very core of multilateral efforts in food safety. While warmly appreciating the effort made by the FAO and WHO in this field, it noted that these efforts have been largely for sensitization on food safety issues. Since the demands are huge and needs may, these ad hoc efforts, useful by themselves, would not lead to long term and sustainable results. Therefore, the Delegation stressed the needs for comprehensive strategies on capacity building based on National Plan of Action based on assessment. Sustainability demands strengthening of institutions in the long term as also web based training and sensitization programmes that would multiply the reach. The Delegation suggested that high high staff, travel and organizational costs be reduced and these funds should be utilized for substantive activities. The Delegation also recommended that a technical consultation be organized by FAO and WHO to address this strategic question related to capacity building. It also referred to its paper presented in the Global Forum on Food Safety held at Marrakech, Morocco in January 2002.

104. The Delegation of Thailand expressed that all the major food exports of Thailand were the subject of GMP and HACCP implementation. Thailand had shared its expertise in these areas with neighboring countries such as Laos, Philippine and Myanmar under the FAO/TCP projects. However, the Delegation pointed out that Thailand still needed the technical competence to ensure self-strengthening and efficiency. In this regard, Thailand fully supported continuous activity from FAO and WHO and keeping capacity building programme of FAO and WHO in this region.

105. The Delegation of Nepal stated that capacity building was a crucial issue in Nepal because it was difficult to implement food safety management. Nepal recognized that the importance of food safety issues had increased every year after the inception of WTO in 1995. In this regard, Codex was taking position in central place. The Delegation indicated that the food chain in developing countries was much longer than those of more industrialized countries due to the condition of national and local infrastructures. The Delegation pointed out that capacity building issues covered a broad spectrum of elements with the food regulations, embodying requirements of SPS/TBT in line with Codex standards and had to take into account preventive and multi disciplinary approaches. In this matter, Nepal urged FAO/WHO to initiate regional and sub-regional projects to strengthen capacity building to include elements of GMP, HACCP and exposure assessment of chemicals in the food supply.

106. The Delegation of China expressed its view that China, as a new the member of WTO, expected FAO/WHO to maintain their continuous support and cooperation. The Delegation pointed out that the use of capacity building should be more focused on technical aspects such as analytical issues rather than only workshops and seminars in China.

107. The Delegation of Cambodia noted that currently two on-going field projects on capacity building in food safety were underway under the FAO/TCP in Cambodia. These activities had highlighted the importance of public health and have raised awareness of food safety in Cambodia. The Delegation of Cambodia pointed out that the establishment of food laws and regulations based on food safety and quality requirement should be taken into account to meet the requirements of SPS Agreements. In this regard Cambodia has requested assistance for building national capacity to strengthen food safety.

108. The Delegation of Sri Lanka expressed its view that Sri Lanka needed FAO’s and WHO’s continuous support and appealed to FAO/WHO for technical assistance to strengthen national regulatory framework, monitoring, evaluation, risk analysis and participation at Codex meetings.

109. The Observer of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) stated that ILSI has contributed to increasing understanding of scientific issues regarding food safety, nutrition, and environment health and ILSI has particular concern about encouraging use of scientifically sound risk assessment as a basis for food safety regulatory systems. In this regard, ILSI cooperated with FAO and WHO by assisting in the organization of the workshop preceding this session of Committee and expressed such efforts would be continued in cooperation with FAO and WHO.

110. The Observer of Consumers International (CI) also expressed its appreciation to participate regional FAO/WHO workshop and asked FAO/WHO to support participation of consumer group in all regional meeting. The Observer also expected to participate all Codex working groups.

111. The Committee commended the different initiatives taken by the two organizations to further enhance these activities to cover the needs of the developing countries of the Region.

INFORMATION AND REPORTS ON FOOD CONTROL AND FOOD SAFETY ISSUES INCLUDING CODEX STANDARDS (Agenda Item 9)31

Reports by FAO and WHO

112. The Representatives of FAO and WHO presented on the work of scientific advice provided by FAO and WHO to their member countries and the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for the period 2000 – mid 2002. They noted that FAO/WHO had made significant changes to the procedures for the selection of experts to ensure transparency, independence, geographical distribution and differences of opinions among experts. The representatives stressed that selected experts participate in FAO/WHO scientific meetings in their personal capacities, not as representatives of their institutions or governments. The Organizations were also working on the generation of national data from countries to supplement global and regional data.

Reports by Member Countries

113. Member countries of the Region, Observer countries and Observer organizations contributed extensively to the debate under this item. The following is a summary of the individual statements made. Most of the participants deposited written statements, either in the formal working papers or in Conference Room Documents. These documents will be made available from the Codex website32.

China33

114. After its entry into the WTO, China had taken series of measures in this area in order to reinforce and strengthen food safety. These measures include: 1) improvement and perfection of the legal framework such as formulation of the Regulation on Biosafety Control of GM agricultural product in 2001, revisions of regulations pertaining to food additives, and guidelines for application of HACCP; 2) review and revision of more than 400 regulations and related texts to harmonize with Codex standards; 3) rationalization of market economy order in an effort to develop a sound economy status nation-wide; and 4) dissemination of information on food safety through internet. In addition, it was reported that many of those important information could be reviewed through the Internet.

Thailand34

115. The National Food Safety Control Programme of Thailand covers whole food chain and involves various government agencies that are expected to play specific roles as outlined in the legislation. The recent activities include 1) development of legislation, standards and code of practice such as improvement of the food control system to encourage producers to implementing GMPs, HACCP, application of risk assessment, development of standards for agricultural products and GAP; 2) enhancement of cooperation among national agencies involved in food safety control; 3) development of food industries for international standards through education and technical assistance on GMPs, HACPP; and 4) distribution of information to consumers through various means including web site. In future development,Thailand is in the process of structuring government agencies concerning food safety to create best networking and coordination. However, Thailand has experienced some problems regarding application of Codex standards.

Indonesia35

116. Since Indonesian Food Law was established six years ago, various food safety plans such as improvement of food safety awareness of both food producers and consumers have been developed by various government institutions and related stakeholders. The National Agency for Drug and Food Control (NADFC) was established about two years ago in order to carry out an effective and efficient control in ensuring that foods distributed to public are fit and safe for human consumption.

117. A Total Food Safety Control Policy has been set up as a policy to control food safety from farm to table based on integrated inter-sectoral approach by utilizing all related government agencies. NADFC networking with district governments will be strengthened in the near future to improve the competencies of district food inspectors through training program.

Singapore36

118. Since 1 July 2002, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) has become the national food safety authority with regulatory control over all locally produced and imported food including food standard and labelling. A major focus of the AVA will be strengthening of control over imported processed foods with appropriate control measures such as securing food safety at source, regulated food establishments, encouragement of implementation of HACCP, regulatory control of import consignments and importers, inspection at point of entry, identifying high-risk products for tighter control, improvement of testing capabilities for harmful contaminants and organisms.

Malaysia37

119. New initiatives are now being identified to enhance the food safety programme. This include review of laws to meet with international requirements, emphasis on import and export control, upgrading analytical capabilities, promoting GMP and HACCP, improving data management, and increased participation in international activities related to food safety. National Food Safety and Nutrition Council, composed by relevant government agencies and non-governmental stakeholders, was established in February 2002 as a platform for multisectoral agencies to set consensual clear policies and strategies for the continuous improvement of the food safety programme.

Philippines

120. A National Food Safety Plan of Action had been drawn-up in collaboration between the Departments of Agriculture and Health. The formulation of the plan was guided by the 1998 WHO guidelines. The Plan is based on a model where policy, standards and formulation of legal/regulatory instruments are considered at coordinated level, and implementation is lodged in distinct and separate but highly interactive agencies. It is guided by the principles of clarity of objectives, autonomy from political intervention, transparency and accountability, predictability and broad-based participation. The plan calls for the creation of a National Food Safety Committee led by the Department of Health and the National Food Safety Committee would be fully activated soon.

121. The issues of HACCP accreditation for fish and meat, education campaigns on food safety issues including pesticide residues, microbial contamination and parasite in vegetables which include sanitation officer in local governments units, and training on risk assessment of foods derived from GMOs currently have developed in Philippines

Japan38

122. Regarding the BSE issue, measures were introduced after an occurrence of BSE in Japan to test all slaughtered cattle for confirmation of absence of the disease. In order to assist countries exporting towards Japan, Japan is willing to conduct technical cooperation in the field of BSE testing. A new independent government council will be established next year to conduct food safety risk assessments. The Food sanitation law is also under process of revision and will enhance harmonization to Codex standard. There have been substantial developments also in the area of Labelling for Genetically Modified Foods, and in Health Claims for foods.

Pakistan39

123. The Pure Food Ordinance (1960) and Pure Food Rules (1963) provided the current basic legislation for food control. To develop food standards, the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) has been established under Ministry of Science & Technology. The authority has developed/reviewed more than 250 standards on various food products. Most of standards were generally voluntary but standards for hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO)/edible oils, biscuits, drinking water, and bottled and mineral water have been declared mandatory. Recently the Pakistan Food Quality Control Council (PFQCC) has been reactivated and the Pure Food Laws would be updated to meet the requirements of WTO/SPS/TBT measures. In this regard Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock has been proactive. WHO has provided US$ 15,000 under JPRM-programme to develop National Plans on Food Safety. This plan would cover the issue concerning biological hazards (including risk analysis, HACCP), chemical hazards, capacity building. Under this plan the food laws would be updated and strengthening the food analytical laboratories together with the revamping the food inspection system..

Nepal

124. Nepal was in the process of revamping food laws and regulations to accelerate drafting of new regulations. The new law would take account of the preventive aspects of quality and safety management in the food chain. Existing standards were being reviewed to accommodated Codex standard wherever feasible and practicable in the body of national regulation. Code of Good Practices for processing and small slaughtering units were being implemented taking account of GMP and HACCP and Code of Agricultural Practices is under preparation to minimize pesticide hazards in vegetable.

India

125. Since last session of CCASIA, domestic regulations have being revised substantially in order to make the regulations more food safety oriented. Strengthening of National Codex Committee is also underway by implementing FAO technical assistance programme. It is expected that the awareness to Codex by the relevant stakeholders will be enhanced through this project. A comprehensive capacity building project in the food safety area is being negotiated with World Bank. Furthermore, the government has been formulating a national HACCP implementation plan in collaboration with industries, networking of academic and technical institutions and has started comprehensive harmonization exercise with Codex standard to the extent possible.

Republic of Korea

126. In order to contribute to the improvement of national health by preventing sanitary dangers, harm caused by food and improving the quality of food nutrition, all foods were currently regulated under the provision of the Food Sanitation Act. Regarding GM foods, a new labeling regulation has been implemented since July 2001 to ensure the consumers’ right to know for their choice. In view of increasing public interest in food safety, food safety policy has been extended to all steps of the food chain from farm to consumer tables to ensure food safety. In this regard, Korea has implemented HACCP application as a voluntary system that has proved quite useful.

127. Regarding functional food, the Health Functional Food Act was recently passed for the effective management of functional foods and protection of public health. Detailed enforcement regulations are currently being developed. These will include regulations for Health Supplement products and Nutritional Supplement Products that were previously regulated by the Food Sanitation Act. The Health Functional Food Act would be fully implemented next year.

Cambodia

128. Regarding its legal framework, Cambodia has adopted a new Food Law in 2000, and technical regulations including labeling, condition of storage and transport. Some other regulations related to food safety were in process of being prepared such as food hygiene. Efforts are made in improving the efficiency of food inspection and food surveillance. Many agencies were responsible for food safety management. Especially, the Ministry of Agriculture has taken charge of street foods. A National Codex Committee had been set up by technical assistance from FAO and WHO. The established standards would be harmonized with Codex Standards. Laboratories for food analysis have been set up but technical skill was still a problem due to of low technical competence and lack of human resources. In this regard, Cambodia was looking for continuing technical assistance from FAO and WHO.

Sri Lanka

129. Food safety issue is governed by the Food Act. Currently, 23 regulations are in the process of revision including regulations relating to genetically modified foods. It is felt that integrated approach to food safety from farm to table is not well established and therefore needs serious study. The national import and export certification system needs improvement in order to assure the safety for imported and exported food and the government is seeking assistance from international organizations.

Reports by Observers

Australia40

130. The Commonwealth Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (AFFA) and Health and Ageing (DoHA) and their associated agencies, namely the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), managed food safety issues at the national level. The development and implementation of food safety polices and programs were undertaken by AFFA, DoHA, AQIS and FSANZ in consultation with State and Territory Governments. One of the recent major reforms was completion of the transition from the former Australia New Zealand Food Authority to FSANZ. As a result of this transition, the revised joint Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code would become the sole set of food standards for Australia at the end of 2002 and the former standards will be repealed. Australia expected that the joint Code would remove unnecessary prescription, giving the industry greater freedom to be innovative in their business operation while maintaining the protection of public health and safety.

131. Regarding Primary Production and Processing Standards, FSANZ would take responsibility for developing these standards to ensure that safe food supply through a consistent approach across the entire food chain without being trade restrictive or by placing an excessive regulatory burden on industry while maintaining the protection of public health and safety.

ICGMA41

132. The Observer from the International Council of Grocery Manufacturers Associations (ICGMA) stated that harmonization of food safety regulations and approval of food standards based on GSFA by each government were important in light of facilitating trade. It welcomed the initiative for harmonization seen in Asian region. It also recommended use of JECFA evaluation as basis for national standards specially those for food additives.

CONSUMER PARTICIPATION IN FOOD STANDARD SETTING AT THE CODEX AND NATIONAL LEVEL (Agenda Item 10)

133. The Committee noted the Codex Alimentarius Commission for number of years has recommended member countries to take steps to enhance consumer participation in food standard setting procedure both at national level and international level, and had instructed that this be placed on the Agendas of Regional Coordinating Committees as a standing item. The members of the Committee had been invited to report the situation of consumer participation in each country (CL 2002/12-ASIA). All member countries that reported stressed the importance of participation of consumers in the process of food safety regulations and standard setting. The reports from member countries are summarized below.

Malaysia

134. Consumer organizations had several opportunities to take part in the food standard settings both at national and at Codex level. They were invited to all meeting related to food safety held by Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs which is responsible for consumer interests. Consumers are also represented by non-governmental organizations such as the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Association (FOMCA) in all relevant meetings including those of national Codex Committee.

Thailand

135. Consumer organizations are involved in the process of developing national comments to the Codex as well as drafting national food standards coordinated by such government agencies Thai Standard Institute or Food and Drug Administration of Thailand. However, it was reported that there was difficulty in selecting the appropriate consumer organizations to participate in this process due to the very large number of consumer organizations, many having different interests.

Philippines

136. Consumers were well represented in the major bodies dealing with food standards and food safety issues such as the technical committees of the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards, the Task Force for International Food Standards, and the National Consumers Affairs Council.

Indonesia

137. The National Codex Committee involves the Indonesian Consumers Association and other non-government organizations in the preparation process of comments in preparation for Codex meetings. However, it was reported that the Indonesian government expects more participation of this Association in the activities of National Codex Committee.

Japan

138. The Government has been actively involving consumers’ associations in the process of drafting or modifying regulations on food safety or food standards by seeking opinions through internet. It also invited representatives of consumers to several Government Councils that discuss food safety issue and standards.

India

139. Consumer organizations are fully involved in the food legislative and standard setting process by taking part in every relevant Committee and they often attend Codex meetings as country delegations.

Sri Lanka

140. Consumer participation is supported at both national and community level. At community level, there are many forums for community participation. At national level, community participation is ensured by having two placements for consumer organizations in the Food Advisory Committee. However, consumer consciousness on food safety issue is not satisfactory and needs to be enhanced.

Republic of Korea

141. Food Sanitation Advisory Committee always includes consumers’ opinions and consumer groups are also taking part actively in setting food safety regulations.

Nepal

142. Consumer representatives are part of food standard setting bodies and they are fully involved.

Observer Organizations

143. Observers representing consumer organizations also expressed their views on this issue. International Association of Consumer Food Organizations (IACFO) appreciated that many member countries had established National Codex Committees and pointed out that National Codex Committee should meet be held in advance of every Codex Committee and be open to all consumer groups. It also recommended member governments to include consumer representatives in the delegations. Consumers International (CI) encouraged member governments to set up National Codex Committees and hold a public meeting in which all interested parties including consumer organizations could express their opinions to the relevant Codex meetings. CI asked that consumer organizations be invited to Workshops, Training Courses, Seminars which FAO and WHO convene. It further suggested that meetings of Expert Consultations dealing with for risk assessment be open to consumers to enhance transparency.

144. On this matter, the Secretariat stated FAO/WHO expert meetings were attended by experts selected in an individual capacity who were not expected to represent a organization or represent any particular interest, and that the presence of special interest groups in these meetings could undermine the independence and integrity of the scientific advice provided by FAO and WHO. However, with the introduction of the new transparent process for the identification and selection of experts, consumers’ organizations were welcome to recommend scientists with appropriate qualifications to be considered as independent members of these expert panels.

NOMINATION OF COORDINATOR (Agenda Item 11)42

145. The Coordinating Committee noted that under Rule III.1, the Commission at its next Regular Session would be invited to appoint a Coordinator for the Region, based on a proposal from the Member countries of the Region, at that it had been established practice for the Regional Coordinating Committee to provide a nomination for this purpose.

146. The Delegation of Japan, noting that Malaysia had expressed its wish not to be considered for reappointment as Coordinator, proposed that the new Coordinator should be a country of the Region that had not previously held this position but was active in the Commission’s activities. On this basis, the Delegation proposed the nomination of the Republic of Korea. This proposal was unanimously supported by the Committee.

147. The Delegation of the Republic of Korea thanked all of the Delegations that supported the nomination and accepted the nomination as a new Regional Coordinator of Asia...

148. The Coordinating Committee expressed its appreciation of the work of the outgoing Coordinator, Malaysia, for all of the work accomplished in the present period and for the excellent organization of the current session of the Coordinating Committee.

OTHER BUSINESS, FUTURE WORK, DATE AND PLACE OF NEXT SESSION
(Agenda Item 12)

Other Business

Refrigerated, non-fermented soybean products

149. The Delegation of China introduced its proposal (contained in Conference Room Document 24) for the Codex Alimentarius Commission to begin the elaboration of a standard for these products. The Delegation pointed out that China was one of the most important suppliers of soybean for human consumption in the world and that a variety of products such as soybean oil, bean cakes, and soy sauce. In addition, there was increasing world demand for refrigerated non-fermented soybean products. The Delegation noted the importance of these products for a healthy diet with high vegetable protein content with reduced fat and calories compared with other foods. The Conference Room Document contained a brief flow-chart describing the process of preparation of these products.

150. The Regional Coordinating Committee expressed its interest in the proposal and invited the Delegation of China to prepare a more complete discussion paper for its next session, containing information about the product and process description, labelling (including name of the food(s)), and trade data. It also requested the Delegation to include information on the production, trade and marketing of these products in other countries of the Region.

The Need for MRLs for Chloramphenicol in Shrimp

151. The Delegation of Indonesia introduced Conference Room Document 18 that outlined problems facing exporters of shrimp due to the detection of residues or traces of chloramphenicol. The Delegation noted that over the years the regulation of chloramphenicol residues had become stricter, with the implementation of a zero-tolerance approach by importing countries and a progressive reduction in the limit of analytical detection. The Delegation questioned the scientific basis for imposing a zero tolerance (including the reported association with aplastic anaemia) and stated that neither JECFA nor the CCFAC had established maximum residue limits for chloramphenicol especially in shrimp. The Delegation stated that there was an urgent need to establish a MRL for chloramphenicol in shrimp to avoid such technical barriers to trade.

152. The Delegation of Vietnam stated that a major question to be addressed was the progressive reduction of the limit of analytical detection that resulted from the use of new techniques and equipment in the importing countries without adequate advice, forewarning or technical assistance to exporting countries. Such abrupt changes in the analytical methodology meant that very expensive investments in training and in laboratory equipment in the exporting countries were suddenly made valueless. The Delegation of India stated that since this was a problem not exclusively associated with chloramphenicol in shrimp but concerned other antibiotics and contaminants and in respect of other products also and it needed to be addressed more widely and urgently. The Delegation of Indonesia also stated that samples of fish and shellfish caught in the open sea had shown the presence of chloramphenicol at low levels.

153. The Delegation of Thailand stated that the use of chloramphenicol in shrimp production had recently been prohibited in the country, with the introduction of appropriate control measures.

154. The Secretariat pointed out that JECFA had evaluated chloramphenicol on a number of occasions43 and in each case had come to the conclusion that there were no acceptable residues of chloramphenicol in foods and that as a result no maximum residue limits could be established. Nevertheless, if a Member country believed that there were new scientific data that would demonstrate the safety of residues due to the use of chloramphenicol in processing, or as an incidental contaminant, a request for a re-evaluation to JECFA could be made through the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods. The Coordinating Committee recommended that the Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods take up this matter.

155. In relation to the matter of analytical methodology for determination of residues of substances not permitted or severely restricted in foods (as raised by Vietnam and India above), the Committee requested that relevant Codex Committee (CCMAS, CCRVDF, CCFAC, CCPR) to give urgent attention to the resolution of the problem of abrupt changes in analytical techniques, and changes in detection limits (levels determination).

Future Work

156. The Coordinating Committee noted that its future work would depend to a considerable degree on the recommendations of the Commission and the Executive Committee, but it expected that its next agenda would include the following items:

Asian Forum of Food Safety Regulators

157. The Committee recommended that FAO and WHO jointly organize an Asian Forum of Food Safety Regulators in 2003 to follow through the recommendations of the first Joint FAO/WHO Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators in Marrakech including establishment of plan of action and to make recommendations for the coming second joint FAO/WHO Global Forum on Food Safety regulators in 2004. The Committee noted by Malaysia's wish to host the forum, subject to approval by the government.

Date and Place of the Next Session

158. The Coordinating Committee was advised that the date and place of the next session would be agreed upon by the Codex Secretariat and the Regional Coordinator to be appointed by the next Regular Session of the Commission.

SUMMARY STATUS OF WORK

Subject Matter

Step

Action by

Document Reference on ALINORM 03/15

Proposed Draft Standard for Instant Noodles

5

26th CAC

para. 74

Nomination of Coordinator

 

26th CAC

para. 146

Joint FAO/WHO Evaluation of the Codex Alimentarius and other FAO and WHO Work on Food Standards

 

25th CAC

para. 33-37

Draft Medium-Term Plan

 

26th CAC

para. 38-58

Consideration of Traceability and Product Tracing

 

CCFICS
CCGP

para. 75-85

Information and Reports on Food Control and Food Safety Issues

 

Governments
14th CCASIA

para. 112-132

Consumer Participation in Food Standard Setting at National Level

 

Governments
14th CCASIA

para. 133-144

APPENDIX I

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS



Chairperson: Datin Dr. Hjh. Harrison Aziz Shahabudin
Director
Food Quality Control Division
Ministry of Health Malaysia
Level 3, Block B
Health Offices Complex
Jalan Cenderasari
50590 Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA
Tel. : +603 2694 6512
Fax : + 603 2694 6517
E-mail : [email protected]

BANGLADESH

BHUTAN

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

CAMBODIA

CHINA

INDIA

INDONESIA

JAPAN

REPUBLIC OF KOREA

LAO PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

MALAYSIA

NEPAL

PAKISTAN

PHILIPPINES

SINGAPORE

SRI LANKA

THAILAND

VIET NAM

OBSERVER COUNTRIES

AUSTRALIA

CANADA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

ASEAN VEGETABLE OIL CLUB (AVOC)

CONSUMERS INTERNATIONAL (CI)

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONSUMER FOOD ORGANIZATIONS (IACFO)

INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR DIETARY / FOOD SUPPLEMENT ASSOCIATIONS (IADSA)

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF GROCERY MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATIONS (ICGMA)

INTERNATIONAL LIFE SCIENCES INSTITUTE (ILSI)

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO)

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)

JOINT FAO/WHO SECRETARIAT

APPENDIX II

DRAFT STANDARD FOR INSTANT NOODLE



The standard shall apply to various kinds of noodles. The instant noodle may be packed with noodle seasonings, or in the form of seasoned noodle and with or without noodle garnish(s) in separate pouches, or sprayed on noodle and ready for consumption after rehydration process. [This standard does not apply to pasta].

2. DESCRIPTION

Instant Noodle is a product prepared from wheat flour and/or rice flour and/or other flours and/or starches as the main ingredient, with or without the addition of other ingredients. It may be treated by alkaline agents. It is characterized by the use of pregelatinization process and dehydration either by frying or by other methods. The product should be presented as one of the following styles:

Fried noodles, or
Non-fried noodles

3. ESSENTIAL COMPOSITION AND QUALITY FACTORS

Wheat Flour and/or Rice Flour and/or other flours and/or starches.
Water.

The optional ingredients shall be ingredient(s) which are commonly used.

Shall be acceptable in term of appearance, texture, aroma, taste and color.

The product shall be free from foreign matter.

a) Moisture Content:

Maximum of 10 % for fried noodles
Maximum of 14.0% for non-fried noodles

b) Acid value:

Maximum of 2.0 mg KOH/g oil (applicable only to fried noodles)

c) [Peroxide Value:

Maximum of 30 meq/kg oil]

The use of food additive(s) as well as food additive(s) carry-over shall comply with the maximum level permitted by the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), CODEX STAN 192-1995 (Rev 2-1999).

The products covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum limits established by the Codex Committee on Additives and Contaminants.

Instant noodles shall be packaged in containers which will safeguard the hygienic, nutritional, technological and organoleptic qualities of the product.
The containers, including the packaging materials, shall be made of substances which are safe and suitable for their intended use. They should not impart any toxic substances or undesirable odour or flavour to the product.

7.1. It is recommended that the products covered by the provisions of this standard be prepared and handled in accordance with the appropriate sections of the Recommended International Code of Practice – General Principle of Food Hygiene (CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev.3-1997) and other relevant Codex texts such as Codes of Hygienic Practice and Codes of Practice.
7.2. The products should comply with any microbiological criteria established in accordance with the Principles for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods (CAC/GL 21-1997).

The product covered by this Standard shall be labelled in accordance with the General Standard for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods (CODEX STAN 1-1985, Rev. 2-1999, Codex Alimentarius Vol 1A).

The name of the food shall be “Instant Noodle(s)”, or optionally as “Fried Noodle(s) or “Non-fried Noodle(s) in accordance to Subsections 2.1 and 2.2. Other names may be used if allowed by national legislation.

Claim on “Halal” Instant Noodles shall follow the appropriate section of the Codex General Guidelines for Use of The Term “HALAL” (CAC/GL 24-1997)

Sampling shall follow the “FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Sampling Plans for Prepackaged Foods” (AQL-6.5) (Ref No. CAC/RM 42-1969)

Use Codex accepted method

Use Codex accepted method

Use Codex accepted method

Use Codex accepted method

1 CX/ASIA 02/2 , CX/ASIA 02/2 Add.1 , CRD1(Indonesia), CRD3(Indonesia), CRD8(Thailand), CRD15(Philippine),CRD 16 (Thailand), CRD 17(Thailand), CRD18(India), CRD19(Indonesia), CRD 22 (China), CRD25,26,27,28,29(b)(India)

2 CX/ASIA 02/2

3 CRD 1

4 CRD 1

5 CRD 8

6 CRD 3

7 CRD 19

8 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1, CRD 26

9 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1

10 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1, CRD 27

11 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1, CRD 28

12 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1

13 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1

14 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1

15 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1, CRD 29(b)

16 CX/ASIA 02

17 CRD 16

18 CRD 15

19 CRD 17

20 CX/ASIA 02/2-Add.1, CRD 22

21 CX/ASIA 02/3; CRD 9 (Comments of Thailand); FAO document PC 88/5(b) Update on the Progress of the Joint FAO/WHO Evaluation of the Codex Alimentarius and Other FAO and WHO Work on Food Standards, CRD15 (Philippines), CRD 31(LAO PDR)

22 ALINORM 03/3A, paragraphs 7-19.

23 CX/ASIA 02/4; CRD 10 (Comments of Thailand).

24 CX/ASIA 02/5, CX/ASIA/ 02/5-Add.1, CX/02/5-Add.2, CRD2 (Japan), CRD7 (Malaysia), CRD11 (Thailand), CRD 15 (Philippines), CRD 30 (Japan)

25 Colours: Turmeric (E 100ii), Tartrazine (E102), Caramel (E105d), Sunset Yellow (E110), Titanium Dioxide (E171), Annatto Extract (E160b); Stabilizers: Calcium carbonate (E170); Emulsifiers: Sodium pyrophosphate (E452); Acidity Regulators: Aluminium potassium sulphate (E522); Anticaking Agents: Silicon dioxide (E551), Tricalcium phosphate (E341).

26 Antioxidants:BHA 200mg/kg ; BHT 200 mg/kg; TBHQ 200mg/kg (CRD 11)

27 Potassium sorbate, total level of additive as sorbic acid shall not be more than 1000 mg/kg ; Aspartame, 40 mg/kg ; Carrageenan, ADI not specified (CRD 15)

28 CX/ASIA 02/6, CRD 12 (comment of Thailand)

29

30 CX/ASIA 02/8, CRD 13 (comment of Thailand), CRD 29(a) (comment of India)

31 CL 2002/12-ASIA, CX/ASIA 02/9, CX/ASIA 02/9 Add. 1 (activity of FAO and WHO), CX/ASIA 02/9 add. 2 (comment of Australia), CRD 5 (comment of ICGMA), CRD 14 (comment of Thailand), CRD 20 (comment of Indonesia) CRD 21 (comment of Singapore) CRD 23 (comment of China)

32 http://www.codexalimentarius.net

33 CRD 23

34 CRD 14

35 CRD 20

36 CRD 21

37 CX/ASIA 02/9

38 CX/ASIA 02/9

39 CX/ASIA 02/9 (Report by Pakistan)

40 CX/ASIA 02/9 add. 2 (Report by Australia)

41 CRD 5

42 CX/ASIA 02/10.

43 JECFA evaluated chloramphenicol in 1968, 1987 and 1994.