20. The 19th Session of this Committee had considered the first draft of the paper on this issue and agreed that the paper be considered as a basis for recommendations to governments in this area. It had also agreed to request governments and interested international organizations for comments and to refer the paper to the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Certification and Inspection Systems (CCFICS) for comments[12]. At its 20th Session the Committee had considered CX/MAS 95/4 and a major amendment made to the text was the inclusion of four criteria to be adopted by laboratories involved in the official import and export control of foods. The criteria were contained in the report of that session[13]. The Committee had agreed that the paper be revised, based on the comments and recommendations made during the session. Noting the work currently carried out by the CCFICS in the area of import and export control in general, the Committee had also agreed that a revised paper be referred to the CCFICS for its consideration, review and comments[14].
21. The CCFICS, at its 4th Session, had considered the document, subsequently revised by the Delegation of Finland, and suggested that the document be further developed by this Committee by incorporating concrete proposals in the form of Guidelines or Principles based on other international texts recognized by the Commission and being consistent with corresponding CCFICS texts and other relevant Codex texts[15].
22. The Committee agreed with the views expressed by the CCFICS. The Delegation of Finland presented CX/MAS 97/4 and, in collaboration with the Delegations of Australia, Sweden and the United Kingdom, redrafted the four criteria and a statement regarding laboratory accreditation in the form of Guidelines. The document was entitled "Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Assessment of the Competence of Testing Laboratories Involved in the Import and Export Control of Food".
23. The Committee considered the Proposed Draft Guidelines and agreed to recommend the Guidelines to the Commission for adoption as a final text. Regarding omission of the word "official" from the title of the Guidelines, the Committee noted that since the document was addressed to member governments which of themselves would use official laboratories or those certified by them, it would be superfluous to retain the word "official". This view was in keeping with that held by CCFICS in a similar document[16] prepared by that Committee and submitted to the Commission for adoption at Step 8. The Committee decided that, for consistency and harmonization between this document and the one by CCFICS, the title should remain as was presented.
Status of the Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Assessment of the Competence of Testing Laboratories Involved in the Import and Export Control of Food
24. The Committee agreed to seek the approval of the Commission to elaborate the guidelines and, at the same time, to advance the Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Assessment of the Competence of Testing Laboratories Involved in the Import and Export Control of Food[17] to the Commission for adoption at Step 5 of the Procedure with recommendations to omit Steps 6 and 7.
