1. The Fifth Session of the Codex Coordinating Committee for North America and the SouthWest Pacific (CCNASWP) was held from 6-9 October 1998 in Seattle, Washington at the kind invitation of the government of the United States of America. The Session was chaired by the Coordinator for the Region, Mr. Thomas Billy, Administrator, Food Safety and Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture and Vice-Chairman of the Commission and by Dr. F. Edward Scarbrough, Interim Coordinator and US Manager for Codex, for certain items of the Agenda.
2. Representatives of Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and the United States attended the Session. Observers from FAO, Consumers International and the Council for Responsible Nutrition also attended the meeting.
3. The Session was opened by Dr. Scarbrough on behalf of Dr. Catherine Woteki, Undersecretary for Food Safety, US Department of Agriculture. Dr. Scarbrough conveyed Dr. Woteki’s satisfaction concerning the increased participation of several South Pacific island nations in the work of the Committee, and emphasized the increasing importance of Codex in the protection of consumers and the facilitation of international trade. Dr. Woteki conveyed her best wishes for a successful meeting.
