Proposals for the Priority Evaluation of Food Additives and Contaminants by JECFA (Agenda Item 17)[82]

183. The 32^nd Session of the CCFAC agreed to request additional comments for additions or amendments to its Priority List for consideration at the 33^rd Session of CCFAC[83].

184. Mr J. Dornseiffen (Netherlands) introduced the report of the Informal ad hoc Working Group on Priorities. The Chairman repeated the importance of clear communication between the CCFAC and JECFA, especially when putting forward questions to JECFA for evaluation. The Committee agreed that a large number of flavouring agents, cross-linked sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, cadmium, and arsenic should be added to the priority list.

185. The Delegation of Sweden proposed that an additional point be added to the questionnaire to be completed by delegations requesting the addition of contaminants to the priority list that would help ensure that sufficient data would be provided to JECFA for its review. The Committee agreed that the following question should be added for contaminants, stressing that the information requested was desirable but not mandatory: List of contact persons, including name and address, providing surveillance data with quality assurance information, preferably from three or more regions of the world.

186. The Committee noted the late availability of JECFA reports and monographs and encouraged their more rapid publication, especially in electronic format. The JECFA Secretariat informed the Committee that specifications would soon be available on the FAO web site (www.fao.org) and that the toxicological monographs produced by JECFA were available on the IPCS INCHEM CD-ROM (information available at www.who.int/pcs). This CD-ROM was presently available only by subscription, but the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) was raising funds that would permit its free availability. Members of the Committee noted that the detailed information provided in the summary of the fifty-sixth meeting of JECFA was very useful.

187. The Committee agreed on the Priority List of Food Additives, Contaminants and Naturally Occurring Toxicants Proposed for Evaluation by JECFA as presented in Appendix XVI and that the contaminants of highest priority were nitrate and ethyl carbamate. The Committee also agreed to request additional comments for additions or amendments to its Priority List for consideration at its next Session.