197. The Representative of FAO presented a progress report of the FAO/WHO Consultative Process on Provision of Scientific Advice, including the outcome of the FAO/WHO Workshop held in January 2004 and the comments on the Workshop report received from governments and non-governmental organizations. The Representative indicated the practical steps taken by FAO and WHO to implement the recommendations of the Workshop, including:
the establishment of an FAO/WHO internal task force to review management options and improve communication with stakeholders;
the preparation of a procedural manual as a compilation of principles and procedures followed by FAO and WHO in the provision of scientific advice with a view to increasing transparency;
the preparation of in-depth analysis to address procedures for the selection of experts and the openness of meetings, and for the use of data; and
the organization of a workshop to explore new approaches to enhance developing countries’ capacities to generate data needed and to participate more effectively in expert meetings.
198. The Representative of FAO indicated that the final step of the consultative process would be implemented in the form of an expert consultation or an intergovernmental meeting to prepare feasible recommendations to FAO and WHO, once the analysis of the workshop recommendations has been completed and necessary resources mobilised.
199. The Commission noted the advance being made and expressed their appreciation to FAO and WHO for their efforts to improve the scientific advice provided to the Commission.
200. The Representative of WHO, also speaking on behalf of FAO, stressed the need for the Commission to prioritize the requests for scientific advice coming from Codex subsidiary bodies as the current budget of FAO and WHO available for the provision of scientific advice would not allow for a timely response to all these requests and drew the attention of the Commission to the fact that the 53rd Session of the Executive Committee had reviewed the Codex requests to FAO and WHO on scientific advice and indicated issues requiring further discussion in the Commission.[103] The Executive Committee had also considered a preliminary set of criteria to establish priorities but postponed further discussion to a later session.[104]
201. The Representative of WHO highlighted the need to secure adequate funding both from Regular Budgets and from extra budgetary sources so that the provision of scientific advice be made in a more sustainable manner.
202. The Commission expressed its appreciation to FAO and WHO for their continuous effort to provide the scientific advice to Codex subsidiary bodies in an optimal way.
203. The Commission agreed that Codex requests No 6 (functional foods), No.7 (active chlorine) and No.16 (transport of fats and oils in bulk) for scientific advice in Annex I of the working document should not be considered as cancelled but be retained.
204. Some delegations proposed to give a higher priority to the Codex request No.6 from the 13th Session of the Coordinating Committee for Asia, to evaluate the safety and regulatory issues related to functional foods, given their importance to developing countries. Other delegations indicated that the Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses gave priority to the evaluation of upper limits of vitamins and minerals and that there was no international definition of functional food and no work was being undertaken by the Codex in this area and that from a legal point of view functional foods could be considered as common foods or foods for special dietary uses.
205. The Commission noted that the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants and the Committee on Food Hygiene were preparing the draft Terms of Reference for the proposed expert consultation on safety of active chlorine used in and on foods.
206. In relation to the request regarding the evaluation of the safety of acceptable previous cargoes, the Commission confirmed its earlier request to FAO and WHO to convene an expert consultation, preferably before the next Session of the Committee on Fats and Oils. The Delegation of the United States stated that future work by the Committee on Fats and Oils should concentrate on criteria but not on the list.
207. The Commission agreed that priority for the provision of scientific advice should be given to requests coming from Codex subsidiary bodies rather than from Member governments and that the work plan of Codex shall take into account the availability of relevant scientific advice. The Commission noted the view that priority should also be given to the concerns of developing countries, the decisions of the Commission and prioritised requests by Codex subsidiary bodies.
208. The Commission noted that in the absence of Codex criteria for setting priorities for the provision of scientific advice, FAO and WHO would continue planning expert meetings and consultations considering the following criteria: a) clear scope of the advice requested; b) urgency of the advice requested, c) availability of required data or commitment of countries to provide such data; and d) availability of financial resources.
209. The Representatives of FAO and WHO informed the Commission of the major outcome of the FAO and WHO expert meetings and related activities carried out since the last Session of the Commission, including those of JECFA, JEMRA, JMPR, ad hoc meetings, consultations and related projects.
Antimicrobial resistance[105]
210. The Representative of WHO informed the Commission that the two FAO/WHO/OIE workshops had been convened, at the request of the 48th Session of the Executive Committee[106], in order to advice the Commission on possible directions to be taken on this issue. He stressed the need to address the matters regarding the terminology, risk assessment policy and risk management options for the containment of antimicrobial resistance.
211. The Representative of the OIE drew the attention of the Commission to the fact that the OIE had already adopted sections on the containment of antimicrobial resistance in the OIE Code and indicated that the OIE would support recommendations of the second Workshop held in Oslo. The Representative pointed out that in principle the OIE would accept the proposal to establish a Joint ad hoc Task Force on antimicrobial resistance, to operate on the procedures to be agreed upon by the two bodies, with specific terms of reference in accordance with the outcome of the Oslo Workshop: to define risk assessment policy to be used by JEMRA; to develop risk management options; to consolidate existing texts in this area; and to develop guidance for the use of antimicrobials in animal production.
212. The Commission noted the willingness of the Delegation of the Republic of Korea to host an ad hoc Task Force on Antimicrobial resistance, if such a Task Force was to be established in future.
213. Many delegations supported the recommendation by the 54th Session of the Executive Committee as the way to proceed on this matter.[107]
214. The Commission noted that there was a unanimous support for the cooperation with the OIE, but that financial implications and impact on country participation, especially for developing countries should be carefully considered before taking a final decision towards establishing a new Task Force is taken. The Commission also noted the kind offer of the OIE that the cost for joint activities could be shared between the organizations.
215. The Commission agreed that there were several possible options for the Commission to deal with this matter, including the establishment of a Codex task force with active participation of the OIE, or the use of existing Codex subsidiary bodies such as the Committee on Food Hygiene, the Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods and the Task Force on Animal Feeding.
216. The Commission further agreed that before deciding on the procedural mechanisms to further work, there should be a clear and common understanding of what should be achieved by Codex in regard to the question of antimicrobial resistance related to non-human use of antimicrobials.
217. In order to facilitate the discussion, the Commission requested Secretariat to prepare, as soon as possible, a Circular Letter which would include two questions:
What should be achieved by Codex to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance related to non-human use of microbials (e.g. risk assessment principles, risk management options);
What mechanisms should be used by Codex to achieve the above outcome?
The Circular Letter would also contain the following information:
the outline of ongoing work on this matter in relevant Codex Committees, their Terms of Reference in relation to their work on antimicrobial resistance; and
the executive summary prepared by FAO and WHO from the two Workshops.
218. The Commission agreed that the comments received in reply to the Circular Letter would be considered at the 55th Session of the Executive Committee with the understanding that it would provide the advice to the next session of the Commission.
219. The Representative of the OIE stated that the OIE Working Group on Animal Production Food Safety would continue its work on microbial resistance, while waiting for further decisions by Codex.
220. The Commission was informed of FAO/WHO activities in capacity building in the field of food safety, which covered three main areas, namely: (i) the organization of global and regional/sub-regional conferences, workshops and seminars on food safety related matters; (ii) field projects; and, (iii) guidance and training tools. The Commission noted, in particular, the plans to hold the Second Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators (Bangkok, Thailand, 12-14 October 2004) and the regional food safety conferences for Africa, the Americas and the Near East. The importance of the pre-Codex workshops in improving the effectiveness of the participation of developing countries in Codex was highlighted.
221. The Commission was informed that over thirty field projects were currently in operation in different parts of the world and twelve others were under consideration. The Commission took note of the following tools already developed or under preparation by FAO/WHO: Assuring Food Safety and Quality - Guidelines for Strengthening National Food Control Systems; Food Safety Risk Analysis - a Training Package (undergoing finalization); Evaluation of Capacity Building Needs for Food Control (in preparation); Improving the Safety and Quality of Fresh Fruits and Vegetable - a Training Manual and Resource Database; and, Improving Participation in the Work of Codex - a Training Pack (in preparation).
222. The Commission noted the development of the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) to be used for targeted and rapid distribution of various information for the protection of public health. One part of INFOSAN would be dedicated to food safety emergency situations where imminent risk of serious injury or death might be present.
223. The Commission, with appreciation, noted the presentation made by the coordinator of the International Portal for Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (IPFSAPH).
224. The Representative of IAEA informed the Commission of the activities of the FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, in particular: the Joint FAO/IOC/WHO Ad Hoc Expert Consultation on Biotoxins in Molluscan Bivalves (Oslo, 27 September - 1 October 2004) and the Joint FAO/WHO/IAEA Seminar on the Use of Irradiation for Sanitary and Phytosanitary Purposes (Bangkok, 11 October 2004). He also provided information on the IAEA Conventions on Early Notification of Nuclear Accident and on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency. The Commission noted that a report on relevant activities of IAEA would be submitted at its next Session.
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[101] ALINORM 04/27/10G;
ALINORM 04/27/4 paras 104-107; LIM.21 (comments from Malaysia); LIM.24 (comments
from Malaysia); INF. 3 (Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Workshop on the Provision of
Scientific Advice to Codex and Member Countries); INF.3A (The Provision of
Scientific Advice to Codex and member Countries); INF.4 (The International
Portal for Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health, Submission by FAO); INF.5
(Capacity Building for Food Quality and Food Safety Activities of FAO and
WHO). [102] INF 3; INF 3A. [103] ALINORM 04/27/3, paras 55-75. [104] ALINORM 04/27/3, paras 76-83. [105] ALINORM 04/27/13, para.159; LIM.17 Rev. (Proposal for New Work on Non-human Antimicrobial Resistance, prepared by Republic of Korea). [106] ALINORM 01/4, paras 36-37. [107] ALINORM 04/27/4, paras 68-73. |
