The 55th session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR55) is meeting this week, with more than 250 delegates attending the session physically in Chengdu, People's Republic of China.

Mr Xingwang ZHANG, Vice Minister at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, opened the meeting, and welcomed participants by commending the continuous support the Committee and the host country have received from all delegates since 2006. “China introduced a series of major initiatives in food safety and production, like producing more than 650 million tons of grain a year, establishing more than 10 000 pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs), achieving the quality and safety of agricultural products above 97 percent” added the Vice Minister highlighting the work of China in the field of food safety. The Vice Minister further noted the importance of strengthening the exchange and cooperation of policies and regulations, pesticide standards, and pesticide management, to jointly promote global food security and sustainable agricultural development.

Mr Yun HU, Vice Governor of Sichuan Province of the People's Republic of China, also addressed the Committee, along with the representatives of FAO and WHO, and extended a warm welcome to all participants.

The Chairperson of CCPR and Deputy Director General of Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (ICAMA) of the People's Republic of China, Mr Weili SHAN, commended the “hard work and extraordinary achievements of CCPR” and thanked delegates and the Codex, FAO/WHO Joint Meeting on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) and CCPR Secretariats for their commitment and work.

“CCPR meetings strike a balance between driving efficiency in terms of the volume and number of standards that are advanced, while maintaining a sense of warm collaboration and mutual respect," said Steve Wearne, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), recalling the over 400 MRLs sent to CAC46. Mr Wearne concluded his intervention by mentioning that “China joined the Codex family in 1984, so this year marks the 40th anniversary of its membership” and thanking the country “for being a long-standing supporter of the work of Codex”. 

Over the next four days, CCPR will discuss MRLs for pesticides in food and feed, which remains one of the core activities of the Committee. There will also be discussions on the priority lists of pesticides for evaluation by JMPR and the status of work of the Joint CCPR/Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food (CCRVDF) Working Group on Compounds for Dual Use.

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Follow the session via the Codex website

Photo credit © FAO/Codex Giuseppe Di Chiera