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Foods Derived From Biotechnology
Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology (Host Government – Japan)
The 27th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission July 2004 agreed to establish a new Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology with the understanding that its final report should be submitted to the Commission in 2009. The Commission adopted the terms of reference with a few amendments as outlined in Alinorm 04/27/41 Appendix VIII.
Existing Codex Standards
Standards and guidelines relating to food derived from biotechnology* that have been endorsed and adopted into the international food code:
• Principles for the Risk Analysis of Foods Derived from Modern Biotechnology
*This is an indicative list only. For a full list of standards approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, please consult its Official List of Standards.
Outcomes from the 31st Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission
The 31st Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission adopted, at Step 5/8:
- the Proposed Draft Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals
- the Proposed Draft Annex: Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants Modified for Nutritional or Health Benefits, and
- the Proposed Draft Annex: Food Safety Assessment in Situations of Low-level Presence of Recombinant-DNA Plant Material in Foods.
Last Meeting
The 7th Session of the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental task force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology was held in Chiba, Japan on 24–28 September, 2007.
At this meeting the task force agreed to forward to the 31st Session of the Commission for adoption at Step 5/8:
- Proposed Draft Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals
- Proposed Draft Annex: Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants Modified for Nutritional or Health Benefits, and
- Proposed Draft Annex: Food Safety Assessment in Situations of Low-level Presence of Recombinant- DNA Plant Material in Food.
Matters Referred to Codex Committees and Task Forces
Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS)
- The Task Force noted that that the work underway in the CCMAS on the detection and identification of foods derived from biotechnology was complementary to the work of the Task Force and agreed to encourage this committee to proceed with its work with urgency.
Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU)
Recognizing that the proposed draft annex contained references to certain concepts related to nutrition, the Task Force agreed to invite the 29th Session of the CCNFSDU to review the document and provide comments if necessary. In this regard, the Task Force noted the priority this work should be given by the CCNFSDU, given the time constraints of the Task Force.
The Task Force also:
- welcomed the recommendations from the 2007 FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Safety of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals, especially those addressed to FAO, WHO and OIE, with the understanding that these agencies would further discuss priorities and concrete modalities for conducting joint activities, and
- agreed to request FAO to provide update on the database for data and information sharing at the 31st Session of the Commission.
Download the report from this meeting
Next Meeting
Given that the three proposed draft documents considered under Items 4, 5 and 6 were advanced to Step 5/8, no further session of the Task Force is foreseen. Should the need for another session of the Task Force arise following the consideration of these proposed drafts by the 31st Session of the Commission in July 2008, the host government will make necessary arrangements in consultation with the Codex Secretariat.