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General Principles
Codex Committee on General Principles (Host Government - France)
The Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) deals with rules, principles and procedures referred by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, particularly those which define the purpose and scope of Codex work and the nature of Codex standards. The committee also addresses economic impact statements.
Existing Codex Standards
A number of standards relating to general principles* have now been endorsed and adopted into the international food code. They include standards on:
- Definition of Traceability/ Product Tracing
- Statements of Principle Relating to the Role of Food Safety Risk Assessment
- Statements of Principle Concerning the Role of Science in The Codex Decision Making Process and the extent to which other factors are taken into account
- Working Principles for Risk Analysis for Application in the Framework of the Codex Alimentarius
*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.
Last Meeting
The Committee met for its 25th Session in Paris, France, from 2 - 6 April 2007. At this meeting the Committee agreed to forward to the Commission:- the proposed amendments to the text under the heading “Contaminants” in the Format for Commodity Standards
- the proposed amendments to section 6, paragraph 1 of the “Principles Concerning the Participation of International Non-Governmental Organizations in the Work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission”
- the Draft Risk Analysis Principles Applied by the Committee on Pesticide Residues;
- the Proposed Draft Risk Management Methodologies, including Risk Assessment Policies in the Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods
- the Proposed Amendment of the Principles for the Establishment or Selection of Codex Sampling Procedures
- the Proposed Procedure for Consideration of the Entry and Review of Food Additive Provisions in the GSFA
- the Proposed Draft Working Principles for Risk Analysis for Food Safety for Application by Governments for adoption at Step 5 with a recommendation to omit Steps 6 and 7 and adoption at Step 8
- the proposed recommendations from the CCFICS related to the Code of Ethics
- the proposed amendments to harmonise the text concerning the membership of the Coordinating Committee for Europe with that of the other Coordinating Committees
- the proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure on the responsibilities of Coordinators and the respective roles in the Executive Committee of the Regional Coordinators and the Members elected on a geographical basis
- the proposed amendments to the Guide to the Procedure for the Revision and Amendment of Codex Standards and Arrangements for the Amendments of Codex Standards Elaborated by Codex Committees which have been adjourned sine die, and
- the proposed Amendments to the General Principles of the Codex Alimentarius.
The Committee also agreed to:
- that there was no consensus to reinsert the Guide to the Consideration of Standards at Step 8 in the Procedural Manual and agreed to inform the Commission that it confirmed its earlier decision and did not wish to reconsider this question further
- that all Coordinating Committees be invited to discuss institutional and other implications of changing their terms of reference at their next session and that those Coordinating Committees wishing to practice the adoption of regional positions should continue to do so under their current terms of reference and to report back to the 25th session of the CCGP on their experiences
- to circulate the Proposed Draft Code of Ethics for International Trade in Food for comments at Step 3, and
- to forward the content of the discussion on proposed draft amendments to the procedures for elaboration of Codex standards and related texts to the Commission for further advice.