Page Content
4th Codex Stakeholder Forum
Codex Australia held its fourth Industry Stakeholder Forum at the Grace Hotel in Sydney on the 23rd August 2007. More than 100 delegates from Commonwealth, State governments and representatives from a diverse group of food industries attended the Forum. The various sectors that were represented included:
- Processed Food
- Grains industry
- Veterinary Medicine
- Dairy Industry
- Nutrition
- Meat industry
- Olive Oil Industry
- Wine Industry
- Testing and Standards Organisations, and
- Biotechnology.
Overview of Codex
Ms Suzanne Blake, Executive Officer, from Codex Australia provided participants with an overview of Codex and the Australian consultation processes. This session was aimed at those people who were new to Codex. Participants indicated that the session was very informative and provided a comprehensive outline of the Codex processes and consultative mechanisms undertaken by Codex Australia.
Opening Address
Mr Steve McCutcheon, Executive Manager, of the Product Integrity Animal and Plant Health Division of the Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry welcomed participants to the forum. He emphasised that the forum provided an important opportunity for government and industry to review the achievements of the past year and to focus attention on the key issues in the forthcoming year.
Mr McCutcheon outlined that the focus of the forum was to highlight the importance of input provided by industry, consumers and academia in the development of balanced Australian positions.
He advised participants that Australia takes part in all active Codex committees and will continue to provide significant resources on the development of Codex standards in the coming year ensuring Codex decisions are based on sound science and prevent technical barriers to trade.
Codex Year in Review 2006/2007
Ms Ann Backhouse, Manager of Codex Australia provided an overview of the key activities of Codex Australia in the past year these included:
- continued coordination of technical and policy positions on Codex issues
- building on existing communication activities with the continued publication of Setting the Standard newsletter, and that in future editions Codex Australia would aim to include articles directed at specific issues.
Ms Backhouse highlighted the outcomes of the 30th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission which had adopted 44 new standards, including Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for 20 pesticides and that the labelling provisions of 16 cheese standards had finally been agreed to. Importantly the progress of the Commission had been good in that it had also resolved several longstanding issues such as the risk analysis principles for food safety, amendments to the standard for sardines and sardine like products as well as the maximum levels for tin in canned food (other than beverages).
Ms Backhouse’s presentation also included an overview of new work and outcomes of scientific advice provided by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) expert meetings undertaken at the request of committees and member governments. These activities included evaluation of food additives (annatto extracts; synthetic lycopene, natamycin and aluminium; 3-MCPD and methylmercury in the contaminants category) and pesticides. Other expert consultations have also been held on:
- antimicrobial use in aquaculture
- antimicrobial resistance;
- Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in raw meat and meat products
- microbiological risk assessment
- safety assessment of food derived from recombinant-DNA animals, and
- criteria for the acceptable previous cargoes for fats and oils.
A key achievement for the Commission this year was the finalisation and adoption of the Codex Strategic Plan for 2008-2013 which aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Codex and its subsidiary bodies over the next 5 years. A key component of the strategic plan will be the implementation of the ongoing Critical Review by the Codex Executive committee which will ensure that committees focus their efforts on work that meets the priorities of the plan and that outcomes are delivered in a timelier manner.
Participants were also informed that the Strategic Objectives for Australia’s Participation in Codex will be reviewed in the coming year – and that the next version will be more aligned with the Codex plan.
Forum participants were also informed of the decision of the Commission in regards to the conversion of regional standards to international standards.
Emerging Issues in Codex for 2007- 2008
Mrs Rose Hockham from Codex Australia gave an overview of some of the emerging issues in which Australia will take an interest in the next 12 months. A brief overview of new work proposals outlined below highlights those of significance:
WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health as related to Codex
The Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses and the Food Labelling committees have been asked to consider actions necessary to implement the recommendations of the Global Strategy that relate to Codex.
Annex to the Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant DNA Plants on Low-Level presence of Recombinant-DNA Material
The Task Force on the Foods Derived from Biotechnology has commenced work to identify and incorporate, into an Annex of the plant guideline, the relevant sections essential to the safety assessment in situations of low level presence and to identify information-sharing mechanisms to facilitate the use of this Annex and to determine whether it should apply, and the data needed to conduct a food safety assessment in the importing country.
Potential Risk in Respect of the Lactoperoxidase System
Following the conclusions of a technical meeting of experts convened by FAO and WHO to consider the benefits and potential risks of the lactoperoxidase system, the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene was requested to reconsider the restrictions currently in place on the use of the system in milk and milk products in international trade.
The hygiene committee has been unable to reach consensus despite the conclusion of the technical meeting that the system is a safe method if used in accordance with the standard.
Deliberations at the Commission meeting were also unable to reach consensus on the issue, therefore it will discussed further at the next food hygiene committee meeting.
Methylmercury in Fish
The FAO/WHO is considering conducting a qualitative risk-benefit assessment of fish consumption, addressing issues related to exposure on women of child-bearing age. This may be followed by a quantitative assessment including the intake of dioxin and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), taking into account consumption of fatty fish, which is considered as a significant source of beneficial fatty acids. In 2006 the Food Additives and Contaminants committee when requesting scientific advice on the health risks postponed discussion on this issue until the outcomes of the FAO/WHO consultation is available. The FAO/WHO is undertaking this in a stepwise process, given the complex nature of the issue and the need for innovative principles and methodology.
Consensus
Recently a proposal to define consensus has gained support from a number of developing member countries who consider that a definition is necessary to determine when consensus has been reached, as the current interpretation by some chairs about decisions that have been reached. The Commission has agreed that there is a need for further discussion on the need for a definition and how the concept of consensus is handled in practice. Initially discussion will take place in the Executive committee in December. The Executive committee has also been asked to look at ways of engaging committee chairpersons to provide information on the issue and their experience applying Measures to Facilitate Consensus within their meetings. The outcomes of the Executive committee will be discussed at the General Principles committee in 2009.
Other new work proposals that were highlighted include:
- Standard for Fish Sauce
- Amendment to the Labelling Provisions of the Standard for Quick Frozen Fish Sticks
- Standard for Abalone
- Amendment to the Criteria for Inclusion of Additional Species in the Standard for Fish and Fish Products
- Sampling Plan/Methodological Provision For Controlling Minimum Drained Weight Of Canned Fruits And Vegetables In Packing Media
- Risk Analysis Principles for Nutrition
- Development of Guidelines for the Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella in Chicken Meat that will integrate good hygienic practice, HACCP, controls based on specific knowledge of hazard reduction and controls based on risk assessment into a single standard
- The Committee for Natural Mineral Waters will be reconvened to review and amend if necessary the limits for health related substances in Section 3.2 of the Codex Standard for Natural Mineral Waters with the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality Guidelines.
Standards Adopted at Step 5
An overview of the standards that have been adopted at Step 5 by the Commission was provided, reiterating that stakeholders still have a further opportunity to provide comment on these before they are finalised at Step 8 in the near future. Highlighted in this part of the presentation were two standards that have the potential to impact on industry. The two standards are Amendment to the General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Food – Quantative Ingredient Declaration Labelling and Definition of Advertising in Relation to Nutrition and Health Claims. Work on these draft standards will be undertaken by the Food Labelling committee for further discussion at its next session in 2008.
Mrs Hockham indicated that the list of issues discussed in this particular session was not an exhaustive list and participants were encouraged to subscribe to Codex Documents-On-Line and Setting the Standard to keep up-to-date with issues within their area of interest.
Industry’s Role in Ensuring that Codex Standards are Science-based
Mr Stephen Crossley, Strategic Science Manager, from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) emphasised that Strategic Objectives for Australia’s Participation in Codex include the promotion of the development of food standards which are based on sound scientific analysis and evidence. This involved a thorough review of all relevant information so that the standards provide an assurance of the food supply’s safety and quality. Australia also promotes the use of risk analysis, including risk assessment, risk management and risk communication in developing and applying international standards.
Mr Crossley provided an outline of the role of the Joint FAO/WHO expert committees that provide independent scientific expert advice to the Commission and its specialist committees. Mr Crossley highlighted that the credibility and acceptability of any conclusions and recommendations depend on the objectivity, scientific skill and overall competence of the members who formulate them. In response to a question from one participant on how experts were chosen, Mr Crossley explained that those selected must be pre-eminent in their specialty, and have the highest respect of the their scientific peers, be impartial and indisputably objective in their judgement. They are appointed in their own personal right – not as government representatives or as spokespeople for organisations and their inputs are theirs alone.
Mr Crossley’s presentation acknowledged previous areas where industry had provided data and comments to support the Codex process and raised the question of how government might improve this process as it was in Australia’s interest to ensure the development of Codex standards take full account of Australian data. A suggestion was provided that industry needed more information on the timeliness of data collection and to be informed of the purpose for collecting the data and how the information would be used. Mr Crossley indicated that this suggestion would be taken into consideration by delegations leaders and Codex Australia when future requests for data were being solicited.
Influencing Codex Standards – New Work
Ms Ann Backhouse provided an overview of the considerations to be undertaken when proposing new work within the Codex process. The presentation highlighted those areas that needed to be considered which included:
- Determine whether the issue was in the national interest
- Potential benefits for Australia
- Whether there was sufficient support from both government and industry
- Resources required and
- Whether there was a need for scientific advice to support the work
Participants were encouraged to contact Codex Australia as a first step to discuss any proposals they may have regarding undertaking new work.
Development of Codex Standard and Code of Practice for Inorganic Tin Contamination in Canned Foods
This case study was presented by Dr Paul Brent, Acting Chief Scientist, from FSANZ.
The presentation highlighted that while the final result had taken almost 10 years of discussion it had resulted in the agreement for a maximum level for tin in canned food which did not compromise Australian products.
Dr Brent discussed in detail the process which had included risk assessment by JECFA and lengthy discussion on alternative levels proposed by different members of Codex.
In order to ensure that Australia’s canned food industry was not compromised extensive collaboration between government and industry was required before the Australian delegation could agree to a maximum level.
The key message in Dr Brent’s presentation was that the engagement and assistance from the manufacturing, packaging and canning industries was critical to facilitate the development of the maximum level for tin in canned foods and the code of practice for tin.
In summing up Dr Brent acknowledged that the relationship and trust developed between Australian government agencies and the canned food industry was a successful example for the future work within Codex. Government and industry need to work together to ensure that our engagement in the Codex process is timely and well informed and that Australia can continue to influence the development of Codex standards.
Quality Provision in Codex Standards
The presentation by Dr Rob Solomon, Acting Manager for the International Foods Standards Section within the Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry, focused on the development of standards that often place a significant emphasis on quality parameters that have no bearing on the safety of the commodity concerned. These types of standards have the potential to impact on trade due to their prescriptive nature.
Dr Solomon emphasised that Australia’s position is that these parameters (size, colour, blemish and shape) do not have an impact on the eating qualities or the safety of the food but can be misused to manipulate the marketing and trade of the prescribed products. As more developing countries are focussing on acceptance of Codex commodity standards it is crucial that industry provide input in the early development stages in order that Australia can achieve favourable outcomes.
Comments
Feedback from participants was generally positive to the messages provided in the presentations and those new to Codex indicated that the sessions provided them with a much better understanding of how the process worked and the amount of Australian input required from government and industry.
Many participants indicated that more practical involvement from industry, including presentations or case studies should be considered for future programs. Some participants felt that the provision of break-out groups to focus more specifically on individual committees should be considered for future forums.
Next Steps
In developing the program for the next Forum the suggestions provided by participants will be considered in particular the use of break-outs and more industry speakers. The next stakeholder forum will be held in 2008.
Contact information
Codex Australia
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: (02) 6272 4542
Facsimile: (02) 6272 3103