FAO to Review International Food Safety
Guidelines To Ensure The Safety Of The Global Food Supply
FAO and WHO have initiated a review of their food
standard setting operations through Codex Alimentarius and related
agencies. In recent years Codex standards for labeling of food
and for food safety have been taken up and tend to supersede national
actions because WTO normally implements Codex standards in trade
negotiations. Most independent countries face yielding national
standards to the practical necessity of importing & exporting
food. This is the ugly face of globalisation We urge everyone
to try to add their opinions to the review to prevent the review
being dominated by multinational companies (such companies are
given status equivalent to countries by Codex).
9 APRIL 2002--INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF
THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS AND OTHER FAO-WHO WORK ON FOOD STANDARDS
INFORMATION NOTE AND INFORMAL PUBLIC CALL
FOR COMMENTS
The Codex Alimentarius Commission was established
by FAO and WHO in 1962 to implement the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards
Programme. The Programme's importance has gradually shifted from
providing a basis for national standards to providing the point
of reference in standards, guidelines and codes of practice for
international trade. FAO and WHO have now called for an in-depth
independent evaluation of the work of the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards
Programme, including the Codex Alimentarius Commission, in order
to meet more effectively the needs of the world's people and improve
the systems to protect and promote the global food supply for both
developing and developed countries. The terms of reference for the
evaluation can be found on WHO's web site at:
http://www.who.int/fsf, together with other relevant background
information.
This evaluation, launched in March 2002 and due
to be completed in early 2003, will examine the respective requirements
of producers, industry, traders, consumers and regulators and provide
recommendations and considerations for the future on the relevance
of standards or alternative approaches in meeting the overall objectives
in consumer protection (in particular for health risks) and in ensuring
fair practices for food trade, including the needs of both developed
and developing countries.
The evaluation will be carried out by an independent
Evaluation Team and an Expert Panel. The two groups will work closely
together and produce reports by November this year, following the
widest possible consultation with member countries of FAO and WHO
and other stakeholders. In addition to a formal questionnaire on
key issues to Member States and stakeholders through official channels
(which will be distributed in May 2002), the consultation process
will involve different vehicles, including country visits, in-depth
interviews, literature reviews, content analysis, etc. One element
of this process is to invite informal comments from the global public
and all potentially interested parties, in an attempt to include
the broadest possible range of relevant opinions and issues. All
comments thus received will be forwarded to the Evaluation Team
and Expert Panel for their consideration as part of responses obtained
through the various methods. All information will be held confidentially
and no individual names will be mentioned in any reports. Interested
stakeholders and the public are invited to send their comments by
13 May 2002 to the WHO Department of Budget and Management Reform,
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland; fax: +41 22 791 4807; email: codexreview@who.int.
Issues for comment could include following
aspects:
(1) The relevance and adequacy of Codex and other
food standards as a basis for consumer health protection, trade
and economic development, including the relevance and adequacy of
standards as instruments for preventing foodborne diseases and other
health risks, for food safety risk management and consumer protection,
and for trade and economic development and production practice;
the expectations as to standards in imports and exports and for
domestic trade, particularly as regards the validity and acceptability
of standards;
(2) The adequacy of governance structures and
decision-making processes in Codex and other food standard work,
including the expectation as to the institutional mechanisms for
standard setting, including the structure and procedures of the
Codex Alimentarius Commission and its subsidiary bodies; the technical
and administrative support given to the work of the Commission by
FAO and WHO, including secretariat and expert committees, possibilities
and limitations for participation in the decision making processes,
and direct and indirect costs and ways of covering them;
(3) The efficiency and transparency of the Codex
process, including the independence of Codex bodies and of scientific
advice given to Codex and avoidance of conflict of interest; (4)
Opportunities to participate in the Codex process, including . the
particular interests of developing countries as regards participation
in the standards setting process and assistance to them in implementing
standards; . the expectation of producers, industry and civil society
and their likely impact on international standards; mobilization
of adequate support for developing country capacity building and
their participation in the standard setting processes; and
(5) Implications for future international systems
of food safety and food standards developments relative to public
health, food trade and economic development in a broad sense, including
. advantages of potentially quite different approaches to those
at present in place for consumer protection (especially for health)
and economic development through clarity in international and domestic
trade as well as for standard setting at international and domestic
levels; . the implications for developing countries, if food standards
setting for international trade were allowed to become the preserve
of the developed countries and main trading nations.
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