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| Report Of The U.S. Delegate, 36th Session Of The Codex Committee
On Food Hygiene, March 29-April 3, 2004, Washington, DC |
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The 36th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) was highly successful in many areas of interest
to the United States. CCFH continued to establish and refine its role in food safety risk management and risk assessment
activities. The Committee also achieved significant milestone in the movement of key documents in the Codex process.
Finally, the Committee agreed on definitions for Food Safety Objective, Performance Objective, and Performance Criterion
and agreed to send it to CCGP for endorsement and inclusion in the Procedural Manual.
Key actions and decisions taken by CCFH during the 36th Session include the following:
Forwarded the Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products (see Appendix II of ALINORM 04/27/13) to the
27th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption at Step 8. The United States has been the lead on this document
since 1997. The document addresses a number of issues related to food hygiene and the international trading of dairy products
that have been unresolved since the mid-1980's. The current Proposed Draft Code reflects the obligations of countries under
WTO agreements (particularly the SPS Agreement), incorporates an outcome-based approach and is designed to allow sufficient
flexibility to meet the needs of both developed and developing countries with regard to primary production conditions and
manufacturing requirements of the many types of dairy products produced around the world.
The Committee endorsed the hygiene provisions of the Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fish Products,
including Section 2.2 and 2.6 of Definitions; Section 6 - Aquaculture and Section 10 - Processing of Quick Frozen Coated Fish
Products. It also endorsed the Draft Standard for Salted Atlantic Herring and Salted Sprat.
Forwarded the definitions for the three terms; Food Safety Objective, Performance Objective,
and Performance Criterion to be included in the Procedural Manual. These definitions will facilitate the
advancement of several documents under consideration by the CCFH and will enable the implementation of the risk analysis
framework being adopted by Codex Alimentarius.
Continued the development of internal procedures for more effective means for introducing new work projects to
be undertaken by CCFH, particularly in the area of microbiological risk assessment/risk management activities;
establishing criteria for prioritization of CCFH work, and fostering interaction between CCFH and other
Committees.
An ad hoc working group was formed to combine three documents; Proposed Draft Process by which the
Committee on Food Hygiene Could Undertake its Work in Microbiological Risk Assessment/Risk Management;
Discussion Paper on the Development of Process, Procedures and Criteria to Establish Priorities for the Work
of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene; and Discussion Paper on the Development of Options for a
Cross-Committee Interaction Process into a single document entitled The Process by which the Codex
Committee on Food Hygiene will Prioritize and Undertake Its Work (see Appendix IV of ALINORM 04/27/13).
The Committee also decided the document will be circulated to solicit comments and the ad hoc working
will revise the process document on the basis of comments submitted in response to the Circular Letter. The
revised document will be discussed at the 37th Session of CCFH. The United States has agreed to serve as
the lead country for this ad hoc working group and to host a drafting group meeting in between the
Sessions.
Reported on the progress for work being done in the areas of the following microorganism/commodity combinations:
The Discussion Paper on Risk Management Strategies for Salmonella spp. in Poultry will be revised by the
drafting group for consideration at the next Session and the document is to follow the format of the General Principles
of Food Hygiene (GPFH). The revised paper is to be titled Discussion paper on the Guidelines for the Application of the
General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Risk Based Control of Salmonella in Broiler Chickens and is to be
presented at the next Session of the Committee. Sweden is the lead country for this document and the United States
will be a part of the drafting team.
The Discussion Paper on Risk Management Strategies for Campylobacter spp. in broiler chickens will be
revised by the drafting group for consideration at the next Session. The Committee instructed the drafting
group to follow the "risk management" format presented in the document The Process by which the Codex Committee
on Food Hygiene will Prioritize and Undertake Its Work. (Appendix IV, ALINORM 04/27/13.), and changed the title
of the document to Discussion paper on Guidelines for Microbiological Risk Management Options for Campylobacter in
Broiler Chickens. The Netherlands is the lead country for this document and the United States will be part of
the drafting team.
After the 35th Session of Committee decided to suspend the further elaboration of the Discussion Paper on Risk
Management Strategies for Vibrio spp., and this paper was not included in the Agenda for the 36th Session of
the Committee. After receiving encouragement from the Committee on Fish and Fish Products, the Committee agreed
that the risk profile would be included on the Agenda for the 37th Session for further discussion and development.
The United States was the lead country for this document in the past and expects to be called upon in the future to
continue in this role.
The Discussion Paper on the Risk Profile for Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) Including the Identification
of Commodities of Concern Including Sprouts, Ground Beef, and Pork was reviewed by the Committee. The Committee agreed
to develop a paper titled Discussion Paper on Guidelines for the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the
Risk Based Control of Enterohemorrhagic E. coli in Ground Beef and Fermented Sausage. The Committee provided specific
instructions for the drafting group to identify specific questions that should be transmitted to JEMRA for the purposes of
receiving needed scientific advice. The drafting group was further charged with conducting a systematic review of the
available information on enterohemorrhagic E. coli and providing an outline of the GPFH-based guidance document. The United
States is the lead country for this drafting group, and is considering holding a drafting group meeting in between the
Sessions.
The Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Application of Principles of Food Hygiene to the [Management] of Listeria
monocytogenes in Foods developed the drafting group lead by Germany will be revised based on the written
comments received and the discussion that occurred at the Plenary Session. The Committee also agreed to form
a sub-group of the drafting group will prepare an Annex to the Guidelines that address the establishment of
microbiological criteria and consider the role of FSO's and related performance objectives and performance
criteria for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. The drafting group was encouraged to take full
advantage of the risk assessment provided by JEMRA (FAO/WHO) in response to the Committee's request for
scientific advice. The United States has and will continue to be a member of this drafting group, including
the sub-group for the formation of the Annex. This drafting group is likely to meet in Berlin in between the
Sessions.
Agreed to continue work on the Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Management.
It was decided that the document should be revised on the basis of the discussions on this document and written comments
submitted at the current meeting. The United States has and will continue to be a member of this drafting group. This drafting
group is scheduled to meet in between the Sessions in Brussels.
Agreed to continue work on the Draft Revised Code of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products.
Australia is the lead country for this effort and the United States is a member of the drafting group.
A Circular Letter soliciting technical information on the processing of eggs and egg products will be issued
to gather needed information prior to a meeting of the drafting group that will be held in Brussels before the
37th Session.
Agreed to continue development of Proposed Draft Guidelines for the Validation of Food Hygiene Control Measures.
It was decided that the document should be revised on the based on the written comments and the discussions on this
document that occurred at the 36th Session. The United States is the lead country for this document and was encouraged
to hold a drafting group meeting in between the Sessions in order to advance this document to step 5 at the 37th
Session.
Agreed to continue the revision of the Recommended International Code of Hygienic Practice for Food for Infants and
Children. The drafting group, which is being lead by Canada, was encouraged to take full advantage of the risk
profile developed by the United States and the expert scientific advice provided by JEMRA (FAO/WHO) at the request of
the Committee. The United States has been and will continue to be a member of this working group. A drafting group
meeting in Canada is being planned in between the Sessions.
Other Business and Future Work
The Committee endorsed a request for an expert consultation by FAO/WHO on the safety/benefit issues associated
with the use of active chlorine in relation to foods, and established a drafting group to develop CCFH related
terms of reference for that expert consultation.
The Committee endorsed the establishment of a Codex/OIE Task Force to develop broad risk management options
for the control of antimicrobial resistance related to the non-human use of antimicrobials.
The Delegation noted that the 37th Session of the Committee is scheduled to take place in Argentina
during March, 2005. This, in combination with the increased number of "face-to-face" drafting group meetings,
presents significant future fiscal challenges to the Delegation.
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