expressed its appreciation
to FAO and WHO for the significant shifts in resources in their respective
budgets towards the areas of food safety and consumer protection, in particular
the support to the scientific expert bodies that advise Codex and the strengthening
of Codex and food control related activities in developing countries (para.
18);
endorsed the view of
the Executive Committee concerning the status of the Codex Committee on
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables as the international body responsible for drafting
grade standards for these products and emphasized the need to draw upon
and develop the experience and expertise of specialized bodies working
in this field (para. 23);
agreed that a document
should be developed to provide guidance on cooperation with other International
Intergovernmental Organizations on the elaboration of Codex Standards and
Related Texts under the direction of the Codex Committee on General Principles
(para. 31);
thanked FAO and WHO
for their various activities in support of food quality and safety and
welcomed the direction to apply preventative approaches (para. 40);
endorsed recommendations
addressed to it by the FAO Conference on Food Trade beyond the Year 2000:
Science-based Decisions, Harmonization, Equivalence and Mutual Recognition
(para. 42)
adopted the Strategic
Framework, including the Strategic Vision Statement (para. 68), and agreed
that the draft Medium-Term Plan should be revised by the Secretariat in
the light of the Strategic Framework, the Commission’s discussion and the
written comments received, and should incorporate the elements of the Chairperson’s
Action Plan agreed to by the Commission. In this regard, the Commission:
agreed that its work
should take due account of international regulatory initiatives and developments
(para. 51);
decided that a decision
on the holding of annual meetings of the Commission beginning in 2004 and
on the related issue of the future of the Executive Committee would not
be taken until the 25th Session of the Commission in 2003 (para.
55);
requested FAO and WHO
to convene a consultation to review the status and procedures of the expert
bodies and to develop recommendations for consideration by the Directors-General
on additional ways to improve the quality, quantity and timeliness of scientific
advice to the Commission (para. 61);
agreed in principle
that FAO and WHO should establish clear rules and procedures for the establishment
and functioning of a trust fund for consideration in the first instance
by the Executive Committee in 2002 and the 25th Session of the
Commission in 2003 to ensure its complete transparency and avoidance of
bias and influence, to report on its implementation and to indicate envisioned
sources of funding (para. 65);
agreed that the activities
envisaged in the Medium Term Plan should include cost estimates to determine
whether the objectives could be achieved within available resources (paras.
68-69);
confirmed its initial
mandate to the Codex Committee on General Principles to complete the principles
for risk analysis within Codex as a high priority and recommended that
relevant Codex Committees should continue to develop and document the application
of risk analysis in their work (paras. 75 and 85);
adopted the position,
in regard to the consideration of precaution, that "When there is evidence
that a risk to human health exists but scientific data are insufficient
or incomplete, the Commission should not proceed to elaborate a standard
but should consider elaborating a related text, such as a code of practice,
provided that such a text would be supported by the available scientific
evidence" (para. 83);
as a quorum had not been attained,
decided to defer discussions of proposed amendments to the Procedural Manual
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, including the membership of Regional
Economic Integration Organizations, until the next session and to request
the Committee on General Principles to consider the amendments concerning
the Membership of Regional Economic Integration Organizations thoroughly
in order to clarify relevant issues and facilitate the debate at the next
session (paras. 86-88);
adopted Criteria for the Consideration
of Other Factors Referred to in the Second Statement of Principle on the
Role of Science related to "other legitimate factors" in the Codex Decision
Making Process and the Extent to Which Other Factors are Taken into Account
(para. 98);
adopted 41 new or revised Codex
standards, guidelines and related texts including a maximum level for aflatoxin
M1 in milk an an amendment to the General Standard for the Labelling
of Prepackaged Foods: Labelling of Foods Obtained Through Certain Techniques
of Genetic Modification/Engineering: Allergens; and, preliminarily adopted
Principles for the Risk Analysis of Foods Derived from Modern Biotechnology
and a Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived
from Recombinant-DNA Plants (paras. 99-207);
agreed to undertake the elaboration
of a Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Recombinant-DNA
Microorganisms in Food (para. 208);
agreed to the abolition of
the Codex Committee on Soups and Broths and to adjourn sine die the
Codex Committee on Natural Mineral Waters (paras. 212-214);
decided to reactivate the Codex
Committee on Meat Hygiene and agreed to rename it as Codex Committee on
Meat and Poultry Hygiene (paras. 9 and 215); and
requested the Directors-General
to convene an extraordinary session of the Executive Committee at an early
date to consider the unfinished matters on its agenda, so that progress
at Committee level would not be impeded (para. 216).