Food Law News - FAO/WHO/WTO/Codex - 2001

The Hague, The Netherlands, 2 - 7 April 2001

Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (33rd Session)

The Committee:

• Recommended 67 new and revised MRLs for pesticides in or on specific food commodities for final adoption and identified 123 existing Codex MRLs for revocation by the 24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and proposed 99 new and revised MRLs for preliminary adoption by the 24th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission;
• Supported the development of the 13 revised regional diets and agreed that it should be informed about significant further progress on the finalization of the regional diets;
• Agreed that the current procedure should be retained and that MRLs should not be advanced to Step 8 when the ADI was exceeded in one or more of the regional diets;
• Noted that although the risk analysis procedures followed in MRL setting were not currently presented in a single document, they were reflected in several guidelines or related texts used by JMPR and CCPR;
• Agreed that a case-by-case approach should be followed in establishing MRLs for genetically modified crops and metabolite residues;
• Concluded that the cumulative risk assessment in relation of infants and children required consideration in further developing of methodology and agreed to ask additional information from Member governments in this area;
• Advanced the proposed draft amendments to the definitions of meat, fat and milk to the Codex Classification of Foods and Animal Feeds for final adoption by the Commission;
• Elaborated proposed draft amendments to the Guidelines on Good Laboratory Practice in Pesticide Residue Analysis and on the Introductory Section of the Recommended Methods of Analysis for Pesticide Residues for circulation for governments comments and consideration by the next session of the Committee;
• Agreed on the priority list of pesticides to be evaluated by JMPR;
• Agreed to consider a position paper having identified the most important spice/pesticide combinations together with the information on trade problems and the policy guidance on the establishment of MRLs for spices at the next session of the Committee;
• Deferred the discussion on other legitimate factors until further progress had been achieved in Committee on General Principles; and
• Agreed to consider further to what extent the Codex Classification should be updated and what new commodities should be added at the next session of the Committee.