International

Photographs from Codex meeting Sept. 7-10, 2004

IACFO (International Association of Consumer Food Organization) participated at the 14th FAO/WHO Codex Coordinating Committee for Asia Sept. 7 - 10, 2004 in South Korea.

Final Day

Report from Codex meeting Sept. 7-10, 2004

IACFO (International Association of Consumer Food Organization) participated at the 14th Codex Coordinating Committee meting for Asia (CC Asia), held in Jeju, South Korea on Sept. 7-10, 2004. Our delegation consisted of seven consumer experts. Totally, 79 delegates from 17 Asian countries were present, together with 21 observers. The meeting was focusing on issues that are of interest to consumers in Asia, such as standards for certain locally produced foods.

Final Day

At Codex meetings, the last day is usually spent on the report, going through the text paragraph by paragraph. Thus each delegation can make sure that its comments have been properly recorded.

1)Traceability

On the topic of traceability, IACFO was not happy with the way the discussion was summarized. The delegation of India had stated that traceability/product tracing should apply only to processed foods and that primary products and processes should be excluded. Japan had noted that it was also needed in emergency situations such as those related to BSE, where traceability must be applied starting at the primary production level. IACFO pointed out that traceability also can be used for the purpose of consumer information. This comment was accepted by the chair, and included in the final report.

Actually, traceability is already applied to a number of foods in Japan, see report from Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries:

Guidelines for Introduction of Traceability Systems (March 2003)
http://www.maff.go.jp/trace/guide_en.pdf

2)Draft Principles for Risk Analysis

This is a very important discussion that is taking place in the Codex Committee on General Principles. India wanted the Asian Codex meeting to make a lot of comments about the principles. To use CC Asia to try to weaken the principles for risk analysis was not what we had expected.

In particular, India stated that the Codex principles for risk analysis should not include a reference to the precautionary principle. India also wanted CC Asia to point out to CCGP that the principles for risk analysis should recognize "economic and technical constraints" of developing countries. In addition, India said the risk analysis process should not include ecological and environmental conditions. We were very sad to hear that the delegation of India wanted trade issues to be more important than health and consumer protection, that certainly must involve proper evaluation of ecological and environmental concerns.

The reason for India's comments may be that they are now receiving funding from the World Bank for capacity building of a food and drug control administration. It is a five year project, which will promote good manufacturing practices (GMP) and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in the food industry. However, if India is also influenced politically by the World Bank and its policies, it is extremely worrying that trade concerns are crushing attempts to improve consumer policies. Indian author Arundhati Roy has been very harsh in pointing out that Indian democracy is not really benefiting from the policies of the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank:

Confronting Empire
http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/ArundhatiRoy020302.cfm

3)Food safety and trade

Thailand wanted to further discuss the issue of trade in foods, especially concerning foods that had been found to contain residues of antibiotics. Over the past few years, shrimp and many other foods have been found to contain different substances, such as chlortetracycline. Usually, a country can ban imports if dangerous levels are detected, but if there are no international Codex standards to refer to, it can be very frustrating for the exporting country.

For example, China and Thailand have lost a lot of money as Japan and the EU have banned imports based on the detection of small levels of drugs. But the exporting countries argue that these drugs are "important in developing countries". India suggested that Codex step up its activities in this area, for example by initiating a working group in the Codex Committee for Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) to deal with all aspects of the problem.

FAO and WHO has opened a Internet portal together with WTO to give everyone easier access to news about international food and trade issues http://www.ipfsaph.org. The key word is "capacity building" which aims at assisting developing countries in their efforts to improve food safety. However, there is a risk that legislation is imposed on a country without a proper democratic process. It is a problem if countries simply decide to use Codex standards and other international tools without involving the citizens. As Dr. Sri Ram Khanna from the Indian consumer organization VOICE has pointed out, greater efforts are also needed to build the capacity of consumer groups.

4)Other comments

It was interesting to see how the Asian countries are now able to put forward detailed draft standards for foods that are common to this region. The Korean government did a great job in promoting ginseng and gochujang, as well as fermented soybean products (the standard will be redrafted to include other products, such as miso). Previously, many Codex standards have focused on western foods, and with the terrific food culture of Asia, it seems logical to promote standards that simplify the trade in certain products. A concern that was highlighted by several delegations, as well as by IACFO, related to the unnecessary and often excessive use of additives and flavourings. As Korea will continue to host the CC Asia for another two years, there is time to take all considerations into account.