Codex work on Commodity Standards

5. 
   Codex committees are hosted by a member country, which provides secretariat services and is responsible for the costs of the committee meetings.
   
6. 
   Codex standards, codes of practice, guidelines and standards cover a wide range of issues that include pesticide and veterinary residues in food, environmental contaminants and pathogenic organisms in foods, food additives, nutrition, food labelling, and standards for composition and identity of major food commodities. Codex standards are based on sound scientific principles and data and, in relation to food safety, also on scientific risk assessment. Codex standards and related texts are used by policy-makers and national regulators in building a robust national food control system to provide safe food and to protect the health of consumers.
   
7. 
   Codex standards and related texts are not mandatory and there are no obligations for Codex members to accept and or apply these texts. However, the significance of Codex standards and related texts has been heightened since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which, through its Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS Agreement), identifies Codex texts as the benchmark measures for food safety. An increasing number of countries are aligning their national food standards to the Codex Alimentarius and Codex standards also play an important role in the provisions concerning technical regulations and standards of the Technical Barrier to Trade (TBT) Agreement as they address the most common problems in the area of technical regulations, including nutrition labelling and even standard criteria for describing organic or biological foods.
   

8. 
   At the time of its establishment, Codex work was mainly on commodity standards. The emphasis on commodity standards started to decrease in the 90s following the FAO/WHO Conference on “Food Standards, Chemicals in Food and Food Trade having Implications for the Codex Alimentarius Commission” (1991), which highlighted the need for an horizontal approach and to focus on the development of provisions related to the protection of consumers (i.e. health and safety) and facilitation of international trade.
   
9. 
   The Conference also recognised that in order to facilitate the acceptance and use of commodity standards by countries it was important for Codex to simplify the standards by focusing on provisions that are essential for consumer protection (health, safety of foods, fraud) while provisions relating to styles, types of pack, sizes, defects, etc. should be limited to very special circumstances to avoid excessive detail.
   
10. 
    Another important shift in the work of Codex on commodity standards has been the development of more general/overarching standards, which focus on common characteristics of groups of commodities, rather than individual commodities. This shift has led to the development of less prescriptive standards which address in particular those aspects related to product definition (i.e. the species of primary products and the necessary analytical measures for ripeness/maturation parameters and the content specification for processed products). These standards exclude quality characteristics of size, colour, flavour, etc. which may be appropriate in national legislation and refer to horizontal standards for all food safety related characteristics (e.g. hygiene, contaminants, residues of pesticide and veterinary drugs). However, in some cases, where there is a need to address specific requirements related to a particular commodity within a general standard (i.e. asparagus in the Standard for Certain Canned Vegetables), commodity-specific annexes are added. These annexes do not repeat the common provisions in the general standard.
    
11. 
    As a result of this shift, a number of specific standards (e.g. for fresh and processed fruits and vegetables) have been revoked and incorporated into more general standards (e.g. Standard for Certain Canned Vegetables).
    
12. 
    While this shift might not fully meet the needs of countries whose food industries are in their infancy, it provides countries with standards that are easier to implement and use. When the standards are incorporated into national legislation they can also be supplemented with specific, additional provisions to better respond to an individual country’s needs.
    
13. 
    Although the focus of Codex work on commodities has decreased, Codex commodity standards are still the largest number of Codex texts (currently more than 200) (see Annex 1).
    
14. 
    Codex commodity standards cover a wide range of products of animal and vegetable origin in the raw, semi-processed and processed state. The major commodities included in the Codex are:
    

• 
  Cereals, pulses (legumes) and derived products including vegetable proteins
  
• 
  Fats and oils and related products
  
• 
  Fish and fishery products
  
• 
  Fresh fruits and vegetables
  
• 
  Processed and quick-frozen fruits and vegetables
  
• 
  Fruit juices
  
• 
  Meat and meat products
  
• 
  Soups and broths
  
• 
  Milk and milk products
  

• 
  Sugars, cocoa products and chocolate, and other miscellaneous products
  

15. 
    Commodity standards tend to follow the fixed format set out in the Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (section “Format of Codex Commodity Standard”) (see Annex II). The format consists of the following categories of information:
    

• 
  Scope includes the name of the food to which the standard applies and, in most cases, the purpose for which the commodity will be used.
  
• 
  Description includes a definition of the product or products covered with an indication, where appropriate, of the raw materials from which they are derived.
  
• 
  Essential composition includes information on the composition and identity characteristics of the commodity, as well as any compulsory and optional ingredients.
  
• 
  Food additives contains the names of the additives and the maximum amount permitted to be added to the food. Food additives must be cleared by FAO and WHO for their safety, and the use of food additives must be consistent with the Codex General Standard for Food Additives.
  
• 
  Contaminants makes reference to the Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods and Feeds; where appropriate, reference is also made to the Codex Maximum Limits for pesticide residues and for residues of veterinary drugs in foods.
  
• 
  Hygiene makes reference to Codex General Principles of Food Hygiene and other relevant Codex Codes of Hygienic Practice for the commodity concerned. In almost all cases it is required that the product shall be free from pathogenic microorganisms or any toxins or other poisonous or deleterious substances in amounts that represent a hazard to health.
  
• 
  Weights and measures contains provisions such as fill of the container and the drained weight of the commodity.
  
• 
  Labelling includes provisions on the name of the food and any special requirements to ensure that the consumer is not deceived or misled about the nature of the food. These provisions must be consistent with the Codex General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods. Requirements for the listing of ingredients and date-marking are specified.
  
• 
  Methods of analysis and sampling contains a list of the test methods needed to ensure that the commodity conforms to the requirements of the standard. References are made to internationally recognized test methods that meet the Commission’s criteria for accuracy, precision, etc.
  

16. 
    The responsibility for developing standards for specific foods or classes of food lies with the Commodity committees. Commodity committees convene as necessary and go into recess or are abolished when the Commission decides their work has been completed. New committees may be established on an ad hoc basis to cover specific needs for the development of new standards. There are currently seven active commodity committees (two of which are working by correspondence):
    

• 
  Committee on Culinary Herbs and Spices (hosted by India)
  
• 
  Committee on Fats and Oils (hosted by Malaysia)
  
• 
  Committee on Fish and Fishery Products (hosted by Norway)
  
• 
  Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (hosted by Mexico)
  
• 
  Committee on Milk and Milk Products (hosted by New Zealand) (working by correspondence)
  
• 
  Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (hosted by United States of America)
  
• 
  Committee on Sugar (hosted by Colombia) (working by correspondence)
  

17. 
    The following Commodity Committees have been adjourned sine die:
    

• 
  Committee on Cereals, Pulses and Legumes (hosted by United States of America)
  
• 
  Committee on Cocoa Products and Chocolate (hosted by Switzerland)
  
• 
  Committee on Meat Hygiene (hosted by New Zealand)
  
• 
  Committee on Natural Mineral Waters (hosted by Switzerland)
  

• 
  Committee on Vegetable Proteins (hosted by Canada)
  

18. 
    Host countries convene meetings of Codex subsidiary bodies at intervals of between one and two years, according to need. Attendance at some Codex Committees is almost as large as that drawn by a plenary session of the Commission.
    

19. 
    The procedure for the development of Codex commodity standards does not substantially differs from that of other Codex texts, e.g. codes of practice, guidelines (see Annex III). In essence, the procedure involves:
    

• 
  The submission of a proposal for a standard to be developed by a national government or a subsidiary committee of the Commission. This is usually followed by a discussion paper that outlines what the proposed standard is expected to achieve, and then a project proposal that indicates the time frame for the work and its relative priority.
  
• 
  A decision by the Commission or the Executive Committee that a standard be developed as proposed. “Criteria for the Establishment of Work Priorities” exist to assist the Commission or Executive Committee in their decision-making and in selecting the subsidiary body to be responsible for steering the standard through its development. If necessary, a new subsidiary body – usually a specialized task force – may be created.
  
• 
  The preparation of a proposed draft standard is arranged by the Commission Secretariat and circulated to member governments for comment.
  

• 
  Comments are considered by the subsidiary body that has been allocated responsibility for the development of the proposed draft standard, and this subsidiary body may present the text to the Commission as a draft standard. The draft may also be referred to the Codex Committees responsible for labelling, hygiene, additives, contaminants or methods of analysis for endorsement of any special advice in these areas.
  

20. 
    For commodities standards, Codex has established the following specific priorities criteria:
    

• 
  Volume of production and consumption in individual countries and volume and pattern of trade between countries.
  
• 
  Diversification of national legislations and apparent resultant or potential impediments to international trade.
  
• 
  International or regional market potential.
  
• 
  Amenability of the commodity to standardisation.
  

• 
  Coverage of the main consumer protection and trade issues by existing or proposed general standards.
  

• 
  Work already undertaken by other international organizations in this field and/or suggested by the relevant international intergovernmental body(ies).
  

21. 
    Commodity standards are also developed by the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees for commodities produced and traded within a specific region, examples of these standards include halva tehenia (Near East), culantro coyote (Latin America and the Caribbean), edible sago flour (Asia). In the past FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees were entrusted with the early development of standards for commodities relevant to a region, which were subsequently finalised by commodity committees. This practice has been discontinued and a procedure established for the conversion of a regional to a worldwide standard.
    

FORMAT FOR CODEX COMMODITY STANDARDS

Introduction

Notes on the Headings

Name of the Standard

The name of the standard should be clear and as concise as possible. It should usually be the common name by which the food covered by the standard is known or, if more than one food is dealt with in the standard, by a generic name covering them all. If a fully informative title should be inordinately long, a subtitle could be added.

Scope

This section should contain a clear, concise statement as to the food or foods to which the standard is applicable unless this is self-explanatory in the name of the standard. In the case of a general standard covering more than one specific product, it should be made clear as to which specific products the standard applies.

Description

This section should contain a definition of the product or products with an indication, where appropriate, of the raw materials from which it is derived and any necessary references to processes of manufacture. It may also include references to types and styles of product and to type of pack. There may also be additional definitions when these are required to clarify the meaning of the standard.

Essential Composition and Quality Factors

This section should contain all quantitative and other requirements as to composition including, where necessary, identity characteristics, provisions on packing media and requirements as to compulsory and optional ingredients. It should also include quality factors which are essential for the designation, definition or composition of the product concerned. Such factors could include the quality of the raw material, with the object of protecting the health of the consumer, provisions on taste, odour, colour and texture which may be apprehended by the senses, and basic quality criteria for the finished products, with the object of preventing fraud. This section may refer to tolerances for defects, such as blemishes or imperfect material, but this information should be contained in an appendix to the standard or in another advisory text.

Food Additives

This section should contain a general reference to the corresponding sections of the General Standard for Food Additives which should take the following form:

“[Food Additive functional class] used in accordance with Tables 1 and 2 of the General Standard of Food Additives in food category x.x.x.x [food category name] or listed in Table 3 of the General Standard for Food Additives are acceptable for use in foods conforming to this standard.”

Exceptions from, or addition to, the General Standard for Food Additives that are necessary for its interpretation with respect to the product concerned should be justified fully, and should be restricted where possible. In cases where it is necessary to explicitly list food additives in a commodity standard, the names of the additives/functional classes permitted and, where appropriate, the maximum amount permitted in the food should be prepared in accordance with guidance given in the section on Food Additives in the Relations between Commodity Committees and General Subject Committees, and should follow a tabulation, viz:

“INS number, name of additive, maximum level (in percentage or mg/kg) grouped by functional classes.”

This section should contain the following reference to the Guidelines for the use of flavourings (CAC/GL 66-2008), as appropriate:

“The flavourings used in products covered by this standard should comply with the Guidelines for the use of flavourings (CAC/GL 66-2008).”

In this section, provisions for processing aids should also be included.

Contaminants

This section should contain only the following reference to the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed without reference to specific provisions on contaminants:

“The products covered by this Standard shall comply with the Maximum Levels of the General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food and Feed (CODEX STAN 193-1995).”

For residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, if applicable to products concerned, this section should contain a general reference which should take the following form, without reference to specific provisions on residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs:

“The products covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum residue limits for pesticides and/or veterinary drugs established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission”.

Hygiene

This Section should contain the following general reference to the General Principles of Food Hygiene and the Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria related to Foods without reference to specific provisions on food hygiene:

“It is recommended that the products covered by the provisions of this Standard be prepared and handled in accordance with the appropriate sections of the General Principles of Food Hygiene (CAC/RCP 1-1969), and other relevant Codex texts such as Codes of Hygienic Practice and Codes of Practice.”

“The products should comply with any microbiological criteria established in accordance with the Principles and Guidelines for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria Related to Foods (CAC/GL 21-1997).”

Reference should also be made to applicable codes of hygienic practice.

Weights and Measures

This section should include all provisions, other than labelling provisions, relating to weights and measures, e.g. where appropriate, fill of container, weight, measure or count of units determined by an appropriate method of sampling and analysis. Weights and measures should be expressed in S.I. units. In the case of standards which include provisions for the sale of products in standardized amounts, e.g. multiples of 100 grams, S.I. units should be used, but this would not preclude additional statements in the standards of these standardized amounts in approximately similar amounts in other systems of weights and measures.

Labelling

This section should include all the labelling provisions contained in the Standard. Provisions should be included by reference to the General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods (CODEX STAN 1-1985).

The section may also contain provisions which are exemptions from, additions to, or which are necessary for the interpretation of the General Standard in respect of the product concerned provided that these can be justified fully.

Information specified in each draft standard should normally be limited to the following:

• 
  a statement that the product shall be labelled in accordance with the General Standard for the Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods (CODEX STAN 1-1985);
  
• 
  the specified name of the food;
  
• 
  date marking and storage instructions (only if the exemption foreseen in Section 4.7.1 of the General Standard is applied).
  

Where the scope of the Standard is not limited to pre-packaged foods, a provision for labelling of non retail containers may be included.

In such cases the provision may specify that:

“Information on ...⁴ shall be given either on the container or in accompanying documents, except that the name of the product, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer shall appear on the container.⁵

However, lot identification, and the name and address of the manufacturer or packer may be replaced by an identification mark provided that such a mark is clearly identifiable with the accompanying documents.”

In respect of date marking (Section 4.7 of the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods), if a Codex commodity committee, in exceptional circumstances, determine another date or dates as defined in the General Standard, either to replace or to accompany the date of minimum durability, or alternatively decide that no date marking is necessary, a relevant provision may be included.

Methods of Analysis and Sampling

This section should include, either specifically or by reference, all methods of analysis and sampling considered necessary and should be prepared in accordance with the guidance given in the section on Methods of Analysis and Sampling in the Relations between Commodity Committees and General Subject Committees. If two or more methods have been proved to be equivalent by the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, these could be regarded as alternatives and included in this section either specifically or by reference.
Annex III

PROCEDURES FOR THE ELABORATION OF CODEX STANDARDS AND RELATED TEXTS⁶

Introduction

The full procedure for the elaboration of Codex standards is as follows:

1. The Commission shall implement a unified approach in the area of standards development by taking its decisions, based on a strategic planning process (“standards management”) (See Part 1 of this document).

2. An on-going critical review shall ensure that proposals for new work and draft standards submitted to the Commission for adoption continue to meet the strategic priorities of the Commission and can be developed within a reasonable period of time, taking into account the requirements and availability of scientific expert advice (See Part 2 of this document).

3. The Commission decides, taking into account the outcome of the on-going critical review conducted by the Executive Committee, that a standard should be elaborated and also which subsidiary body or other body should undertake the work. Decisions to elaborate standards may also be taken by subsidiary bodies of the Commission in accordance with the above-mentioned outcome subject to subsequent approval by the Commission at the earliest possible opportunity. The Secretariat arranges for the preparation of a “proposed draft standard” which is circulated to governments for comments and is then considered in the light of these by the subsidiary body concerned which may present the text to the Commission as a “draft standard”. If the Commission adopts the “draft standard” it is sent to governments for further comments and in the light of these and after further consideration by the subsidiary body concerned, the Commission reconsiders the draft and may adopt it as a “Codex standard”. The procedure is described in Part 3 of this document.

4. The Commission or any subsidiary body, subject to the confirmation of the Commission may decide that the urgency of elaborating a Codex standard is such that an accelerated elaboration procedure should be followed. While taking this decision, all appropriate matters shall be taken into consideration, including the likelihood of new scientific information becoming available in the immediate future. The accelerated elaboration procedure is described in Part 4 of this document.

5. The Commission or the subsidiary body or other body concerned may decide that the draft be returned for further work at any appropriate previous Step in the Procedure. The Commission may also decide that the draft be held at Step 8.

6. The Commission may authorize, on the basis of two-thirds majority of votes cast, the omission of Steps 6 and 7, where such an omission is recommended by the Codex Committee entrusted with the elaboration of the draft. Recommendations to omit steps shall be notified to Members and interested international organizations as soon as possible after the session of the Codex Committee concerned. When formulating recommendations to omit Steps 6 and 7, Codex Committees shall take all appropriate matters into consideration, including the need for urgency, and the likelihood of new scientific information becoming available in the immediate future.

7. The Commission may at any stage in the elaboration of a standard entrust any of the remaining Steps to a Codex Committee or other body different from that to which it was previously entrusted.

8. It will be for the Commission itself to keep under review the revision of “Codex standards”. The procedure for revision should, mutatis mutandis, be that laid down for the elaboration of Codex standards, except that the Commission may decide to omit any other step or steps of that Procedure where, in its opinion, an amendment proposed by a Codex Committee is either of an editorial nature or of a substantive nature but consequential to provisions in similar standards adopted by the Commission at Step 8.

9. Codex standards and related texts are published and are sent to governments as well as to international organizations to which competence in the matter has been transferred by their Member States (see Part 5 of this document).

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