ALINORM 03/26/1 - codex - BSN

16 REP12/CAC
of the draft MRLs had been considered by the 66 th Executive Committee during the Critical Review, and that
some Members had felt that more efforts should be made to reach consensus through a transparent and
inclusive process and had suggested that a special meeting be organized, possibly in conjunction with the
session of the Committee on General Principles, in April 2012. They had also noted that informal
discussions between Codex members could always take place during or between Codex sessions.
88. The Chairperson explained that subsequent to his discussions with some members of the CCEXEC, it
had been agreed to hold an informal meeting on ractopamine, on 5 April 2012, in the margins of the CCGP,
and that the Delegation of France had kindly confirmed availability of a meeting room to facilitate the
consultations. He added that the Codex Secretariat had sent an invitation on his behalf, on 4 March 2012, to
all members and observers to participate in the informal discussions and that he had prepared, with support
from the Vice-Chairs, a background note to facilitate the discussion. The note, in addition to some historical
context, proposed the following options, which had been put forth by different delegations during previous
discussions on this matter and further recognized that other possibilities might be explored to find consensus.
89. The summarized options were:
i. Continue to hold the draft MRLs at Step 8.
ii. Discontinue the work on the draft MRLs.
iii. Hold the draft MRLs in abeyance for a specified period of time.
iv. Adopt the draft MRLs without a footnote.
v. Adopt the draft MRLs with a footnote.
90. The Chairperson provided a brief account of the informal meeting on ractopamine as follows:
“The informal consultations took place as scheduled from 13:30-16:15. Several members and
observers participated in the discussions. In my opening remarks, I recalled a brief account of the
process between the CAC Sessions of 2010 and 2011. The Commission had voted against conducting a
vote on adoption of the draft MRLs for Ractopamine as a result of which these remained at Step 8.
During this informal meeting, I noted that the objective of the informal consultation was to come to a
better appreciation of the relevant issues and come closer to finding consensus so as to utilize the
Commission’s time more efficiently. It was recalled that the mandate of CAC is to take decisions on
draft Codex standards proposed by the relevant Committees. In light of the previous discussions, the
participants were asked to express their views. A summary of the general comments is as follows:
- This matter has been under discussion at the Commission level for the last four Commission
sessions;
- All Codex requirements as per the Procedural Manual have been fulfilled;
- JECFA has carried out the risk assessment three times as per the procedures and that the MRLs
should be adopted as proposed by the CCRVDF;
- The scientific concerns have not been fully addressed;
- Consumer preferences in certain countries are against use of veterinary drugs for growth purposes;
- Work on these standards should either be discontinued or be put in abeyance for some time due to
lack of consensus;
- Whatever option is selected must foster consensus.
This was an informal meeting and not a forum for making decisions or recommendations to the
Commission. I must say and I had also concluded at the end of the meeting, that the participation of
several members and observers and the level of their engagement was a demonstration of the
willingness of the members to continue their dialogue and discussion on this matter. There was
divergence in the opinion on scientific assessment, the manner of considering consumer preferences as
part of factors influencing Codex standards, and on the fulfilment of all Codex requirements to
support adoption of the draft MRLs.”
91. The Chairperson further recalled the efforts made to develop the various options for consensus among
members of the Commission. He recalled specifically the various informal meetings that he had organised