ALINORM 03/26/1 - codex - BSN

26 REP12/CAC
160. Other delegations supported discontinuation of work and recalled that Codex had devoted more than
twenty years to this work and that the inability to develop the standard was due to unsolved issues regarding
compositional aspects and not to safety aspects of these products. They further recalled that no major
impediments in the international trade of these products had been identified. They were of the view that the
development of regional standards for processed cheese could result in barriers to trade, as processed cheese
were manufactured in many countries and traded worldwide, and that countries could address intraregional
trade problems in their national legislation. They further noted that regional standards could not be developed
for commodities with significant trade outside a region to avoid the development of more than one standard
for the same commodities. They further noted that Codex had already developed general guidance on
essential health and safety aspects of these products and labelling for consumers information. One observer
noted that processed cheese was not facing international trade impediments and was not amenable to
standardization, given the variety of compositional and functional characteristics of products currently
available internationally.
161. In view of the lack of consensus, the Chairperson proposed, as a compromise, to continue the
collection of information documenting gaps that could be addressed through a Codex standard for both safety
and quality requirements of processed cheese, while discontinuing the work on the current standard.
162. Several delegations supported the proposal of the Chairperson, which would enable the Commission to
have a more informed discussion on the need for a standard for processed cheese and the exact scope and
possible gaps that any new work should address. Other delegations, while supporting continuing the
discussion on the need for work on processed cheese, were not in favour of discontinuation of work at the
current Session. One Delegation was of the opinion that more time was necessary for countries to identify the
gaps in the current Codex standards and define the scope of new work for processed cheese.
Conclusion
163. The Commission agreed to discontinue work on the development of a standard for processed cheese.
The Commission further requested the Codex Secretariat to prepare a Circular Letter asking members to
identify the gaps in the safety and quality provisions of Codex texts that would justify new work on
processed cheese and describe the scope of any new work to be considered to address such gaps. The
Commission further agreed to request the upcoming sessions of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees to
further discuss the need for a standard for processed cheese and document the scope of the work that might
be needed in this area.
164. The Codex Secretariat would analyse the information received in response to the Circular Letter; the
analysis along with the inputs of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committees would be presented at the next
Session of the Commission, which would decide whether new work addressing safety or quality
requirements is necessary and, if so, the scope and the mechanisms for carrying out the work.
165. The delegations of Algeria, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Jordan,
Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates, Uruguay and Yemen expressed their reservation on the discontinuation of work on the standard for
processed cheese.
B. Matters referred by Codex Committees and Task Forces
Committee on Sugars
Proposed draft Standard for Panela
166. The Commission recalled that the development of a Standard for Panela had been approved as new
work by the 34 th Session of the Commission and that the timeframe for completion of this work was the 36 th
Session of the Commission in 2013.
167. The Delegation of Colombia, as Chair of the Committee on Sugars, informed the Commission about
the status of development of this Standard. The Delegation indicated that, based on the comments submitted,
the main issues surrounding the development of the Standard related to the clear placement of the product in
the General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA), which might require revision of the description of the
relevant food category of the GSFA, and the definition of the physical and chemical characteristics of the
product. The Delegation noted that the Standard should be ready for adoption at Step 5/8 by the next Session
of the Commission, in compliance with the timeframe allocated for completion of this work.