ALINORM 03/26/1 - codex - BSN

REP12/CAC 7
6. The Chairperson of the Commission also welcomed the delegations to Rome. He said that, as the
Commission was approaching its 50 th anniversary, one should praise the foresight of FAO and WHO to
establish Codex to ensure food safety and quality to complement food security. Global trade in food products
had grown immensely since then and the Commission had contributed to this growth. Recent years however,
had seen a proliferation of private standards, which had led to difficulties in market access for the small and
marginal farmers in developing countries. The Chairperson stressed the need to ensure that Codex remained
the pre-eminent food standards setting organization through greater acceptability and visibility, e.g. using a
Codex logo.
7. The Chairperson said that the pre-eminence of Codex standards came through greater contribution of
developing countries to the Codex process. Effective participation of developing countries in Codex had
grown thanks to the consistent efforts of FAO and WHO for capacity building and financial support from the
Codex Trust Fund. He noted that the Codex Strategic Plan for 2014-2019 was scheduled for discussion at the
current session and was scheduled for adoption in 2013, so there was a need to make substantial progress on
the document. The Chairperson urged the Commission to address difficult issues in the spirit of giving and
moving from national positions. Concluding, he thanked the staff of FAO, WHO and the Codex Secretariat
for their work and appealed to FAO, WHO and members to provide them with the necessary support.
Division of Competence
8. The Commission noted the division of competence between the European Union and its Member
States, according to paragraph 5, Rule II, of the Rules of Procedure of the Codex Alimentarius Commission,
as presented in document CRD 1.
ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA (Agenda Item 1) 1
9. The Commission adopted the Provisional Agenda as its Agenda for the session. The Commission
agreed to discuss the following under item 16: (a) Proposal for use of a Codex logo; (b) Celebration of the
50 th anniversary of the Commission; (c) the proposal for the establishment of a Codex Committee for Herbs
and Spices and their formulations (CX/CAC 12/35/19 (India)); and (d) Information on the upcoming session
of the Codex Committee on Fish and Fishery Products in Indonesia.
10. The Commission agreed to the proposal of the Chairperson to hold an in-session facilitated discussion
on the MRLs for ractopamine on the second day of the Commission, facilitated by the Chairperson.
REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON ON THE 66 th and 67 th SESSIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE (Agenda Item 2) 2
11. In accordance with Rule V.7 of the Rules of Procedure, the Chairperson reported to the Commission
on the outcome of the 66 th and 67 th sessions of the Executive Committee, and noted that the
recommendations from these sessions on specific questions would be considered under the relevant Agenda
items.
12. As regards the critical review, the Committee had considered at its 66th Session the status of
elaboration of Codex standards and at its 67th Session the standards submitted for adoption and new work
proposals.
13. The Committee had discussed in detail the draft Codex Strategic Plan 2014-2019 in the light of the
comments received from Members and the revised text was attached to the report of the 67 th Executive
Committee, for consideration at this Session under Agenda 10(b). A sub-committee of the Executive
Committee was set up, to work through the coming year to ensure that, after consideration of the revised
draft by the Coordinating Committees, a final draft would be available by March 2013 for consideration and
adoption by the 36 th Session of the Commission (2013).
14. Both sessions of the Executive Committee had discussed issues relating to the Codex budget as well as
progress under the Codex Trust Fund. Both sessions of the Executive Committee had deliberated on
scientific advice, noting the critical funding situation for this important activity. The discussion paper on the
funding for scientific advice prepared by the Member for Europe in cooperation with the Member for North
America and other members had been discussed in detail and a sub-committee of the Executive Committee
was set-up to explore additional funding options for the sustainability of scientific advice.
1 CX/CAC 12/35/1.
2 REP12/EXEC1, REP12/EXEC2.