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| Report of the U.S. Delegate, Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables, 23rd Session |
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The 23rd Session
of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables (CCPFV)
was held October 16-21, 2006, in Arlington, Virginia. Participants
from 21 member countries, one member organization, and observers from
two international organizations attended. Mr. Lloyd Day, Administrator
of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) officially opened the
session. He described AMS's role in developing commodity standards
and conformity assessment, and also provided encouragement to the
CCPFV in its ongoing work.
The 23rd Session of the CCPFV continued work from the 22nd Session
(September 2004). Prior to the formal session, on October 14-15, 2006,
four pre-scheduled consecutive working groups (WG) met and discussed
the following proposed draft standards: Draft Codex Standard for Certain
Canned Citrus Fruit; Draft Codex Standard for Certain Canned Vegetables;
Draft Codex Standard for Jams, Jellies and Marmalades; and Methods
of Analysis applicable to standards under review by the CCPFV. The
WG sessions were productive and helpful in advancing the development
of draft standards at the plenary sessions.
The CCPFV agreed to forward the following documents to the Codex Alimentarius
Commission (CAC) for adoption at Step 8 as Codex standards:
- Draft Standard for Pickled Fruits and Vegetables;
- Draft Standard for Processed Tomato Concentrates;
- Draft Standard for Preserved Tomatoes; and
- Draft Standard for Certain Canned Citrus Fruits.
The CCPFV discussed the Draft Standard for Certain Canned Vegetables
(including draft Guidelines on Packing Media for Canned Vegetables)
and decided to:
- Split the draft standard into a "body" section (comprised of
the general provisions applicable to all products), and annexes
(one for each vegetable addressed);
- Forward the "body" section of the standard to the CAC for adoption
at Step 5;
- Retain the annexes and draft Guidelines on Packing Media for
Canned Vegetables at Step 3 for comment; and
- Maintain the electronic WG led by France to continue developing
this standard. The U.S. again volunteered to be a member of the
WG.
The CCPFV forwarded the draft Standard for Jams, Jellies and Marmalades
to the CAC for adoption at Step 5.
The CCPFV agreed to circulate the Proposed Layout for Codex Standards
for Processed Fruits and Vegetables for comment.
Future Work
- The Committee agreed to forward France's proposal on Sampling
Plans to the Executive Committee for review as new work; and
- The Committee agreed to leave the Priority List for the Standardization
of Processed Fruits and Vegetables unchanged. As part of this
decision, the CCPFV agreed to retain the table olives standard
as part of the priority list (and not to submit the revision of
this standard to the Executive Committee for review as new work).
The CCPFV agreed to submit to the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis
and Sampling for endorsement several methods for determining compliance
with the analytical requirements in the draft standards advanced to
Step 8. This submittal incorporated recommendations from the Methods
of Analysis WG, which was chaired by a member of the U.S. delegation.
Also, the CCPFV deleted sampling plan tables from the standards advanced
to Step 8.
During the CCPFV's 23rd session, a WG on food additives was formed
and chaired by a member of the U.S. delegation. The WG held two meetings
during which it reviewed the food additive functional classes and
the individual food additives listed in the standards being considered
by the Committee. The WG compared the listed food additives with the
food additives contained in Tables 1, 2, and 3 of the General Standard
on Food Additives (GSFA). The WG recommended that lists of food additives
continue to be maintained in the draft standards. It also requested
review for possible inclusion in draft standards those food additives
contained in the GSFA in the appropriate functional classes in Table
3 and the appropriate food categories in Tables 1 and 2.
The WG's recommendations on four standards being advanced to Step
8 were accepted by the Committee. Due to time constraints, the WG's
recommendations for the other standards were not discussed. These
will be circulated for comment and addressed at future CCPFV session(s).
The delegations of Australia and the United States expressed concern
regarding the removal of certain previously adopted food additives
from standards moving to Step 8. These deletions were requested by
certain delegation(s) during the WG sessions. Due to time constraints,
there was limited opportunity for review and comment prior to the
advancement of these deletions to the plenary session of the full
Committee. The plenary session considered and accepted the deletions.
The U.S. is concerned that food additives (which were previously adopted)
were removed with limited opportunity for delegations to consult with
experts regarding the impact of the deletions. Moreover, the removal
of these food additives may restrict flexibility available to producers
and consumers.
The next meeting of the CCPFV is tentatively scheduled to be held
in the United States in 2008. |
Last Modified:
November 9, 2006 |
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