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| Report of the U.S. Delegate, Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, 13th Session |
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The Thirteenth Session
of the Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CCFFV) was
attended by forty-one member countries, one member organization and
three international organizations. Hon. Sergio Alejandro Garcia de
Alba Zepeda, Mexico's Secretary of the Economy officially opened the
Session.
Key Issues
Proposed Draft Codex Standard for Table Grapes
This standard was completed by the Session with the adoption of the
minimum maturity requirements and minimum bunch size for table of
75 grams. The maturity requirements were adopted without any provision
for exemptions. There was general concern that any provision for exemptions
would lead to a long list similar to individual maturity requirements.
India and the U.S. expressed reservation to the minimum maturity requirements
adopted.
The meeting agreed to exempt Institutional Grades of table grapes
from the minimum bunch size requirement. However, since "institutional
grade" does not have a uniform international meaning the following
statement was added to the relevant section of the standard, "this
provision does not apply to packages intended for single servings".
Proposed Draft Codex Standard for Tomatoes
There was no agreement on the sizing requirements in the standard.
The U.S. proposal on two sizing approaches in the standard was accepted
however, continued disagreements between countries present on size
ranges and the sizing of tomatoes by count or weight persisted. In
addition, efforts to establish minimum and maximum diameter for cherry
tomatoes were unsuccessful due to differences between countries and
lack of scientific evidence for a clear demarcation.
Proposed Draft Codex Standard for Apples
The text developed in February 2006 at the physical Working Group
led by the U.S. was accepted and some changes proposed. Unresolved
issues include the following:
Minimum Size: Most delegations supported the exclusion
of minimum size from the standard by indicating that there is no direct
link between apple size and maturity and therefore another measure
to determine acceptable minimum size should be explored.
Color Requirement: Most delegations supported deletion
of Annex I "Apple Color Varieties". However, there was no
agreement on how to continue grading apples using uniformity of color
without a varietal color list.
An electronic working group was established to continue the work between
sessions. There was general consensus that another physical meeting
of the Working Group would help advance the development of the standard.
The U.S., as leader of the Working Group, will explore the possibility
of holding a physical working group and set a date and venue if this
would feasible.
Other Key Issues Discussed
Guidelines
for Quality Control of FFV: The session agreed to advance the
document developed to Step 5 with a target date for completion- the
Fourteenth CCFFV session.
Future Work: The CCFFV decided that no new standards
or revisions are undertaken until the drafts standards being developed
are completed and the standard layout is revised.
Conclusion
The outcomes of 13th CCFFV Session are mixed. The adopted minimum
maturity requirements for table grapes are higher than those proposed
over the past two years. The focus of this session was more on international
trading practices rather than on national or regional trade; this
is visible in the manner in which the discussions on the draft apple
standard, tomato sizing requirements, and guidelines for quality control
took place. |
Last Modified:
November 9, 2006 |
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