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AgVetLink: Number 54, February 2006

Codex*

Following analysis of submissions on a discussion document, NZFSA published New Zealand’s Strategic Objectives in Codex, the international food standards setting agency, in October 2005.

The agency, known as the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), plays a pivotal role in the development of international standards for health protection and ensuring fair practices in food trade. Its job is to create a single food code that can be used by all countries.

New Zealand’s interests

As a major producer and exporter of foods, New Zealand has a strong interest in ensuring that Codex standards and related texts are based on sound science and that the CAC is efficient and responsive to its members’ needs. Our participation in its processes reflects our interests: New Zealand chairs the Codex committees on Meat Hygiene and Milk and Milk Products and sits on a wide range of others.

The Codex publication lists five key objectives, each consistent with the strategic directions of NZFSA, and suggests rationales and strategies for achieving them. These are:

• to promote the application of sound science and risk assessment in Codex standards development

• to promote fair trade principles in Codex standards and recommendations

• to strengthen the Codex system

• to promote effective representation of New Zealand’s interests in Codex

• consultation and communication.

What is Codex?

The CAC was set up in 1962 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as part of a Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. Its international standards and related texts are known as the Codex Alimentarius (Latin for ‘food code’). They cover individual commodities, maximum limits for pesticide residues, veterinary drugs in foods, food hygiene, nutrition, additives and contaminants and labelling.

The Commission also acts as an important forum in which to discuss contemporary and emerging food safety issues.

International non-governmental organisations, such as consumer, academic or industry bodies can attend Codex meetings as observers. Membership stands at more than 170 countries, with developing countries now representing the majority.

How does it work?

Much of the detailed work of the CAC is done by subsidiary bodies grouped along the lines of commodity committees, general subject committees (these cover issues that are applied to all foods, such as food hygiene), ad hoc task forces and regional coordinating committees.

The standards are developed through a formal procedure which involves eight stages or ‘steps’. Each step relies on consensus for its progress. If that can’t be reached, then decisions can be put to a vote (only member countries can vote). However, once agreed, the standards are voluntary and their implementation by member countries is not necessarily automatic.

The standards now come in for a lot of scrutiny and, as a member-driven organisation, the CAC needs the support and commitment of its members to fulfil its mandate to develop them.

How does Codex aid international trade?

Food standards are becoming more important as international trade in food opens up and consumers become more concerned about safety. Standards must reflect a high level of consumer protection and not unnecessarily restrict trade.

If a trade dispute arises, Codex standards are accepted reference documents for settlement, which underlines their increasing importance in international law.

Agreements

In 1994 several important international agreements that allow groups of World Trade Organization member countries to set up arrangements among themselves to liberalise trade were established. Two of these agreements are particularly important to New Zealand and Codex: the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreements.

Essentially, SPS measures are human (food safety), animal and plant health measures. The TBT Agreement is an undertaking by member states not to create unnecessary obstacles to trade by imposing packaging, marking and labelling requirements and analytical procedures for assessing conformity with technical regulations and standards.

New Zealand is a significant contributor to the development of the international standards for the food the world’s population consumes. This food code – the Codex Alimentarius – is as vital to New Zealand as work done in any of our other better known trade arenas and is helping reduce trade barriers and strengthen our reputation as a producer of foods in the global market.

It is a programme this country takes extremely seriously because, as well as helping safeguard consumers’ health, the risk- and science-based approach that underpins it provides great advantages for our export sector.

Codex in New Zealand

New Zealand Codex project manager Raj Rajaseker says Codex provides the framework for New Zealand to emphasise on a world stage the importance of science in establishing food standards over the traditional rules-based approach and, crucially, allows New Zealand to use scientific arguments to resist attempts by other countries to impose new standards that could severely impact our exports.

There are several instances where New Zealand has been able to draw on Codex standards to support New Zealand positions, e.g. we successfully forestalled plans by Mediterranean countries to lower the permitted levels of linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid, in olive oil from 1.5 per cent to 1 per cent. This would have caused problems for producers in southern hemisphere countries such as New Zealand, Australia and Argentina, whose climates, among other factors, tend to result in higher levels of the fatty acid.

Protecting our interests

“We were able to argue successfully that Codex standards need to capture the full range of variations that naturally occur around the world, and managed to protect our trading interests by ensuring that the standard was not modified,” Raj says. He says the plan, had it gone ahead, would have been a major obstacle to New Zealand’s blossoming olive oil export industry.

New Zealand has also been able to promote international thinking on meat and milk-based product standards – two trade areas vital for this country – through chairing relevant Codex committees.

International standard

Work led by NZFSA Executive Director Andrew McKenzie and Science Group Director Steve Hathaway on meat hygiene is expected to become an international standard after consideration by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in Rome in July.

The Meat Hygiene Committee has developed a scientific, risk-based code of practice, processes and procedures for meat hygiene for meat producers to use to promote safe products, Raj says.

“We have a very significant meat industry and a well recognised reputation for producing safe, sound products, so we have been able to get greater international buy-in to a way to do things that largely encompasses the New Zealand approach.”

The work is also key because the framework reinforces New Zealand’s commitment to a risk-based approach to food safety.

“It’s not prescriptive. The standards do not set out how abattoirs should be constructed, what materials should go in, how many times they should be inspected, as they used to be. It is about making sure the product is safe. It is not about imposing one country’s system for processing, handling and production on everyone else.”

New way of working

Raj says that one of the big issues facing Codex is how to speed up the way it introduces new standards.

“It’s been too slow… too many meetings, too many committees, 160-170 countries not all thinking the same way. That makes the job of getting international standards adopted a major challenge.”

Work has started to reform the current system and take a more pragmatic approach that will speed up the process, he says. And there’s been an encouraging start, thanks in part to New Zealand.

New Zealand’s Strategic Objectives in Codex is available at www.nzfsa.govt.nz/policy-law/codex/publications/nz-objectives-and-strategy/codex-book.pdf

For more information on Codex, visit the website: www.codexalimentarius.net