YOUR OPINION

Are nuts fattening?

• Yes
• No
• I don’t know

 

The INC participated in the Thirty-third Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, held in Geneva, Switzerland from 5 to 9 July 2010. The Session was attended by delegates from 120 Member countries, 1 Member Organization, and 37 international governmental and non-governmental organizations, including UN agencies.

The Commission adopted i.a. the following documents:

Draft standards and related texts at Step 8 (adoption of the standard)

• - Draft maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides (ALINORM 10/33/24)
  The Commission adopted most of the draft MRLs as proposed by the Committee. The following MRLs were adopted, a.o.:

• - Proposed draft maximum levels (MLs) for total aflatoxins in shelled, ready to eat Brazil nuts and shelled, destined for further processing Brazil nuts (ALINORM 10/33/41).
  This document fixes MLs for aflatoxin in shelled Brazil nuts at 10 μg/kg for ready to eat nuts and at 15 μg/kg for nuts destined for further processing.

• - Proposed draft revision of the code of practice for the prevention and reduction of aflatoxin in tree nuts, additional measures for Brazil nuts (ALINORM 10/33/41)
  This document introduces additional measures for Brazil nuts, to be incorporated in the Appendix on Additional Measures for Brazil Nuts of the Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin Contamination in Tree Nuts (CAC/RCP 59-2005) (following the completion of the Standards and Trade Development Facility SafeNut Project which addressed the factors causing aflatoxin contamination in the Brazil nut production chain and the methods of control available). The document determines i.a. that to avoid aflatoxin formation, the nuts should be dried to a safe moisture level corresponding to a water activity below 0.70 preferably within 10 days from the collection.

Proposed draft standards and related texts at Step 5 (adoption of the draft standard)

• - Proposed draft maximum residue limits for pesticides (ALINORM 10/33/24)
  The Commission adopted the draft MRLs as proposed (noting the reservations expressed by some delegations as regards the MRLs for fluopicolide and haloxyfop). The adopted MRLs include the following:

• - Proposed draft revision of the codex classification of foods and animal feeds – proposal for three commodity groups: tree nuts; herbs and spices (ALINORM 10/33/24)

Revocation of existing Codex standards and related texts

• - Revocation of MRLs for pesticides/commodity combinations (ALINORM 10/33/24)
  The document revokes a.o. the following pesticide/commodity combinations:

Proposals for the elaboration of new standards and related texts

• - Maximum levels for total aflatoxins in dried figs (ALINORM 10/33/41)
  The Commission agreed to initiate new work on maximum levels for total aflatoxins in dried figs, as proposed by the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF) at its latest meeting in Izmir, Turkey, in April 2010. The proposed draft maximum levels will be developed by an electronic Working Group led by Turkey, for consideration at the next session of the CCCF, with a view to their finalization in 2012.

Matters arising from the reports of the Codex Committees and Task Forces

The Commission noted several matters arising from the reports of Codex Committees, including matters arising from the latest session of the CCFFV (Mexico, October 2009), during which it was noted that the UNECE Working Party on Agricultural Standards had decided to remove the reference to “UNECE” from the cover pages of its standards and label them as “UN” standards instead, and request the Codex Secretariat to explore the implications of this decision. The change from “UNECE” to “UN” standards was intended to avoid giving the impression that the standards are meant to be used within the UNECE region (i.e. Europe) only.

The INC intervened to stress its support for the “globalization” of UNECE standards to UN standards. In the view of the INC, the consumption, production and trade of nuts and dried fruits has now truly become global, therefore worldwide standards are needed to aid international trade. This globalization is reflected in the wide range of activities that Codex had already undertaken on the safety of nuts and dried fruits through the development of sampling plans and provisions for contaminants, additives, and pesticides. The INC acknowledged the work of the UNECE Specialized Section on Dry and Dried Produce in the development of commodity standards for this type of products, supporting the “globalization” of UNECE standards by changing the title to "UN" standards.

Consideration of the impact of private standards

The FAO representative presented a paper regarding private food safety standards (impact on market access and public health, certification costs, transparency and stakeholder participation, and legitimacy), especially with regard to developing countries. A number of concerns were highlighted, including the tendency for private companies to set more stringent standards than those of Codex, the limited opportunities for developing country input, the difficulties to implement private standards in small-scale food businesses in developing countries, the cost of certification and multiple certification requirements. A key question is whether private standards support or undermine public policy.

Report of the 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Geneva, Switzerland, 5 - 9 July 2010.