14 - 19 March 2005

CODEX - COMMITTEE ON FOOD HYGIENE (37th Session), Buenos Aires, Argentina

The Thirty-seventh Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene reached the following conclusions:

MATTERS FOR ADOPTION BY THE 28TH SESSION OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION:

The Committee:

• agreed to forward to the Commission the Draft Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Listeria Monocytogenes in Ready-to-eat Foods at Step 5 (see ALINORM 05/28/13 paras 58- 98 and Appendix II)
• agreed to forward to the Commission the Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Management at Step 5 (see ALINORM 05/28/13 paras 100 - 132 and Appendix III)
• agreed to forward to the Commission the Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products at Step 5 (see ALINORM 05/28/13 paras 135 - 156 and Appendix IV).

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE COMMISSION

The Committee:

• agreed to return the Proposed Draft Revision of the Recommended International Code of Practice for Food for Infants and Children to Step 2 for redrafting by the working group (see paras 35 - 57);
• agreed to return Annex II: Deriving microbiological limits and sampling plans in microbiological criteria from food safety objectives; Example: Listeria Monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food products, to Step 2 (see para.99);
• agreed to return Annex III to the Proposed Draft Principles and Guidelines for Microbiological Risk Management, in relation to the example of the use of Food Safety Objectives, Performance Objectives, Performance Criteria, Microbiological Criteria, Process and Product Criteria, to Step 2 (see para.133);
• agreed to return to the Proposed Guidelines for the Validation of Food Hygiene Control Measures to Step 2 (see para. 134);
• agreed to develop an Annex to the draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Eggs and Egg Products (see para.157);
• agreed to place the five proposals for new work areas into the Committee's work management system and prepare the written proposals of them (see paras 166 - 168);
• asked FAO and WHO to address the needs of CCFH for scientific advice (see paras 88- 97 and Appendix VII).

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO OTHER COMMITTEES:

1. CODEX COMMITTEE ON FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS (CCFFP)

The Committee endorsed the hygiene provision of the Proposed Draft Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products including relevant Sections. The Committee expressed its view that the proposal on Vibrio spp. in seafood should consider as priority the following:

a) Assess the outcome of the Risk Assessment on Vibrio spp. in seafood and make recommendations on how this should be transformed into Good Hygienic Practice and risk management strategies.

b) Look into the questions put forward by the CCFFP related to the risk profile for Vibrio spp. (see paras 177-191),

2. CODEX COMMITTEE ON PROCESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES (CCPFV)

In reply to the request of the Codex Committee on Processed Fruits and Vegetables on whether or not sterilized products, such as preserved tomatoes, needed to comply with the established microbiological criteria requirement related to compliance, the Committee recommended that for Codex commodity standards for products processed according to the Code of Hygienic Practice for Low-Acid and Acidified Canned Foods, such as the Proposed Draft Codex Standard for Canned Preserved Tomatoes, the food hygiene section of these standards should continue to contain the provision relating to microbiological criteria, but with a footnote that indicates that such criteria are not recommended for this type of product. (see paras 175-176)

3. CODEX COMMITTEES ON GENERAL PRINCIPLES (CCGP)

The Committee agreed to forward the amended “Proposed Process by Which the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene will Undertake its Work”(see Appendix V) to the Codex Committee on General Principle for its advice regarding its consistency with established procedures in Codex (see paras18 - 34).

4. CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD ADDITIVES AND CONTAMINANTS (CCFAC)

The Committee agreed to attach the terms of reference for the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the uses of active chlorine (see paras170 – 174 and Appendix VI).