16-20 April 2007

CODEX - Committee on Contaminants in Food (1st Session), Beijing, China

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The First Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods reached the following conclusions:

Matters for consideration by the Commission

Draft and Proposed draft Standards and Related Texts at Steps 8 or 5/8 of the Procedure

The Committee agreed to forward:

• Draft Maximum Levels for Tin in Canned Foods (other than beverages) and in Canned Beverages to the Commission for adoption at Step 8 (para. 82 and Appendix IX); and
• Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A in Wine (N05-2006)

to the Commission for adoption at Step 5/8 (para. 77 and Appendix VIII)).

Proposed Draft Standards and Related Texts at Step 5 of the Procedure

The Committee agreed to forward the following texts to the Commission for adoption at Step 5:

• Proposed Draft Maximum Levels for 3-MCPD in Liquid Condiments containing Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable Proteins (excluding Naturally Fermented Soy Sauce) (N08-2004) (para. 88 and Appendix X);

and

• Proposed Draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of 3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) during the Production of Acid-Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Acid-HVPs) and Products that Contain Acid-HVPs (N09-2005) (para. 93 and Appendix XI).

Proposed amendments to the Procedural Manual

The Committee agreed to forward the following three proposed amendments and one definition to the Commission for adoption and inclusion in the Procedural Manual:

• Proposed amendments to the Terms of Reference of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (para. 15 and Appendix II);
• Proposed amendments to the “Risk Analysis Principles Applied by the Codex Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (para. 18 and Appendix III);
• Proposed amendments to the “CCFAC Policy for Exposure Assessment of Contaminants and Toxins in Foods or Food Groups” (para. 18 and Appendix IV); and
• Definition for “Codex Maximum Level for a Contaminant in Food or Feed Commodity” (para. 38 and Appendix V).

Proposals for new work

The Committee agreed to submit to the Commission, through the Executive Committee, the proposal for new work on a “Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin Contamination in Dried Figs” (paras 120 – 121 and Appendix XIII).

Others

The Committee agreed:

• to forward the proposed amendments to Schedule I of the General Standards for Contaminants and Toxins in Foods to the Commission for adoption (para. 46); and
• to recommend that the Commission revoke CODEX STAN 248-2005 (para.46).

Matters for consideration by other committees and task forces

The Committee agreed:

• to forward to the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) the ranges for the determination of dioxin and PCBs as well as the matrices for which these levels were to be applied and to request the CCMAS to also indicate for the different methods the highest level that can be reliably analysed (para. 24 and Appendix XIV Part 1); and
• to forward to the CCMAS the general remark on the Method of Analysis for Determination of Dioxins and PCBs”(para. 25. and Appendix XIX Part 2).

Matters of Interest to the Commission

The Committee agreed:

• that the proposed draft Revision of the Preamble of the GSCTF (N04-2006) be returned to Step 2 for redrafting by an electronic working group, with a view to circulation at Step 3 and consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee (para. 43);
• to retain the draft maximum levels for Ochratoxin A in wheat, barley and rye at Step 7 (see Appendix VI) and inform the Executive Committee that work on this item would be completed by 2007 (para. 50);
• to hold at Step 7 both draft maximum level of 15 µg/kg for total aflatoxins in almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios “for further processing” and the draft maximum level of 8 µg/kg for total aflatoxin in almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios “ready-to-eat” and to resume discussion on these draft maximum levels at its next session, after the results of the forthcoming 68th JECFA evaluation are available (para. 57 and Appendix VII);
• that the proposed draft Sampling Plan for Aflatoxin Contamination in Almonds, Brazil nuts, Hazelnuts and Pistachios (N07-2004) be returned to Step 2 for redrafting by an electronic working group, with a view to circulation at Step 3 and consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee (para. 62);
• to return the proposed draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Acrylamide in Food (N06-2006) to Step 2 for redrafting by an electronic working group, with a view to circulation for comments at Step 3 and consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee (para. 97);
• to return the proposed draft Code of Practice for the Reduction of Contamination of Food with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) from Smoking and Direct Drying Process (N07-2006) to step 2 for redrafting by an electronic working group, with a view to circulation for comments at Step 3 and consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee (para. 102);
• to establish an electronic working group to prepare a draft proposed Code of Practice on the Prevention and Reduction of Aflatoxin contamination in Dried Figs at Step 2, with a view to its circulation for comments at Step 3 and its consideration at Step 4 at the next session of the Committee, pending the formal approval of new work by the Commission (para. 121); and
• to update / revised the following discussion papers for consideration at the next session of the Committee:
  • - Discussion Paper on Maximum Levels for Total Aflatoxins in “Ready-to-eat” Almonds, Hazelnuts and Pistachios (para. 58);
  • - Discussion Paper on Aflatoxin Contamination in Brazil nuts (para. 66);
  • - Discussion Paper on Ochratoxin A in coffee (para. 113); and
  • - Discussion Paper on Ochratoxin A in Cocoa (para. 117).

The Committee reaffirmed the decision made by the 38th Session of the Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (ALINORM 06/29/12 para.192) to postpone consideration of the need to revise the guideline levels for methylmercury in fish pending the outcomes of a joint FAO/WHO expert consultation on health risks associated with methylmercury and dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs in fish and the health benefits of fish consumption and to retain the current Codex guideline levels for the time being (para. 35).

Other matters

The Committee endorsed the priority list of contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants for JECFA evaluation (see Appendix XIII). The Committee recommended that an in-session working group be convened during the next session of the Committee, in order to review the priority list in light of comments received (para. 134).