26 February – 1 March 2007

CODEX - Co-ordinating Committee for the Near East Region (4th Session), Amman, Jordan

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The Fourth Session of the Coordinating Committee for the Near East Region reached the following conclusions:

Matters for final adoption by the 30th Session of the Commission

The Coordinating Committee agreed to forward :

• the re-named draft Regional Standard for Canned Humus with Tehena for adoption at Step 8 (see paras 22-36 and Appendix II);
• the re-named draft Regional Standard for Canned Foul Medames for adoption at Step 8 (see paras 37- 47 and Appendix III);
• the draft Regional Standard for Tehena for adoption at Step 8 (see paras 48-54 and Appendix IV).

Matters of Interest to the 30th Session of the Commission

The Coordinating Committee:

• Unanimously agreed to recommend to the 30th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission that Tunisia be appointed as the Regional Coordinator for the Near East (see para. 82).

Matters of Interest to other Committees

Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission

The Coordinating Committee:

• Noted and endorsed the recommendations of the 28th Session of the Commission regarding the role and activities of Regional Coordinating Committees (see paras 9-10);
• Supported the adoption of the draft Strategic Plan by the 30th Session of the Commission (see paras 11- 12); and
• Generally supported proposals regarding the review of the Codex Committee Structure and Mandate of the Codex Committees and Task Forces with some comments (see paras 13-16).

Codex Committee on General Principles

The Coordinating Committee:

• Sought clarification as to whether the proposed amendment to the Terms of Reference of the Regional Coordinating Committee for the Latin America and the Caribbean was necessary and noted that legal advice from the Legal Offices of FAO and WHO would be available when Codex Committee on General Principles (CCGP) would discuss it at its forthcoming session. (see paras 17-20);
• Agreed to recommend that the CCGP should seek to define the respective roles of the Coordinators and members of the Executive Committee elected on a geographical basis for inclusion of appropriate provisions in the Procedural Manual (see para. 21).

Codex Committee on Food Additives

The Coordinating Committee:

• Forwarded the Food Addtives provisions in the draft Regional Standards for Humus with Tehena (paras 28-29 and para. 36) and Canned Foul Medames (para. 42 and para. 47) for endorsement.

Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling

The Coordinating Committee:

• Forwarded the Sections on Methods of Analysis in the draft Regional Standards for Humus with Tehena (paras 32-36); Canned Foul Medames (paras 44-47); and Tehena (paras 52-54) for endorsement.

Other Matters

The Coordinating Committee:

• Expressed its appreciation to FAO and WHO for their work in the area of scientific advice which provided a solid scientific basis for the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (see paras 63-69)
• Exchanged updated information on food control and food safety issues in the Near East region and on consumers participation in Codex work (see paras 70-72); and
• Exchanged Information on the Use of Codex Standards and agreed that in order to have focussed discussion under this Item at its next session, countries should provide their information as written submissions in reply to a Circular Letter, putting emphasis on recent changes and developments (see paras 73-75);