28 September - 1 October 2010

CODEX - Eleventh Session of the Codex Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific, Nuku’alofa, Tonga

The Eleventh Session of the Codex Coordinating Committee for North America and the South West Pacific reached the following conclusions:

Matters for consideration by the 34th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission

The Coordinating Committee:

• Noted the experiences and views of countries of the region with regard to problems and financial implications of meeting private standards and measures taken to overcome the problems and generally supported the proposal of the 33rd Session of the Commission with regard to the measures that Codex, FAO and WHO should take in the context of private standards (paras 9-19);
• Agreed that there was no need to continue work on a standard for processed cheese (para.24);
• Agreed that, at present, there was no need for further guidance on traceability / products tracing (para. 27);
• Reported on the status of implementation of activities 4.5 “Promote interdisciplinary coordination at the national and regional level” and 5.5 “Enhance participation of non-governmental organizations at international, regional and national level” of the Codex Strategic Plan 2008-2013 in the region (paras 30- 31);
• Provided replies and information to the questionnaire seeking suggestions for the development of the new Codex Strategic Plan 2013-2018 (paras 32-39);
• Agreed that it was necessary to explore new ways to improve the efficiency of physical working groups and not to focus solely on limiting participation (para. 45);
• Expressed general support for shifting the emphasis of the Codex Trust Fund (CTF) from Objective 1 Widen participation” to Objectives 2 and 3 “Strengthening overall participation” and “Enhance scientific / technical participation; and was of the view that the CTF should focus on building capacity of national structures to ensure countries’ effective participation in Codex. Generally agreed that there was a need to ensure that “graduate” countries continue to participate in Codex meetings and to consider the extension of the CTF at a later stage (paras 52-58);
• Unanimously agreed to recommend to the 34th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission that Papua New Guinea be appointed as Coordinator for North America and the South West Pacific (para. 96).

Other matters for information

The Coordinating Committee:

• Reviewed the status of implementation of the current Strategic Plan for the CCNASWP and agreed the process for preparing the new Strategic Plan 2014-2018 (paras 63-84);
• Agreed to prepare / revise discussion papers on: harmonised approach to date marking in the region (para. 81); kava (para. 95); and development of a standard for nonu (noni) products (para. 103) for consideration at its 12th Session.