5 - 9 December 2011

CODEX COMMITTEE – Report of the 43rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (Miami, USA)

The Forty-third Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene reached the following conclusions:

MATTERS FOR ADOPTION BY THE 35TH SESSION OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION:

The Committee:

• agreed to forward the Proposed Draft Guidelines on the Application of General Principles of Food Hygiene to the Control of Viruses in Food; and the Proposed Draft Annex to the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CAC/RCP 53-2003) for adoption at Step 5/8 (REP12/FH para. 50 and Appendix III and para. 118 and Appendix IV, respectively); and
• the Proposed Amendment to the Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Assessment (CAC/GL 30-1999) and the Revision to the Risk Analysis Principles and Procedures Applied by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene for adoption (REP12/FH, paras. 14 and Appendix II and para. 129 and Appendix V, respectively).

MATTERS FOR ACTION BY THE COMMISSION

NEW WORK

agreed to propose to the Commission to approve new work on:

• Revision of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Spices and Dried Aromatic Plants (CAC/RCP 42- 1995) (REP12/FH, paras 137 - 138 and Appendix VII); and
• Annex on berries to the Code of Hygienic Practice for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (CAC/RCP 53- 2003) (REP12/FH, paras 139 - 140 and Appendix VIII).

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO THE COMMISSION AND FAO/WHO

The Committee agreed to:

• return the Proposed Draft Revision of the Principles for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods and the Proposed Draft Guidelines for Control of Specific Zoonotic Parasites in Meat: Trichinella spiralis and Cysticercus bovis to Step 2 for redrafting, circulation for comments at Step 3 and consideration at its next session (REP 12/FH, para. 69 and para. 94, respectively);

and

• agreed to request comments and proposals on the hygiene provisions in the draft Guidelines for Street-vended Foods (Near East) and further consideration at its next Session with the view to provide guidance to the CCNEA (REP12/FH, para. 12).

Request FAO/WHO

• develop risk-based examples for Trichinella spp. and Cysticercus bovis to illustrate the level of consumer protection likely to be achieved with different post-harvest risk management options (REP 12/FH, para. 92); and
• peer review the risk profiles contained in CX/11/43/6 in the context of the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation and to make these risk profiles available in the repository of risk profiles on the FAO and WHO websites (REP12/FH, para. 93).

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO OTHER COMMITTEES

Committee on General Principles

• The Committee revised the Principles and Guidelines for the Conduct of Microbiological Risk Assessment (CAC/GL 30-1999) to simplify it in line with Activity 2.2 of the Strategic Plan (2008 – 2013) and taking into account the recommendations in CL 2010/1-GP for adoption by the 35th Session of the Commission (REP12/FH, para. 14 and Appendix II).

Committee on Fish and Fishery Products

• The Committee agreed to recommend to CCFFP to remove the criterion for Salmonella (section I-6.5) from the Standard for Live and Raw Bivalve Molluscs (CODEX STAN 292-2008) and to include in the Code of Practice for Fish and Fishery Products (CAC/RCP 52-2003), Section 7.2.2.2, the following: “When appropriate, taking into account the epidemiological situation as indicated by the results of environmental monitoring and/or other surveillance, the competent authority may decide to implement a criterion for Salmonella.” (REP12/FH, para. 8);

and

• The Committee endorsed the hygiene provisions in the Draft Standard for Smoked Fish, Smoke- Flavoured Fish and Smoke-Dried Fish as amended by CCFFP and noted that part of the rationale provided by CCFFP for the retention of the second paragraph of 6.5 Clostridium botulinum that no outbreaks had been reported from the consumption of uneviscerated fish was not accurate, since outbreaks had been reported from these products (REP12/FH, para. 10).