A) Matters Arising From Other Codex Committees
B) Risk Assessment In The Codex Committee On Residues Of Veterinary Drugs In Foods
6. The Committee noted matters arising from other Codex Committees concerning Residue Management Initiatives in Codex; Risk Analysis in Codex Work; Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Working Procedures of Expert Panels; and Principles Concerning the Role of Science in the Codex Decision Making Process and the Extent to Which Other Factors are Taken into Account. The underlying principle was that Codex standards, guidelines and other recommendations should be based on science, especially in regard to standards and other recommendations directed towards the protection of consumers' health, but that other factors concerning fair practices in the food trade were legitimately within the scope of the Commission's Statutes and hence its mandate.
7. The Committee also noted the convening of a FAO Expert Consultation on Animal Feeding and Food Safety (Rome, Italy; 10-14 March 1997) aimed at the development of an internationally recognized code of practice on good animal feeding practices. It was suggested that the Consultation should address the feeding practices of poultry and swine in addition to those of ruminants.
8. The Committee recalled that the Commission at its 21st Session (1995) had reviewed the report of the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Application of Risk Assessment to Food Standards Issues. It had requested relevant Codex Committees to examine the report so that the risk analysis concept would be incorporated into Codex procedures[4]. The Committee at its 9th Session had agreed that a paper should be prepared to address the implementation of the Consultation's recommendations as they applied to the work of this Committee[5]. The paper was presented by Dr. J. Boisseau (France).
9. The Committee expressed its appreciation of the thorough analysis presented in the discussion paper. It noted that the development of risk analysis in Codex and in its own work was an on-going process and that the analysis presented both a report on the current status and issues which needed to be addressed in the future. It concurred with the main conclusions of the paper, namely that the process of establishing MRLs for veterinary drugs incorporated the various stages of risk assessment very well, and that a number of elements relating to risk management were integrated. It noted that the recommendation made by the 1995 Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation to separate the risk assessment and risk management processes was therefore not being currently followed in this process.
10. To the extent that it was possible to control strictly the conditions under which veterinary drugs were used, and food taken from treated animals could be collected, the Committee considered whether the result of the MRL-setting process was not so much as to evaluate a risk which would be socially acceptable, but to minimize risks associated with the presence of drug residues in food stuffs. However, the Committee further recognized the need to delineate more fully the risk assessment and the risk management components of the process, and noted that government regulatory agencies and others played a major role in risk management of drug residues in foods.
11. The Committee identified several issues which required further attention, specifically:
13. The Committee agreed to review developments in risk analysis at its next Session following consideration of the matter by the Commission.
