REPORT ON ACTIVITIES RELATED TO RISK ANALYSIS IN CODEX AND OTHER BODIES[4] (Agenda Item 3)

7. The Committee noted the following decisions taken by the 22^nd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (July 1997) concerning Risk Analysis[5]:

• The Commission adopted Statements of Principle Relating to the Role of Food Safety Risk Assessment for inclusion into a new Appendix to the Procedural Manual[6], with the understanding that the Codex Committee on General Principles would further consider issues related to equivalence and food safety objectives.
• The Commission adopted Definitions for Risk Analysis Terms Related to Food Safety for inclusion into the Definitions section of the Procedural Manual[7]. These definitions would be subject to regular review and Member countries would have the opportunity to provide comments for further consideration by the Codex Committee on General Principles.
• The Commission made specific recommendations concerning the Action Plan for Codex Wide Development and Application of Risk Analysis Principles and Guidelines for consideration by other Codex Committees.[8] This included a request to the Codex Committee on General Principles to elaborate integrated principles for risk management and risk assessment policy setting, risk communication and documentation for inclusion into the Procedural Manual.

8. The Committee was further informed of the following discussions concerning risk analysis arising from the 13^th Session (September 1998) of the CCGP[9]:

• The CCGP proposed a revised definition for Risk Assessment Policy and agreed that it should be circulated for comment; the CCGP also agreed that the current Codex definitions for Risk Management and Risk Communication should be circulated for comment with a view to their revision (see CL 1998/33-GP).
• The CCGP agreed that there was no need for a definition of Risk Profile and therefore, dropped the term from consideration.
• The proposed draft Working Principles for Risk Analysis were returned to Step 2 for re-drafting by the Secretariat, especially in regard to the scope and definition of the “precautionary principle”, realistic estimates of intake exposure and the economic implications of risk management decisions.

9. The Committee noted that some confusion existed over several terms related to risk analysis and suggested that definitive, clear and concise definitions should be decided upon as soon as possible. The Committee also stressed a critical need for the elaboration of an introductory narrative on risk analysis in the Codex system as had been agreed to by the Commission[10] to provide for adequate explanatory material concerning risk analysis and to allow for the orderly progression of the Commission’s action plan. The Committee supported the input of developing countries in the elaboration of the Working Principles, as well as technical assistance in the application of such principles.

10. The Committee urged considerable caution in relation to the inclusion of reference to the application of the “precautionary principle” in Codex (including a definition of the principle). It suggested that such a reference may not, in fact, be required due to the manner in which the Commission and its expert advisory bodies already handle the question of uncertainty in risk analysis. The Committee suggested that this matter might be best approached in an holistic way taking into account the work of CCGP in relation to the development of improved procedures for the development and adoption of standards.

REPORT ON ACTIVITIES RELATED TO RISK ANALYSIS ARISING FROM OTHER BODIES

11. The Committee noted the reports of the following expert consultations:

• Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Application of Risk Management to Food Safety Matters (Rome, 27-31 January 1997);
• Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Food Consumption and Exposure Assessment of Chemicals (Geneva, 10-14 February 1997)
• Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Application of Risk Communication to Food Standards and Safety Matters (Rome, 2-6 February 1998).

12. The representative of Consumers International (CI) thanked FAO and WHO for the participation of an expert nominated by CI in the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on the Application of Risk Communication to Food Standards and Safety Matters, and welcomed such openness and transparency in the future. The representative also noted the development of a clear general policy of other legitimate factors was recommended by two of the expert consultations as being important to transparency in Codex deliberations.

13. The Committee was also informed of discussions held at the 45^th Session of the Executive Committee[11] concerning the potential establishment of a scientific advisory body on the microbiological aspects of food safety, particularly on microbiological risk assessments. It noted that discussions were underway between FAO and WHO on the possible establishment of such a body. The Committee strongly supported the establishment of such a body. It was suggested that consideration might also be given to specific recommendations for food safety objectives in the context of equivalence in addition to those general requirements regarding microbiological risk assessments requested by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene.

14. The Secretariat also reported that a Joint FAO/WHO Task Force had been established to prepare for future activities in relation to the establishment of advice on good practice and control in the non-medical use of antibiotics, particularly the use of antimicrobials in food and agriculture.

15. The Committee was also informed that in follow-up to discussions held at the 45^th Session of the Executive Committee[12], the 53^rd Meeting (June 1999) of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives would be considering the question of food allergies and intolerances in detail.