(i) INTER-AGENCY MEETING
41. The Report was presented by Mr. K.-G. Lingner (ISO), Secretary of the Inter-Agency Meeting (IAM). The IAM was attended by representatives of 11 international organizations (AOAC, CAC, CEN, EOQ, ICC, ICUMSA, IDF, ISO, IUPAC, NMKL and OIV) and was chaired by Mr. G. Castan (ISO).
The IAM had considered matters of interest to Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, such as:
- international collaboration in the field of standard methods of analysis and sampling;43. As a result of its discussions, the IAM approved the following recommendations:- methods of analysis and sampling required by the Codex Alimentarius Commission;
- proprietary laboratory techniques;
- ownership rights for methods and copyrights; and
- publication in extenso of a compendium of methods approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
- that a summary of the IAM proceedings be included in the body of the Report of the Twentieth Session of Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling;44. Several delegations, including international organizations were concerned that the report of the IAM would not be appended to the report of the Committee. As the report of the Committee would be widely distributed, the results of the work of the IAM, when appended to the report, would be available to other interested parties, which could not attend either the IAM or session of the Committee to listen to an oral report.- that the subject of quality assurance in food analysis be included in the agenda of the next IAM;
- that the document concerning proprietary laboratory techniques prepared by AOAC INTERNATIONAL be re-circulated and that all organizations participating in the IAM be invited to submit comments and information on their respective policies and practices to the IAM Secretariat;
- that the IAM Secretariat be requested to re-circulate a survey of member agencies of their procedures and practices concerning ownership rights (copyrights), including bilateral and multilateral agreements existing in the various organizations and that a first draft Code of Good Practice be prepared by AOAC INTERNATIONAL for consideration at the next IAM. Also, that organizations participating in the IAM be invited to consider the content and utility of such a Code of Good Practice in order to decide at the next IAM whether or not work on such a Code of Good Practice should be continued;
- that the IAM Secretariat be requested to inquire amongst the organizations participating in the IAM whether there is a preliminary interest participating in a comprehensive publication of a compendium of analytical methods of the Codex Alimentarius Commission;
- that the IAM Secretariat be requested to seek comments and prepare a review paper concerning the tasks, utility and future directions of the IAM for consideration at the next IAM; and
- that the IAM, noting the decision by ISO to relinquish the IAM Secretariat, requests CCMAS to recognise the re-assignment of the IAM Secretariat to AOAC INTERNATIONAL and that possible amendments to the Terms of Reference to be proposed by the IAM be considered at the next session of the Committee.
45. The Committee was informed that due to budgetary constraint, the Secretariat had to reduce its expenditure on publications. Not appending the full report of the IAM to the report of the Session was only one of the methods being taken by the Secretariat to reduce overall cost of publications. This action should not be seen as a reflection on the status of the IAM in the work of the Committee, rather the presence of the Codex Secretariat at the IAM should be seen as a fulfilment of the requirement of the Commission that the CCMAS should maintain the closest possible relationship with all interested organizations working on methods of analysis and sampling[16].
46. The Chairman said that the Host Government would be prepared to reproduce and circulate the Report of the IAM. Reflecting the views of the Committee, the Chairman said that he considered the IAM an integral part of the Committee and he would suggest that the Executive Committee discuss the importance of IAM at its next session.
47. The Committee noted the report of the Inter-Agency Meeting and expressed its appreciation for the assistance the IAM was providing to it.
(II) PROGRESS REPORT ON REVIEW OF STANDARD METHODS BY INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ON METHODS OF ANALYSIS AND SAMPLING
48. The Committee also noted the progress[17] report by the Delegation of the United Kingdom on review of standard methods by international organizations on methods of analysis and sampling. Some delegations made useful suggestions to improve on the information provided in the report.
49. The Committee was informed by the Delegation of the United Kingdom that the updated report would be available as an information paper at the next meeting of the IAM and the Session of the Committee.
50. The Committee expressed its appreciation and requested the Delegation of the United Kingdom to continue the preparation of the report.
