Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 2 • Number 5 • 21st March 2002

Codex Adopts Biotech Food Standards; ICPM Sets up Working Group on LMOs

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Codex adopts biotech food standards; ICPM sets up working group on LMOs

The Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived From Biotechnology recently adopted two standards of foods derived from biotechnology, namely principles for risk analysis and guidelines for conducting safety assessments. While these standards only apply to food safety, they are likely to have far wider implications on biotech-related discussions in other fora, including other Codex Committees, the WTO and bilateral negotiations. In addition, the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (ICPM) adopted specifications for setting up an Export Working Group to develop a standard for assessing the pest-risk of living modified organisms (LMOs).

Inclusion of “traceability” concept might impact trade debate

Delegates at the third meeting of the Codex Task Force in Yokohama, Japan, on 4-8 March agreed to include the “tracing of products” and food labelling as risk management tools. The standards thereby refer to the concept of “traceability” (ie a system for tracing all foods and food components from their origin to the point of final consumption) but without explicitly referring to it. This issue was one of the key items that had held up adoption of the standards at the last meeting of the Task Force (see BRIDGES Weekly, 4 April 2001) and continues to cause disagreement between the US and EU in the context of proposed EU labelling and traceability requirements for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) which the US regards as “not workable” and unnecessarily trade restrictive (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 24 January 2002). Some observers believe that the agreement reached at the Codex meeting might mark a breakthrough in international negotiations on the use of traceability systems and at least partially vindicates the EU’s insistence on introducing a labelling and traceability system for GM foods.

While not explicitly mentioning precaution, the principles for risk analysis would require authorities to take into account uncertainties identified in safety assessments and and allow them to implement appropriate risk management measures. The precautionary principle is being advocated in particular by the EU and has been included in the EU’s food safety regulations (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 7 March 2002).

Also of interest are references to “substantial equivalence” (ie the safety assessment should include a comparison between the biotech food product and its conventional counterpart), which is described as a “starting point” for safety assessment, rather than a safety assessment in itself. More importantly, the standards recognise that “in the foreseeable future, foods derived from modern biotechnology will not be used as conventional counterparts.” This statement was included despite US efforts to define conventional counterparts as including GMOs based on the assumption that the process of genetic modification per se does not make the resulting food product different from conventional foods.

The standards will now be submitted to the Codex Alimentarius Commission at is next meeting in July 2003 in Rome, Italy, where countries can make further comments. The Commission will then adopt the standards (with minor changes if required) or send them back to the Task Force for further debate. The Commission is expected to adopt the standards given the consensus expressed in the Task Force.

ICPM sets up working group on LMOs

Meeting on 11-15 March in Rome, Italy, the ICPM adopted specifications which set up an Expert Working Group that is instructed to formulate a draft standard providing guidance on the conduct of pest risk analyses for LMOs. The specification broadly sets out the scope of the standards and the tasks of the working group with more detailed terms of references to be developed once the date of the first meeting has been decided upon. A tentative date has been set for June depending on the availability of funds. Delegates failed to agree, however, whether the standards for LMOs should constitute a supplement to the existing standard on pest risk analysis (as proposed by the EC) or whether to draw up a stand-alone standard. A decision on this issue was postponed to a later date.

The ICPM currently functions as an interim body until the revised text of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) comes into force. Once in force, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures will take over from the ICPM as the IPPC’s governing body. The IPPC aims “to secure common and effective action to prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products, and to promote appropriate measures for their control”.

Background

While Codex and IPPC standards are only voluntary, the Codex Alimentarius Commission is recognised by the WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) as the international organisation responsible for standard-setting related to food safety while the IPPC is responsible for standards related to plant health. WTO Members “shall base” their measures related to human and plant health on these standards, guidelines or recommendations. Such measures “shall be deemed to be necessary to protect human, animal or plant life of health, and presumed to be consistent with the relevant provisions” of the SPS Agreement. The third international standard-setting body recognised in the SPS Agreement is the Office International de Epizooties (OIE) for animal health and zoonoses.

Additional resources

The Codex standards can be accessed at http://www.codexalimentarius.net. Documents of the meeting are available at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/ccfbt3/bt02_01e.htm.

Documents of the ICPM meeting are available at http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpp/pq/En/Archive/Icpm4/ICPM02e.htm.

“Codex Task Force agrees on final draft of principles for the evaluation of GM foods,” FAO/WHO PRESS RELEASE, 8 March 2002; “Participants agree on int’l safety standards for GM foods,” JAPAN ECONOMIC NEWSWIRE, 8 March 2002; “Global safety rules for biotech foods agreed,” ENS, 12 March 2002.