Codex work on milk and milk products (overview) Annamaria Bruno and Jeronimas Maskeliunas Food Standards Officers Codex Secretariat Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme

Codex Alimentarius Commission  Established in 1961/1963  174 members countries and 1 Member organisation  219 observer organisations

Codex Alimentarius Commission - mandate  Dual objective:  Protecting the health of consumers  Facilitating fair practices in food trade  Non-mandatory in nature, Codex standards and related texts have since 1995 become international benchmarks for harmonization under the SPS and TBT Agreements of WTO

General Principles (France) Food Additives (China) Contaminants in Foods (Netherlands) Food Hygiene (USA) Codex organizational chart Food Labelling (Canada) Methods of Analysis and Sampling (Hungary) Pesticide Residues (China) Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (USA) General Subject Committees Commodity Committees Milk and Milk Products (New Zealand) Processed Fruits and Vegetables (USA) Meat Hygiene (New Zealand) Fish and Fishery Products (Norway) Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (Mexico) Fats and Oils (United Kingdom) Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (Germany) Cereals, Pulses and Legumes (USA) Vegetable Proteins (Canada) Natural Mineral Waters (Switzerland) Cocoa Products and Chocolate (Switzerland) ad hoc Intergovernmental Task Forces Biotechnology (Japan) Antimicrobial Resistance (Republic of Korea) Processing and Handling of Quick Frozen Foods (Thailand) Regional Coordinating Committees Africa (Morocco) Asia (Republic of Korea) Europe (Switzerland) Latin America and the Caribbean (Argentina) Near East (Jordan) North America and the Southwest Pacific (Samoa) Executive Committee Secretariat CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION - Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (Australia) Sugars (United Kingdom) active adjourned

Codex work on milk and milk products  Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products  Codex Committee on Food Hygiene  Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods  Codex Committee on Pesticides  Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods  Codex Committee on Food Additives  Codex Committee on Nutrition and Food for Special Dietary Uses

Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products  Hosted by New Zealand  Elaborate world-wide standards, codes and related texts for milk and milk products  Meets every two years; 8 th Session in February/March 2008  16 Standards for individual cheese, 19 Standards cheese products  Codex General Standard for the Use of Dairy Terms (CODEX STAN 206/1999)

Codex Standards for Milk and Milk Products - format  Scope  Description  Essential Composition and Quality Factors  Food Additive  Contaminants  Hygiene  Labelling  Methods of Analysis and Sampling

Codex Standards for Milk and Milk Products - Contaminants “The products covered by this Standard shall comply with the maximum limits for contaminants and the maximum residue limits for pesticides and veterinary drugs established by the Codex Alimentarius Commission.”

Codex Standards for Milk and Milk Products - Hygiene “It is recommended that the products covered by the provisions of this standard be prepared and handled in accordance with the appropriate sections of the Recommended International Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene (CAC/RCP ), the Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products (CAC/RCP ) and other relevant Codex texts such as Codes of Hygienic Practice and Codes of Practice. The products should comply with any microbiological criteria established in accordance with the Principles for the Establishment and Application of Microbiological Criteria for Foods (CAC/GL ).”

Codex Standards for Milk and Milk Products – Ongoing work and Outstanding issues Ongoing work  Export certificate for milk and milk products  Fermented milk drinks  Processed cheese Oustanding issues  Food labelling provisions of revised individual cheese standards (country of origin)  New work on elaboration of a Standard for Parmesan cheese

Codex Committee on Food Hygiene Relevant texts  International Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene (CAC/RCP )  Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products (CAC/RCP ) Relevant on-going work  proposed draft Code of Practice for Powdered Formulae for Infants and Young Children

Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products – outstanding issues Codex Guidelines for the application of the lactoperoxidase system (CAC/GL ) While adopting the above Guidelines, the Commission at its 19 th Session agreed to emphasize that the lactoperoxidase system should not be used for products intended for international trade and should never be used as a substitute for refrigeration (ALINORM 91/40, para.234)

Pesticide Residues in Milks The Codex Alimentarius Commission has established MRLs/EMRLs in milks for the following 88 pesticides : 2,4-D, abamectin*, aldicarb, aldrin and dieldrin, amitraz, azocyclotin, bentazone, bifenthrin, carbaryl, carbofuran, carbosulfan, chlordane, chlormequat, chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, clethodim, clofentezine, cyfluthrin*, cyhexatin, cypermethrin, cyprodinil, cyromazine, DDT, deltathrin*,diazinon, dichlorvos, dicofol, diflubenzuron, simethipin, dimethoate, diphenulamine, diquat, disulfoton, dithiocarbamates, endosulfan, ethephon, ethoprophos, famoxadone, fenamiphos, fenbucanazole, fenbutatin oxide, fenitrothion, fenpropathrin, fenpropimorph, fenpyroximate, fipronil, fludioxonil, flumethrin, flusilazole, flutolanil, glufosinate-ammonium, glyphosate, heptachlor, imidacloprid, kresoxin- methyl, lindane, methamidophos, methidathion, methomyl, methoprene, methoxyfenozide, myclobitanil, oxamyl, paraquat, penconazole, permethrin, phorate, piperonyl butoxide, pirimicarb, pirimiphos-methyl, prochloraz, profenogos, propargite, propiconazole, spinosad, tebuconazole, tebufenozide, terbufos, thiabendazole*, triadimefon, triadimenol, triazophos, trifloxystrobin, vinclozolin * - Used also as veterinary drug

Veterinary Drug Residues in Milks The Codex Alimentarius Commission has established MRLs in milks for the following 27 veterinary drugs : albendazole, benzylpenicillin/procaine benzylpenicillin, ceftiofur, chlortetracycline/oxytetracycline/tetracycline, clenbuterol, cyfluthrin*, cyhalothrin*, cypermethrin and alpha-cypermethrin, deltamethrin*, dihydrostreptomycin/streptomycin, diminazene, doramectin, eprinomectin, febantel/fenbendazole/oxfendazole, gentamicin, imidocarb, isometamidium, ivermectin, lincomycin, neomycin, pirlimycin, spectinomycin, spiramycin, sulfadimidine, thiabendazole*, tilmicosin, trichlorfon (metrifonate)*. * - Used also as pesticide

Codex Committee on Nutrition and Food for Special Dietary Uses Relevant texts  Codex Standard on Infant Formula (Codex STAN ) Ongoing work  Draft revised Standard for Infant Formulas and Formulas for Special Medical Purposes intended for Infants. Final draft of Section A “provisions for infant formulas” and Section B “provisions for Formulas for Special Medical Purposes” to be submitted for adoption at 30 th CAC (July 2007)

Others  Contaminants and toxins Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food – GSCTF (CODEX STAN ): Aflatoxin M1, Lead  Additives Codex General Standard for Food Additives – GSFA (CODEX STAN ) - Food Category 01.0 Dairy Products and analogues  Methods of Analysis Recommended Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CODEX STAN )

Cooperation between Codex and OIE  Cooperation is important to minimize overlaps and avoid gaps in in standards falling within the scope of both organizations, so as to ensure a farm-to-fork approach to the safety of foods of animal origin.  OIE already participates actively in Codex work, e.g. in CCMH, CCRVDF, CCFH and CCFICS.  OIE Working Group on Animal Production Food Safety. Advisory group established in 2002 with participation of experts from Codex.  OIE ad hoc Groups on Identification and Traceability of Live Animals (since 2005), on Certificate (since 2007) and on Animal Feeds (October 2006)

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