U.S. Codex Committee on Food Hygiene Releases Agenda Items

The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene has released its agenda items for consideration by the Commission at its 32nd Session in July 2009.

The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene has four primary responsibilities. First, to draft basic provisions on food hygiene applicable to all food. These provisions normally take the form of Codes of Hygienic Practice for a specific commodity (e.g. bottled water) or group of commodities (e.g., milk and milk products). Second, to suggest and prioritize areas where there is a need for microbiological risk assessment at the international level and to consider microbiological risk management matters in relation to food hygiene and in relation to the risk assessment activities of FAO and WHO. Third, to consider, amend if necessary, and endorse food hygiene provisions that are incorporated into specific Codex commodity standards by the Codex commodity committees. Fourth, to provide such other general guidance to the Commission on matters relating to food hygiene as may be necessary.

The following items related to the activities of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene will be considered by the Commission at its 31st Session in July 2009.

To be considered for adoption at Step 5/8:
* Proposed Draft Microbiological Criteria for Listeria Monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods.
* Microbiological Criteria for Powdered Follow-up Formulae and Formulae for Special Medical Purposes for Young Children (Annex II to the Code of Hygiene Practice for Powdered Formulae for Infants and Young Children.

New Work:
* Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Control of Viruses in Food.

The committee will continue to work on:
* Proposed Draft Guideline for the Control of Campylobacter and Salmonella spp. in Chicken Meat.
* Proposed Draft Annex on Leafy Green Vegetables Including Leafy Herbs to the Code of Hygiene Practice for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables.
* Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Vibrio spp. in Seafood.
* Annex on Control Measures for Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus in Molluscan Shellfish to the Proposed Draft Code of Hygienic Practice for Vibrio spp. in Seafood.
* Risk Analysis Policy of the CCFH.
* Possible Revision of the Recommended International Code of Hygienic Practice for Collecting, Processing and Marketing of Natural Mineral Waters.
* Possible Elaboration of the Code of Hygienic Practice for Cocoa and Chocolate Production and Processing.

Responsible Agencies: HHS/FDA; USDA/FSIS.

Source: Federal Register: June 1, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 103)