Background Paper
SUMMARY OF CODEX ALIMENTARIUS ISSUES
VII. CODEX COMMITTEE ON FOOD IMPORT/EXPORT CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS
(CCFICS)
1. Judgment of Equivalence
CCFICS will consider judgment of equivalence on parallel tracks
for sanitary measures and technical regulations. This decision was
made because FAO and several countries supported the inclusion of
factors relating to consumer protection and international trade,
rather than to focus only on food safety when considering equivalence.
2. Official Certificate Formats
The objective of this process is to provide guidelines on the certification
that several countries require for imported products, especially
new products. Several revisions made at the last meeting will be
circulated for comments, and details on the use of electronic certificates
will be elaborated.
3. Guidelines for the Utilization and Promotion of Quality
Assurance Systems
The USA had previously opposed the development of guidelines, but
seeing that the issue was continuing to be raised, offered to be
on a drafting group. Several countries support further elaboration
of these guidelines, while other countries have concerns that guidelines
could result in technical barriers to trade. It is intended that
the use of official quality assurance systems will be voluntary,
and there is no intention to recommend any particular system
4. Next Meeting
December 11 – 15, 2000.
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