From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Biotech Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sat, 9 Mar 2002 10:14:34 -0500
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Codex Task Force agrees on final draft of Principles for the
Evaluation of GE Foods

World Health Organization
http://www.who.int
Press Release
8 March 2002

Codex Task Force agrees on final draft of Principles for the Evaluation of
GM Foods

Rome/Geneva, 8 March 2002 -- A Task Force of the Codex Alimentarius
Commission has reached agreement on a final draft of "Principles for the
risk analysis of foods derived from biotechnology," the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)
announced today.

A round of applause by the 226 participants greeted the Wednesday
agreement reached by the Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods
Derived from Biotechnology on Wednesday in Yokohama, Japan.

The Principles will provide a framework for evaluating the safety and
nutritional aspects of Genetically Modified (GM) foods.  They define the
need for a pre-market safety assessment of all such foods on a
case-by-case basis.  According to the UN agencies, the assessment should
look into both intended and unintended effects, identifying new or altered
hazards and identifying changes, relevant to human health, especially in
regard to key nutrients and potential allergenic components.

The Principles would require authorities to consider the uncertainties
identified in the safety assessment and implement appropriate measures to
manage these uncertainties.  One management option described in the
Principles is post-market monitoring.  The Principles also provide
guidance related to analytical methods and other tools to be used in risk
management.  In this area, the two agencies say that the Task Force
"reached a very important new agreement concerning the tracing of GM
products for the purpose of facilitating withdrawal from the market when a
risk to human health has been identified."

The task force also adopted detailed requirements for assessing the safety
of GM plants including tests for allergenicity.

The agreement could also mark a break-through in international
negotiations concerning the use of tracing systems in relation to food in
international trade, the international agencies say.

The Principles also say that efforts should be made to improve the
capability of regulatory authorities particularly in developing countries,
to assess and manage the safety of GM foods.

The Task Force, which has been hosted by Japan since 2000, will go on
developing guidelines for risk assessment of GM foods originating from
microorganisms.  It will continue its efforts until March 2003.  The final
work of the Task Force will be submitted to the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius
Commission, at its next meeting in July 2003 in Rome, Italy, for adoption.

The Codex Alimentarius, or the food code, has become the seminal global
reference point for consumers, food producers and processors, national
food control agencies and the international food trade.  The code has had
an impact on the thinking of food producers and processors as well as on
the awareness of the end users - the consumers. Its influence extends to
every continent, and its contribution to the protection of public health
and fair practices in the food trade is immeasurable.
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