Fw: Mum's The Word at Codex Meetings

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Mum's The Word at Codex MeetingsFYI.

 

 

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National Health Federation

Monday, March 30, 2009 5:08 PM

Mum's The Word at Codex Meetings

 

 

 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

ROTTERDAM - THE CODEX COMMITTEE

 

ON CONTAINMANTS IN FOODS MEETING –

 

MUM’S THE WORD

 

 

 

By Scott C. Tips, NHF President

 

March 30, 2009

 

 

 

The 3rd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods

(CCCF) began its week-long meeting at the Beurs - World Trade Center in

Rotterdam, the Netherlands on Monday morning, March 23, 2009. Although the

weather was despicable, with rain and heavy winds, the National Health

Federation (NHF) delegate, Scott Tips, was able to easily attend this meeting

chaired by first-time Chairman Mr. Martijn Weijtens (of the Dutch Ministry of

Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality). This particular meeting was important

because “acceptable†levels of contaminants of acrylamide, polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), aflatoxins, and melamine, among others, were being

discussed and developed.

 

 

World Trade Center - Rotterdam

 

The NHF is the only Codex-accredited health-freedom organization with

the right to attend Codex committee meetings such as this one. In fact, although

the NHF has for years been attending many other Codex committee and commission

meetings - in Germany, Canada, France, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, China,

Thailand, and most recently South Africa - this CCCF meeting was the first for

us.

 

As with the other Codex committees, the CCCF attendees consisted of

various member-country delegations and a dozen INGOs (International

Non-Governmental Organizations). The NHF was the only consumer organization in

attendance, with all of the other INGOs representing special trade interests.

The rest of the room was filled with government officials and bureaucratic

functionaries. This Committee, a relatively recent split off from the former

combined Committee on Contaminants and Food Additives, was the smallest of the

committees attended by the NHF.

 

Acrylamide, PAH, and Aflatoxins

 

In contrast with certain other committees that breed harsh dispute,

this Committee was as tame and well-mannered as a pack of Cub Scouts drugged to

the teeth on IV-dripped Prozac. Both of the two separate standards being set

for acrylamide and PAH in foods sailed smoothly through the Committee, which

agreed to forward them to the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption at the

final Step 8.

 

The CCCF’s review and discussion of the standard for aflatoxins was

a little more lively and included some actual back-and-forth discussion of the

topic. In the end, the Committee accepted Brazil’s proposal to return the

Proposed Draft Maximum Levels to Step 2/3 for redrafting. But even this

standard is not a controversial one.

 

Melamine

 

The drama did not really begin until the Canadian delegate read his

country’s report on establishing maximum levels for melamine in food and feed.

The Committee document drafted by Canada proposed maximum levels of melamine in

food and feed of 2.5 parts per million (ppm) and in infant formula of 1 ppm.

 

Melamine is a chemical compound that is used industrially in the

production of, among other things, laminates, glues, dinnerware, adhesives,

molding compounds, coatings, and flame retardants. There are no approved direct

food uses for melamine, but melamine is illegally added to artificially increase

the protein content of food products. Because it is high in nitrogen and cheap,

melamine is a low-cost way to artificially bump up the “protein†content for

standard commercial tests. Other contamination comes from indirect sources,

such a food contact with melamine-containing packaging.

 

In 2007, melamine was found in pet feed exported from China to the

United States, which feed unfortunately caused the death of a large number of

dogs and cats due to kidney failure. Following this incident in 2007, several

food agencies and authorities began performing preliminary risk assessments of

melamine.

 

Then, with nearly 40,000 cases of kidney stones in infants (with

three deaths and nearly 13,000 hospitalized) from consumption of

melamine-contaminated powdered infant formula in China alone as late as

September 2008, and with other melamine contamination having been found in

liquid milk, frozen yogurt desserts, and coffee drinks, the alarm was raised –

melamine is dangerous and to be avoided.

 

As a result, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published an

interim safety/risk assessment on melamine and structural analogues, setting a

tolerable daily intake (TDI) of 0.63 mg per kg of body weight per day for

melamine. At almost the same time, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)

published a provisional statement and recommended to apply a TDI of 0.5 mg per

kg of body weight per day as tolerable intake value for melamine. Under

Commission Decision 2008/757/EC, member States of the European Union are

required to ensure that all composite products containing at least 15 % of milk

product, originating from China, are systematically tested before import into

the Community and that all such products which are shown to contain melamine in

excess of 2.5 mg/kg are immediately destroyed. (See

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:273:0018:0020:EN\

:PDF.)

 

The Canadian food-and-drug agency, Health Canada, declared an even

stricter limit of 0.35 mg. Not to be outdone, the World Health Organization’s

Food Safety Director estimated that the amount of melamine a person could stand

per day without incurring a bigger health risk, the " tolerable daily intake "

(TDI), was 0.2 mg per kg of body mass. (See Lara Endreszl, 10 December 2008,

" Safe Melamine Levels Named by World Health Organization " , Health News; see also

B Puschner, and PA Pesavento, “Assessment of melamine and cyanuric acid

toxicity in Cats,†J. Vet. Diagnostic Investigation, Vol. 19, No. 6, 616-624

(2007) at http://jvdi.org/cgi/content/abstract/19/6/616.)

 

Back to CCCF

 

So it was that with these issues in mind, the NHF raised its

nameplate at the CCCF meeting to speak out and oppose the 2.5 ppm upper limit on

melamine contamination proposed by the Codex draft paper. At the very least the

limit should be no more than 1 ppm, we argued before the Committee. And,

preferably, there should be no detectable amounts at all.

 

Yet when the CCCF Report was prepared and then reviewed for approval

by the Committee on Friday, the last day of this session’s meeting, no sign

could be seen of the NHF’s comment in the Report. Of course, NHF asked that

its comments be reflected in the Report as a simple, one-sentence statement;

only to then set off – surprisingly – the most contentious exchange of the

entire meeting!

 

The European Commission strongly opposed showing NHF’s comments in

the Report, stating there was no need for the sentence. Canada and Japan both

joined in the censorship move – much to their countries’ discredit and

dishonor – and argued that NHF could submit written comments later. The NHF

shot back, asking the Committee and its delegations what it was afraid of and

pointing out that the Report should reflect what happened at the meeting. This

caused another stir, with much consultation amongst persons at the head table

and negative head-shaking by Codex Secretariat Verna Carolissen-Mackay. In the

end, the Chairman politely but firmly refused to allow NHF’s remarks to be

noted in the record, but promised that the next session would allow those

comments to be recorded (if once again made).

 

Typical Non-Transparency and Double-Standards

 

Perhaps unused to controversy or contradiction, the CCCF reacted in

knee-jerk fashion to NHF’s comments and, alarmingly, even to the mere mention

of them. It is apparent that this Committee – like so many of the other Codex

committees – plans to implement as Codex standards those standards already

adopted by the European Union. Lap dogs were never this obedient.

 

The National Health Federation plans to oppose these ironically high

limits on melamine contaminants. It is ironic because while touting consumer

“safety†as its reason for imposing strict maximum upper levels on natural

and healthy dietary food supplements in one Codex committee, the European

Commission conveniently looks the other way when consumer safety is at risk by a

man-made contaminant such as melamine. Unfortunately, though, it is an irony

that kills. And until the European Union/European Commission begins to truly

represent the interests of its member countries and citizens, many more will

suffer and die.

 

 

For further information on Codex, please visit the NHF website (Codex):

http://www.thenhf.com/codex.html

 

NHF Codex Book -

 

 

NHF Codex Overview (May be used as an article or printed as a handout to

educate on Codex) -

 

 

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As the oldest and best-respected health-freedom group on Capitol Hill, the NHF

continues to be the credible source of objective assessment of, and proactive

actions on, Congressional legislation and FDA matters that have material impact

upon our freedom-of-health choices and access to dietary supplements and

nutritional foods.

 

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Click here for the permanent link to this press release, use this link to

inform others.

 

 

 

National Health Federation: Established in 1955, the National Health

Federation is a consumer-education, health-freedom organization working to

protect individuals' rights to choose to consume healthy food, take supplements

and use alternative therapies without unnecessary government restrictions. The

NHF is the only such organization with recognized observer-delegate status at

Codex meetings. www.thenhf.com

 

 

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P.O. Box 688, Monrovia, CA 91017 USA ~ 1 (626) 357-2181 ~ Fax 1 (626) 303-0642

 

Website: www.thenhf.com E-mail: contact-us