Codex sets agenda for oils and fats
international meeting that establishes guidelines on fats and oils
kicks off next month.
The meeting, which will take place from 19 to 23 February 2007 in London, will discuss standards relating to products such as olive oil, spreadable fats and specific vegetable oils, information for consumers, and storage and transport of edible fats and oils.
It follows on from the 19th session of the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils, which recently finalised all sections of the draft standard for fat spreads and blended spreads with the exception of the section on food additives.
The European Commission says that it is in agreement with much of the draft circular, though it nonetheless has raised a number of reservations related to the food additives section.
For example, the EC said that while it agrees with the inclusion of flavours in this standard, it questions the inclusion of the term nature-identical flavouring substances, as this is not defined in the Codex system.
"Such flavourings would anyway fall under the term artificial flavourings," said the EC.
The Commission has however welcomed the request for further evidence for the need of diacetyltartaric and fatty acid esters of glycerol, stearyl citrate, and for the need of a level of 20,000 mg/kg of propylene glycol esters of fatty acids.
The UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) also announced that a meeting of the National Codex Consultative Committee (NCCC) for the Codex Committee on Fats and Oils will be held this month, to help establish the UK position on items under discussion at the 20th meeting.
It said that the main bodies representing consumer protection and trade are invited.
