NEW ZEALAND POSITION AT CODEX COMMISSION MEETING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WELLINGTON 000489

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/ANP/RAMSEY AND EB/BOBO
USDA FOR FAS/ITP/TALLEY, BREHM, MEYER AND CLAUS,
FAS/FAA/CONLON, AMS/SPOMER AND SAUSVILLE,
FAS/ICD/WITHERS, AND FSIS/CODEX/SCARBROUGH
COMMERCE FOR ITA/HILL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ETRD TBIO EAGR ECON NZ
SUBJECT: NEW ZEALAND POSITION AT CODEX COMMISSION MEETING
JULY 4-9 IN ROME, ITALY

REF: SECSTATE 113408 AND SECSTATE 113635

SUMMARY
--------------


1. New Zealand will participate in the 28TH session of
the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) in Rome, July 4-

9. The New Zealand delegation will be headed by Andrew
Mckenzie,Executive Director of the New Zealand Food
Safety Authority(NZFSA). The delegation will also
include Steve Hathaway, Director of Program Development,
NZFSA; Raj Rajasekar, Codex Program Manager, NZFSA; and
Melissa Quarrie, Policy Analyst, Codex, NZFSA. Talking
points provided reftel and detailed briefing papers
regarding key issues of importance to the United States
were shared with NZFSA. Our discussions with NZFSA's
Codex Program Manager lead us to believe that New Zealand
will be generally supportive of U.S. positions taken on
key issues at the meeting. New Zealand officials will
participate in a telephone conference call with U.S.
officials on Thursday June 23 (Wellington time) to
discuss New Zealand views/positions related to Codex
agenda issues. New Zealand looks forward to obtaining
additional details regarding a possible U.S. candidate
for Vice Chair of Codex. New Zealand delegation members
will participate in the Codex workshop offered by the
U.S. on Saturday, July 2, and the reception hosted by the
Agricultural Affairs Office of the U.S. Mission to FAO.
End Summary.


2. New Zealand agrees with and will support the U.S. in
requesting the CAC to approve new work to elaborate a
Codex Standard for parmesan cheese and to direct the
Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) to
develop the standard. New Zealand agrees that the
international trade in parmesan cheese exceeds all of the
criteria agreed upon by the CCMMP for the elaboration of
individual cheese standards. New Zealand also supports
the position that the issue of GI protection or Protected
Designation of Origin (PDO) with respect to a standard
for parmesan cheese should not be addressed in Codex.
New Zealand considers that the PDO issue is more
appropriate for the World Intellectual Property
Organization and the WTO agreement on Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS).


3. New Zealand has not opposed advancement to Step 5 of
the Proposed Draft Amendment to the General Standard for
the Labeling of Prepackaged Food: Quantitative
ingredient Declaration. That said, it is generally not
supportive of extensive QUID labeling. New Zealand
recognizes the validity of the procedural issues raised
by the United States, i.e. four significant provisions
remain in square brackets and are unresolved. This
raises the question for New Zealand as to whether it is
appropriate to advance on this issue at this time. New
Zealand officials are expected to consult further before
deciding the level of support to offer the United States
on this issue at the Rome Codex Commission meeting.


4. New Zealand will join the United States in opposing
new work being undertaken on animal feeding at this time.
New Zealand fully agrees that countries are still
assessing their present systems and responses to the
recently adopted Codex Code of Practice on Good Animal
Feeding. New Zealand also agrees with the U.S. position
that it would not be time or money well spent to use a
Task Force to develop a HACCP-related document for use in
the processing of food and feed ingredients. New Zealand
will also support the U.S. view that the revision to the
Codex Principles and Guidelines for the exchange of
information in Food Safety Emergency Situations extends
the scope of the document to cover feeding stuffs for
food producing animals and that this revision adequately
addresses concerns relating to a rapid alert system for
feed.


5. New Zealand agrees with and will support views
expressed reftel regarding the review and its findings
regarding committee structures and mandates. New Zealand
does not support the consultants' recommendation that a
Commodity Standards Management Committee should be
created. New Zealand shares the U.S. concern that that
it would represent another layer of bureaucracy demanding
additional resource requirements and may not improve
Codex efficiency. New Zealand does not have a well-
defined viewpoint regarding recommendation No. 20 but
appreciates points raised by the United States.


6. New Zealand is fully supportive of position that Codex
has a mandate to address antimicrobial resistance and
supports further work on this subject by existing Codex
committee structure. New Zealand does not believe that a
justification exists and, therefore, will not support the
formation of a Codex/OIE ad-hoc task force at this time
to accomplish work on antimicrobial resistance.


7. New Zealand supports the work being carried out by the
Trust Fund for enhanced participation in Codex. It also
shares all of the concerns detailed in reftel.


8. New Zealand will support the United States is seeking
adoption of cadmium in wheat grain, potato, stem and root
vegetables and other vegetables at step 8. It will also
support the U.S. in seeking adoption of the draft maximum
levels for cadmium of 0.4 mg/kg in polished rice and
marine bivalve mollusks and in cephalopods (without
viscera) at step 5, provided that oysters and scallops
are excluded.


9. New Zealand looks forward to obtaining additional
information regarding a potential U.S. candidate for Vice
Chair of Codex and participating in the U.S. organized
workshop and reception on July 2.
HADDA