Matriz de consistencia

made publicly available

• publication of the Committees’ full reports in a timely manner

• publication of the research that formed the basis of the advice should be available • judgements should be made explicit and

reasons for judgements stated

• qualified experts nominated by consumer organisations should be appointed to all committees to represent the public interest In most cases, full reports of these committees have been delayed, sometimes for more than a year before publication. CI believes it is inappropriate for Codex committees to base decisions on the summary and conclusions of an expert review. The full report must be in the public domain for consideration in an open transparent manner by all interested parties, before the conclusions have to be applied by Codex.

The workload of expert committees is increasing in volume and scope, so much so, that the process has become too slow to meet the urgent need for technical advice. Concerns have also been expressed about the appropri- ateness of the expertise of experts with such a range of topics to cover. These issues, along with the adequate resourcing of the secretariats of expert committees are major concerns. The responsibilities of these expert committees and the timely manner in which they can fully achieve their tasks are essential for the proper working of Codex and its risk analysis approach and must be improved.

So important are these issues that The FAO Conference on International Food Trade beyond 2000, (FAO, 1999a) drew the attention of the member governments of FAO, WHO and WTO to a specific recommendation regarding the scientific expert committees:

• Member Governments, FAO and WHO should adopt policies wholly consistent with the need for an independent and transparent risk assessment processes in particular in relation to the selection of the scientific experts, the working procedures and the tightening of the conflict of interest requirements. FAO and WHO should also provide adequate resources to the expert Codex committees, taking into account all the

Codex principles, including other legitimate factors, and where appropriate, considering a precautionary approach to food safety matters. In short, it is Codex’s responsibility to carry out a full risk-management strategy based on the risk assessment provided by the expert committees.

The most recent committee to be formed was JECM to consider matters of microbiological assessment; there are many matters of urgency for this new body to consider, such as emerging pathogens and resistance.

13.1

Membership

Panels of selected experts objectively assess the science in an impartial, unbiased way. FAO and WHO carry out the selection of experts for these permanent committees. The invited individuals must be international leaders in their fields.

One of the problems in selecting experts is that some are funded directly or indirectly by industry; even academic researchers are now often funded by the commercial sector. When appointed to an Expert committee the individual is required to act in a personal capacity, unhindered by commercial interests. CI has campaigned for the selection process to be more open, with the selection criteria published, and for the inclusion of experts from the widest perspective.

13.2

Openness

The meetings of these committees are closed to observers and are therefore presumed to be protected from “political” influence. However, there are legitimate concerns about the secrecy that surrounds these committees.

CI has campaigned for greater openness and transparency of the workings of these Expert committees and believes to improve openness the following reforms are long overdue: • a full declaration of all interests of all

members selected should be in the public domain

• any vested interest should be declared and

13. Expert Committees

bodies for risk assessment to continue to ensure confidence and competence in expert evaluations.

Some improvements have been made in the selection of experts; invitations and calls for experts are now advertised on the Webpages. However, CI will continue to press for more reforms and improvements in the expert committees and their workings. These matters are of the utmost importance to the credibility of Codex and its decisions.

Details of previous meetings, reports and calls for experts can be found on the relevant Internet pages.

JECFA details can be found on:

http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/economi c/ESN/jecfa/jecfa.htm

JMPR details can be found on:

http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/agpp/pesticid/J MPR/Priority/Eval99.htm

JECM, at the time of writing, had no web pages since it is newly established and had yet

to meet.

2

From time to time special FAO/WHO consultation meetings are held to address areas of current concern.

For example: the new emphasis on risk analysis within Codex has prompted several

consultations on Risk Assessment, Risk

Management and Risk Communication. Future consultations are planned on biotechnology, especially related to allergens.

The role of these expert consultations is to address a specific topic of concern in the joint food safety programme and to invite experts from around the world to address the matter. FAO and WHO fund the consolations and publish their results both in published reports and on the internet at www.fao.org.

14.1

Membership

FAO and WHO carry out the selection of experts; the invited individuals must be international leaders in their fields. One of the problems in selecting experts is that some, in their regular work, are funded directly or indirectly by industry; even academic researchers are now often funded by the commercial sector. When appointed to an Expert committee the individual is required to act in a personal capacity, unhindered by commercial interests.

Selected experts are invited to participate in the consultation meetings, which are usually held in Rome or Geneva. Experts are selected for the ‘expert knowledge’ they can bring to the process. Often the consultations are subject specific and require a high degree of technical knowledge. CI has been able to nominate

Chapter 14:

Joint FAO/