19th Codex Committee on Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

This Codex Committee primarily works to establish international standards and related texts such as codes of practice for fresh fruits and vegetables. Hosted by Mexico, the 19th session took place in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, from 5-9 October 2015.

The meeting was attended by technical experts, senior administrators and researchers representing 35 Member Countries, 1 Member Organisation and 2 observer organisations.

New aubergine standard

The Committee forwarded the standard for aubergines for final adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and recommended the Commission advance the standards for garlic and kiwifruit in the step procedure. The standard for ware potato was returned to the working group level for further work. Member countries will have an opportunity to further work on the standards for garlic, kiwifruit and ware potatoes via electronic working groups to address outstanding issues in these standards. The subsequent revised draft standards will be considered by the next session of the committee which is planned for the second quarter of 2017.

The Committee also forwarded a proposal for new work on a standard for fresh date to the Commission for approval.

Other technical matters regarding the template layout of Codex standards for fresh fruits and vegetables were addressed and the meeting also agreed to develop a glossary of terms that would be applied to the layout and standards in this area.

The full final report will be published on the Codex website here in English French and Spanish.

For further details on this committee, and for a comprehensive list of all the standards that the committee has developed since its inception in 1988 click here.