. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/350
28 October 2002
(02-5910)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English/
Spanish
ACTIONS AIMED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT
ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Information presented by the Inter-American Institute
for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Observer organizations are asked to present reports on activities implemented to promote
greater understanding and implementation of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures.  Some of IICA's efforts in this field, either already carried out or due to be
implemented in the near future, are described below.
Action in support of the Regional Codex Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean
1. A coordination meeting of Enquiry Points will be held 3-5 November at IICA Headquarters
for the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean.  Representatives
from some 29 Latin American and Caribbean countries and officials from the FAO and the Pan
American Health Organization have been invited.  The event is being held in collaboration with the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Support for the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
2. The Latin American and Caribbean Regional Technical Consultation  on phytosanitary
measures related to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) was held 8-10 October in
Costa Rica.  The participants studied two propose d new standards and two additions to existing ones.
IICA and the USDA/APHIS supported the event.  Experts from five countries in the region took part.
Module on "Tourism and Food Safety" of the Ex ecutive Series on Leadership in Food Safety
3. The fourth module of the Executive Series on Food Safety, "Food Safety and Tourism," was
held 14-20 September in the Dominican Republic.  Some of the topics covered were:  risk analysis,
leadership for the future, tourism, international standards organizations, biotechnology products, andconsumers and domestic consumption.  The World Trade Organization (WTO) was actively involved.
The participants are currently implementing 16 food safety projects formulated during the executive
series.
Support for the active participation of the countries of the Americas in the WTO SPS
Committee
4. IICA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) facilitated the participation of
two experts from the countries of the Americas (up to 32 developing nations) in meeting of the WTOG/SPS/GEN/350
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Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  The objective of this effort is to promote more
active participation and foster dialogue within the member countries.
Activities in the Caribbean
5. The project "Strengthening Agricultural Quarantine Services in the Caribbean" got under
way.  It began on 1 September 2002 and will last 30 months.  The aim is to improve compliance with
the WTO SPS Agreement.  National seminars on SPS and food safety will be held in
15 CARIFORUM member countries during the months of October, November and December.  The
European Union is providing financial assistance.
6. A workshop on pest risk analysis for plant protection officials in the Caribbean was held 24-
28 June, in Trinidad and Tobago.  The event was organized by IICA.  Financial and training resources
were provided by USDA-APHIS.
7. A second meeting of the Canada/CARICOM Alli ance of Food Control Systems was held 3-
7 July, in Belize.  The activity was sponsored and organized jointly by IICA, the Canadian FoodInspection Agency, Health Canada and the Agricultural Health Authority of Belize.
8. A workshop to review the implementation of international phytosanitary standards in the
Caribbean was held 9-11 October, in Trinidad and Tobago.  The objective was to promote the
harmonization and modernization of the regulatory framework in the Caribbean region.  The activitywas sponsored by the IPPC and organized jointly by IICA and the IPPC.
Training in HACCP
9. IICA will provide food safety courses for the agrifood industry, with emphasis on HACCP,
by means of videoconferences linking Bolivia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the United
States.  Six sessions will be held in November and two in December.
Information
10. Animal and plant health and food safety information is made available through the Andean
Agricultural Health Information Network (http://www.iicasaninet.net/) and the Agrosalud XXINetwork (www.infoagro.net/salud).  Press releases, publications and weekly bulletins are posted on
these web sites.  The two networks currently receive over 3000 hits per day.  There are
4000 registered users in 48 countries.
For further information about these events, contact: ebolanos@iica.ac.cr (Eric Bolaños) or
kwalker@iica.ac.cr (Kevin Walker)
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Agricultural Health and Food Safety
http://infoagro.net/salud
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