31 March 2011: The World Trade Organization (WTO) Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) has agreed to focus future discussions on five actions to develop private standards in food safety and plant and animal health, and to improve collaboration and information exchange between the SPS Committee and other SPS standard-setting bodies. The agreement was reached in the SPS Committee’s meeting on 30-31 March 2011.

On private standards, members decided to develop a working definition of private SPS standards and limit discussions to these, and to discuss how member governments can help private sector bodies to understand the issues raised in the SPS Committee and the three other international bodies setting SPS standards, namely the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization on Animal Health (OIE), and the FAO International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).

Still under discussion is an additional action on exchanging information on private standards and developing an understanding of how these relate to international and government standards.

Concerns raised regarding private standards include that they: are not always based on science; may deviate from international standards or government requirements; lack harmonization, transparency and appeals procedures; and could entail disproportionate burdens on small- and medium-sized producers and exporters in developing countries. Expected benefits of private standards are, among others: facilitated compliance with international standards, if governments prescribe how such standards should be met; promotion of best practices and improved productivity; and more rapid response to emerging risks, since private standards can fill gaps and make it easier to adopt new international standards.

The agreed actions on collaboration and information are: the SPS Committee, Codex Alimentarius, OIE and IPPC will regularly inform each other about their work; they will explore cooperation in developing information underlining the importance of international SPS standards; and the WTO Secretariat will inform the SPS Committee of relevant developments in other WTO councils and committees.

Deliberations will continue at the next meeting of the SPS Committee, to be held from 29-30 June 2011. [WTO Press Release]