NOTE: this page needs attention; not all features are implemented

• How do I know what documents are being discussed in Codex?
  • The documents that are being discussed appear in the agenda of each committee. If the agenda of the next meeting is not available, you will find information on the report (alinorm) of the last session of the committee. Committee agendas are identified as XX/XX/01. Another way is to check the monthly deadlines table on this web page, which contains the documents of all committees and their deadlines (last date on which comments may be submitted). Further, the last alinorm may include a request for information/comments on some documents and their deadlines. Besides, circular letters or the documents themselves contain the deadlines of agenda documents.
• Where can I find information on the working groups of the various committees?
• You can find the available documents of electronic or physical working groups in each committee or in the table with document deadlines. You should take into account that some information of the working groups is only circulated to Codex members and observers participating in them. Based on this, if you cannot find some specific information, you can post your query in the forum on this web page.
• How does the forum work?
• The forum provides an opportunity for communication and discussion among CCNASWP members -- direct but not in real time. The coordination will publish a discussion issue, which this office itself may suggest or members may put forward, and on which participants may comment on a voluntary basis. These views will be published immediately, without any filtering or regulation by the coordination; and one after the other will be added under the posted issue. A set time after the end of the discussion, the topic will be archived at the member who started it and then removed from the forum. The member then may publish the results as a newsletter. Discussion of the topic may be continued by opening another forum page or through a personal chat with one or several members. There may be different simultaneous discussion topics which authorised members will have access to and voluntarily participate in.
• How can I participate in the forum?
• If you are a CCNASWP member, you are automatically set to participate in the forum. If you are not a member but your country or organisation has a specific interest, you may request your country representative, or lacking that the coordination, to let you participate. If authorised, your email address will let you login. The first time (or any time after that) use the 'forgot my password' button to get instructions mailed to your email address to set your password. Once you are logged in, there is also available a 'preferences' option, which allows you to change your name, email address, timezone and other options.
• If you do not logout at the end of a session, you will be automatically logged out after 30 minutes use or when you quit your browser.
• How do I access the 'members only page'?
• The account and password you use for the forum is used here too.
• How can I have access the documents that are being discussed?
• In the "news" section, information on incoming documents is frequently updated for consideration by members. Thus, by regularly checking this section, you can learn about the documents that are being discussed.
• How can I find a member's contact point?
• If you go to the CCNASWP members menu, you will find a map with member countries. If you click on the country or if you look below the map on that same page, you will find updated contact details - where available.
• What can I do if I cannot find some specific information?
• You can post your query on the forum, or else contact the CCNASWP coordination.
• Where can I find Codex approved standards?
• The CCNASWP web pages do not contain a list with Codex approved standards. To find a standard, you should go to the Codex Alimentarius web page, www.codexalimentarius.net, and go to Official Standards, where you can find the complete list or search by standard. Or else, you can check the web page of the International Portal on Food Safety, Animal & Plant Health, www.ipfsaph.org. If you cannot find the information you need, you can consult the FAO/WHO.

Some notes to understand Codex documents

• What is an ALINORM?
• Reports of the commission, committees and task forces, recording the outcomes of meetings, and working documents prepared for commission sessions are called ALINORMS. These documents are identified with the term "ALINORM" followed by the calendar year in which the meeting is held, followed by the session number. This is then followed by the consecutive number of the document in line with the commission agenda item. If there is more than one meeting of a particular committee between commission sessions, the second session is identified with the letter "A" after the number. For example, a document on the agenda of the twenty-sixth session of the Codex Alimentarius commission (held in July 2003) would be identified as ALINORM 03/26/xx (xx being a consecutive number, starting at 1). As in the case of the documents related to agendas of subsidiary bodies, the number allocated is not necessarily the same number as the agenda item.
• What are the working papers for subsidiary bodies?
• Each item of subsidiary bodies is presented in a working paper that is identified as follows: CX (abbreviation for Codex) followed by the acronym of the committee. These document identities are followed by two digits representing the specific year in which the session will be held, then the session number and finally the consecutive number of the document, for example CX/FH 05/37/3. In this case, CX = Codex, FH = food hygiene, 05 = 2005 (the year in which the session is being held), 37 = the thirty-seventh session of CCFH and 3 = the consecutive number allocated to the document for discussion on the agenda. The consecutive number does not necessarily indicate the agenda item number, since discussion of some agenda items may require more than one document. On some occasions, a committee may have two or more meetings in the same commission session period. In these cases, the letter "A" would follow the abbreviated year of the second meeting, to differentiate between the meetings. If you want to check the references of subsidiary bodies, please go to the committees section and then click on "committee and document abbreviations".
• What is a circular letter?
• Circular letters (CLs) provide the vehicle for communication from the Codex secretariat to Codex member countries and interested international non-governmental organizations. When reports from committees (ALINORMS) are circulated, they always include a CL that invites members and observers to provide comments on specific elements of the report - usually comments on draft text contained in the appendixes to the report. When a committee establishes an ad hoc working group, and the working group wishes to circulate its recommendations, this is normally done through a CL. Circular letters are numbered consecutively, also indicating the calendar year and committee to which they pertain. For example, CL2001/24 - GP identifies the twenty-fourth circular letter for the calendar year 2001. This particular CL pertains to the Codex committee on general principles. CL2001/25 - FFP is the twenty-fifth CL for 2001, and pertains to an issue related to the Codex committee on fish and fishery products.
• What are the conference room documents?
  • Conference room documents (CRDs) are documents that are circulated at a Codex session. CRDs are numbered consecutively, but normally have no other identities and may originate from a number of sources. The "LIM" (limited distribution) document series used in commission sessions is equivalent to "CRD" in subsidiary bodies. Where countries submit written comments in response to a CL or CX document, the secretariat compiles all comments and circulates these prior to the meeting. These documents would have the appropriate CX designation. However, there are times when comments are received too late for translation and circulation to member governments. These would be circulated at the meeting itself as a CRD, and are given consecutive numbers by the Codex secretariat of the host government of the session as they are circulated within the committee. We will do our best to compilet the CRDs and LIMs circulated at Codex sessions; this, however, will depend on the goodwill of those responsible for Codex meetings.