INTERSESSIONALMEETINGOFTHE.docx

ISM:TE 15/6 – Final Report ISM:TE 15/6 – Final Report  PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 10  PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 11  ISM:TE 15/6 – Final Report  INTERSESSIONAL MEETING OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP ON TEA Rome, Italy, 5-6 May 2014 FINAL REPORT I. BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION To help member countries of the Intergovernmental Group (IGG) on Tea cope with the dynamic nature of the world tea economy and address the vagaries of the market, an intersessional meeting was arranged, to bridge the gap between sessions of the IGG. The 21st session of the Group was held in Bandung, Indonesia, in November 2014, and the 22nd session is scheduled to be held in Naivasha, Kenya, in late May 2016. The intersessional meeting was hosted by the Tea Association of Italy. It was held on the Expo Milan premises and 38 participants representing 13 countries and 1 observer organization attended. The Co-Chairpersons and/or the Chairperson of each of the seven Working Groups (WGs) reported on progress made since November 2014. The WGs broke out into groups to discuss issues pertinent to each WG, and each WG reported its future action plans and recommendations to the plenary session on 16?October. The objectives assigned to each of the other WGs were met and were as follows: Working Group on Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) The IGG/Tea decided that the Working Group on MRLs in the Brew be dissolved after the submission and endorsement of the policy document by CCPR. Hence, the WG needs to prepare a policy document outlining the methodology and other technical requirements to enable regulators of the CCPR to accept residues in the brew as the basis for risk assessment. This document would need to be discussed and endorsed for submission to the CCPR; Assess the status of field trials required for setting Codex MRLs and submit the list for advance notification to FAO-IGG and the National Codex Points; Update the priority list based on new information on risk assessment, replacements, or p