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A paper proposing a regional kava standard is expected to be presented at a meeting in Geneva in July.
The paper was prepared in cooperation with Codex New Zealand.
Emily Tumukon, the Codex Liaison Officer during the 14th session of the Codex Committee for North America and South West Pacific (CC NASWP-September 19-22, 2016) said one of the resolutions was for Codex New Zealand to assist Vanuatu as the Regional Coordinator, to work on the proposal for the development of a Regional Codex Standard for kava.
Vanuatu Daily Post reports the purpose of the regional Codex standard for kava products intended for human consumption, is to protect the health of consumers and assures its quality for fair trade.
The standard is intended to cover kava products for use as a beverage when mixed with cold water and does not apply to kava beverage as such, or products used for medicinal purposes, or as ingredients in foods, or for any other purposes.
“We have a more well-documented paper, a proposal ready for the upcoming 73 session of the executive committee for the Codex Alimentarius, which will be meeting in Geneva in July, 2017,” Tumukon told Vanuatu Nightly news.
“We have submitted the proposal to the Secretariat in Rome, to register it as an agenda item for the executive meeting. Once it gets endorsed, it will go on to the Commission meeting after the meeting in Geneva, for 189 member countries to deliberate on the proposal.”
If the Commission endorses the proposal, it allows the region to develop a regional standard for kava.
Currently Vanuatu has a national quality standard and Fiji has recently endorsed theirs.
This work not only enhances the existing national standards but it sets the regional standard whereby countries that are trading the product ensure that they meet the requirements.
