30-Apr-2021: Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) finalizes quality standards for 4 more spices
The Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) has finalised and recommended quality standards for four spices; cloves, oregano, basil, and ginger, during its fifth session held virtually from 20th -29th April 2021. The committee forwarded these four new standards to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) for adoption at final step 8, as full -fledged Codex standards.
In this session, CCSCH5 unanimously agreed to forward the following four draft standards to Codex Alimentarius Commission for final adoption as Codex standards: dried / dehydrated forms of cloves, oregano, basil and ginger. These standards will shortly join the ranks of the other four standards adopted earlier, to form a body of reference for world spice trade and for member countries to align their national regulations.
The committee also took up the following new work items: to develop Codex standards for small cardamom and turmeric, and to develop the first group standard for spices that fall under the class 'dried fruits and berries'. This grouping approach, on a large scale enough to meet the demands for spices and herbs, will be a pioneering effort by this committee that might result in considerably reducing the time required for finalizing the standards of individual spices.
Many practical aspects and best practices evolved out of this session; these are expected to help other host countries in the Codex fraternity to organize future Codex committee sessions efficiently.
This time, owing to the covid-19 pandemic the 5th session of the committee was organized in virtual mode, for the first time.
‘India blazed a new trail for technical conferences under Codex with this virtual session, as this was the first ever Codex Commodity Committee meeting held virtually,’ said Shri D. Sathyan IFS, Secretary, Spices Board. ‘Being the organizing secretariat of CCSCH, Spices Board India is very happy that the latest session has brought in an unprecedented success by finalizing standards for 4 more spices. Also, the present session of CCSCH witnessed the highest participation ever with 275 participants from 65 member countries, one member organization (European Union) and 11 international observer organizations.’
Earlier, Ms. Rita Teaotia, IAS (retd.), Chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) virtually inaugurated the 5th edition of CCSCH on 20th April 2021.
CCSCH is the youngest of the Codex Commodity Committees. The Committee is Chaired by India and Spices Board India is its Secretariat. This committee is mandated to elaborate worldwide, science-based quality standards for spices and culinary herbs, in accordance with the Codex principles of consumer protection and fair trade practices. Dr M.R. Sudharshan is the current Chairman of the Committee. Normally the Committee meetings are held once in 18 months. The Last meeting of CCSCH was conducted in 2019 at Trivandrum. In its past four sessions, the committee developed and finalized Codex standards for four spices, viz. dried or dehydrated forms of black/white/green pepper, cumin, thyme, and garlic.
ABOUT CCSCH & CAC
To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs, and to consult with other international organisations in the standards development process CCSCH was formed in 2013 with support of more than a hundred countries with India as the host country and Spices Board as the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee. Since its inception, the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs has been successful in developing harmonised global Codex standards for spices and herbs.
Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.
21-Apr-2021: Fifth session of Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs begins virtually - India is the Host and Spices Board India serves as the secretariat of Committee
Underlining the importance of safe and quality food amidst the pandemic situation, Ms. Rita Teaotia, Chairperson, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) yesterday said that the regulatory bodies need to be more vigilant to ensure food safety and quality. Inaugurating the fifth session of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH) established under Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), Ms. Rita Teaotia described the risk of unscrupulous and intentional adulteration of spices through substitution due to their high economic value. “This economically motivated adulteration is a major malpractice and we need to be extremely vigilant, particularly in the regulatory space to avoid such practices. It is important that we have harmonized Codex standards for spices products in global trade and this is a work that needs the highest priority to ensure the safety and quality of the spices and culinary herbs that are being traded across the world,” she said.
The 5th Session of CCSCH began on 20th April with a series of virtual sessions running till 29 April, 2021, with nearly 300 experts from 50 countries taking part in the deliberations. At the present session, the committee will be considering the quality Standards for dried or dehydrated forms of Ginger, Cloves, Saffron and two culinary herbs, Oregano & Basil at step seven, besides Nutmeg and Chilli peppers & Paprika at step four in the Codex procedure of elaboration of food standards. There are also three proposals for new work, viz. Cardamom, Turmeric and prioritized group standard for spices in the form of dried fruits and berries.
Delivering the opening note, Shri D. Sathiyan, Secretary, Spices Board said: “CCSCH is proud to be the first Codex Commodity Committee to take the online route for its session and it is encouraging to note the active participation from member countries even in the midst of this Covid-19 pandemic situation. Given the large number of spices and culinary herbs waiting in the ranks for consideration by the committee, it was an obvious and logical choice to bring in ‘grouping of spices’ to cover more ground quickly.”
Addressing the delegates from the member countries, Mr. Guilherme da Costa Jr, Chair of Codex Alimentarius Commission said “figures on severe problems due to the lack of food safety control continue to cause thousands of food-borne illnesses, deaths, and rising unemployment every year, besides the economic crisis in different countries. It is essential and paramount to do our best - now in this new normal - to develop and disseminate Codex standards to ensure the safety and quality of food for everyone, everywhere, following the Sustainable Development Goals which are linked to the Codex mandate”.
Pointing to the need for adopting the ‘Farm to Fork’ approach for ensuring safety and traceability throughout the entire supply chain, Dr. Roderico H. Ofrin, World Health Organisation (WHO) representative in India said “both the producers as well as the food regulators have a critical role in ensuring compliance with food safety, quality and sustainability standards which is becoming increasingly demanding because of the concern around food safety, especially in the current context of COVID-19.”
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Konda Chavva, Assistant Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in India said that “FAO is making efforts to improve and harmonize standards by implementing specific steps and building capacities at various level to ensure food safety and fair trade, and protecting producer and consumer interests, and encouraging deliberations towards harmonization of global quality standards for spices and culinary herbs”.
ABOUT CCSCH & CAC: To develop and expand worldwide standards for spices and culinary herbs, and to consult with other international organisations in the standards development process CCSCH was formed in 2013 with support of more than a hundred countries with India as the host country and Spices Board India as the Secretariat for organising the sessions of the committee. Since its inception, the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs has been successful in developing harmonised global Codex standards for spices and herbs. In its past four sessions, the committee developed and finalized standards for four spices, viz. dried or dehydrated forms of black/white/green pepper, cumin, thyme, and garlic.
Set up in 1963, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is an intergovernmental body established jointly by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), within the framework of the Joint Food Standards Programme to protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade.
7-Sep-2020: Decisions taken at the 19th meeting (virtual) of the Supreme Court mandated Three Member Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA).
The 19th meeting of Supreme Court -mandated Committed on Content Regulation in Government Advertising (CCRGA) was held (virtually) on 4th September, 2020.
The meeting, chaired by Sh. Om Prakash Rawat, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, was attended by two other members, Sh. Ramesh Narayan of Asian Federation of Advertising Associations and past President, IAA and Shri Ashok Kumar Tandon, Part- Time Member, Prasar Bharti Board.
As per directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, states are mandated to set up their respective three member committees on Content Regulation of Government Advertisements. Karnataka, Goa, Mizoram and Nagaland States have already constituted state-level Three Member Committees. The State Government of Chhattisgarh has given its consent to the Central Committee to monitor the content of their government advertisements.
The CCRGA meeting took a serious note of the fact that other states have yet to constitute their respective state level Committees.
The CCRGA was of the view that some state governments’ delay in setting up the state-level committees may be construed as contempt of Hon’ble Supreme Court’s order.
The CCRGA’s attention was also drawn to the fact that some respondents were yet to furnish their replies to the notices issued to them in response to the complaints received by the Committee.
In view of the current Covid19 pandemic the Committee decided to allow further time to respondents to furnish their replies to the notices In all the pending complaints lodged with the Committee.
The CCRGA felt that non-compliance of its decisions was a serious matter. It was of the considered opinion that in the event of any non-compliance of CCRGA’s Orders, the Committee may be constrained to put embargo on issue of further advertisements by nodal agencies of concerned governments, which come under purview of this Committee.
The Committee may, if necessary, also decide to summon the concerned official of the Govt. agencies dealing with release of advertisements in the event of undue delay in responding to Committee’s notices.
It may be recalled that as per the directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court on 13th May, 2015, the Government of India on 6th April, 2016 had set up a three member body consisting of “persons with unimpeachable neutrality and impartiality and who have excelled in their respective fields”, to look into content regulation of government funded advertisements of all media platforms. Under the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s guidelines dated 13th May, 2015 – “the content of Government Advertisement should be relevant to the government’s constitutional and legal obligations as well as the citizen’s right and entitlements”. Hon’ble Supreme Court has also observed that “Advertisement materials should be presented in an objective, fair and accessible manner and designed to meet the objectives of the campaign”, “Advertisement materials should be objective and not directed at promoting political interests of ruling party”, “Advertisement Campaigns be justified and undertaken in an efficient and cost-effective manner” and “ Government advertising must comply with legal requirement and financial regulations and procedures”.
The Committee is empowered to address complaints from the general public on violation of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s guidelines and make suitable recommendations.
11-Aug-2020: Ministry of Corporate Affairs releases the Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting
Shri Rajesh Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) released the ‘Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR)’ here today.
The BRR was released in the presence of Dr. Sameer Sharma, DG, IICA; Shri Amarjeet Singh, Executive Director, SEBI; Shri Atul Gupta, president, ICAI: Shri Ashish Garg, president, ICSI and Shri R. Mukundan, CEO, Tata Chemicals, besides representatives from CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM and individuals from business, academia and civil society organisations.
While releasing the report, Shri Rajesh Verma, Secretary, MCA, appreciated the efforts of the committee in proposing such a robust reporting framework and said that MCA will work closely with SEBI for its implementation. He also emphasised the fact that Indian companies are aspiring to have global foothold and thus they cannot ignore the emerging trend of Corporate Governance i.e. Responsible Business. He also urged the professional institutes and business associations to carry out the advocacy campaign for BRSR and capacity building of their respective members.
Highlighting the data and trends on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing globally, Shri Amarjeet Singh, Executive Director, SEBI said that due to increasing trends of ESG investing, the demand for non-financial reporting is also growing and in this respect the BRSR framework will set the stage for sustainable investing.
Talking about the recent national and international development in the field of Responsible Business, Dr. Sameer Sharma, DG, IICA, said that IICA is taking forward the initiative and launching a certificate course on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) from August 2020.
As a chairman of the Committee on BRR, Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, MCA, highlighted the paradigm shift in the business operations from shareholder’s perspective to stakeholders and importance of non-financial reporting. He also shared the key recommendations of the committee and acknowledge the efforts made by the committee members.
The Report of the Committee is available on the website of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs i.e. www.mca.gov.in.
Background
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has been taking various initiatives for ensuring responsible business conduct by companies. As a first step towards mainstreaming the concept of business responsibility, the 'Voluntary Guidelines on Corporate Social Responsibility’ were issued in 2009. These guidelines were subsequently revised as 'National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business, 2011 (NVGS)’ after extensive consultations with business, academia, civil society organizations and the government.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) through its ‘Listing Regulations’ in 2012 mandated the top 100 listed entities by market capitalization to file Business Responsibility Reports (BRRs) from an environmental, social and governance perspective. These BRRs enabled business to demonstrate the adoption of the NVG principles and the attendant core elements with the intent of engaging businesses more meaningfully with their stakeholders going beyond regulatory financial compliance. This was extended to top 500 companies in FY 2015-16 and further extended to top 1000 companies in December, 2019.
Taking into account the national and international developments in the arena of business and human rights since 2011, the NVGs have been updated and released as NGRBC (National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct) in March 2019 to reveal alignments with the UNGPs, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Paris Agreement on Climate change etc.
In furtherance to updation and formulation of the NGRBCs, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs had constituted a ‘Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting’ to develop new BRR formats for listed and unlisted companies. The Committee comprised of representatives from MCA, SEBI, three professional institutes, and two eminent professionals who had worked on developing the NGRBCs.
After extensive consultations with various stakeholders including businesses and their associations, professional institutes, academia, civil society organizations, central Ministries and Departments, the Committee submitted its Report to the Central Government. In its Report, the Committee recommended a new reporting framework called as the ‘Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)’ to better reflect the intent and scope of reporting on non-financial parameters. The Committee recommended two formats for disclosures: one ‘comprehensive format’ and the second a ‘Lite version’. The Committee further recommended that the implementation of the reporting requirements should be done in a gradual and phased manner. The Committee also recommended that the BRSR be integrated with the MCA21 portal. As a long-term measure, the Committee envisions that the information captured through BRSR filings be used to develop a Business Responsibility-Sustainability Index for companies.