INTRODUCTION

1. The Eighth Meeting of the ASEAN Cocoa Club Technical Working Group on Food Safety (ACC TWGFS) was held on 18th May 2016 in Hotel Santika Premiere, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

2. The Meeting was officially opened by Mrs. Siti Marfuah Batoebara, Deputy Director of Marketing of Estate Crop Products, Directorate of Processing and Marketing of Estate Crop Products, Directorate General of Estate Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia.  She welcomed all the delegates from the ASEAN Member States to Indonesia.  The full text of her speech appears as ANNEX I.

3. The Meeting was chaired by Dr. Sabariah Samsudin, Director of the Cocoa Downstream Technology Division, Malaysian Cocoa Board and co-chaired by Mrs. Siti Marfuah Batoebara, Deputy Director of Marketing of Estate Crop Products, Directorate of Processing and Marketing of Estate Crop Products, Directorate General of Estate Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia.

4. The Meeting was attended by 15 members and observers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and the Secretariat of the ACC TWGFS.  The list of delegates appears as ANNEX II.

AGENDA ITEM 1: OPENING REMARKS

5. The Chairperson of the ACC TWGFS, Dr. Sabariah Samsudin, Director of Cocoa Downstream Technology Division, Malaysian Cocoa Board (MCB) delivered her opening remarks for the 8th Meeting of the ACC TWGFS.  In her opening remarks, she emphasized that the role of the Technical Working Group should compliment with the other established food safety committees in harmonising food safety requirements related to cocoa and chocolate products to facilitate the trade.  The full text of her speech appears as ANNEX III.

AGENDA ITEM 2: ELECTION OF VICE-CHAIRMAN

6. Mrs. Siti Marfuah Batoebara, Deputy Director of Marketing of Estate Crop Products, Directorate of Processing and Marketing of Estate Crop Products, Directorate General of Estate Crops, Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia, was unanimously elected as the Vice-Chairperson of the 8th Meeting of the ACC TWGFS.

AGENDA ITEM 3: ADOPTION OF AGENDA

7. The Meeting adopted the Agenda for the 8th Meeting of the ACC TWGFS which appears as ANNEX IV.

AGENDA ITEM 4: BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT

8. The Meeting was held in plenary.

AGENDA ITEM 5: REPORT ON THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE COUNTRY’S INITIATIVES RELATIVE TO FOOD SAFETY ON COCOA AND COCOA PRODUCTS AND RELATED ACTIVITIES

9. Indonesia reported on the Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) of pesticide residues in cocoa beans namely clothianidin (0.02 mg/kg), endosulfan (0.2 mg/kg), hydrogen phosphide (0.01 mg/kg), metalaxy (0.2 mg/kg), and thiamethoxam (0.02 mg/kg) in cocoa beans based on the Ministry of Agriculture Decree No. 4/PP.340/2/2015.

10. Indonesia also informed the Meeting on their newly imposed regulations as follow:  

i.    SNI 7934:2014 Indonesia National Standard for Chocolate Products
ii.  Ministry of Agriculture Decree No. 67/OT.140/5/2014: Quality and Marketing of Cocoa Beans
iii. Ministry of Agriculture Decree No. 4/PP.340/2/2015: Modified by Ministry of Agriculture Decree No.13/KR.040/4/2016: Food Safety for Entry and Exit of Fresh Food Derived from Plants

11. Philippines informed the Meeting that the implementation rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 10611: Food Safety Act has been published in February 2015, and Philippines is in the process of creating the Department of Agriculture (DA) Pool of Experts in supporting the standards development and regulations for food and feed.

12. Philippines informed the Meeting on the ongoing project of improving livelihood of cacao farmers through support organization (OPTIONS) particularly the Cacao Traceability for Sustainability-2: Making Best Practices to Work.

13. Indonesia and Malaysia reported on the ‘CocoaSafe’: Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing in Sanitary and Phytosanitary in Cocoa in South East Asia.  The full presentation of Malaysia appears as ANNEX V.

14. Thailand informed the Meeting on the following initiatives related to cocoa and chocolate products:

i. Thai revised industrial standard: TIS. 1137-2550 (2007), Cocoa Powders for Industrial Use
ii. Notification of Ministry of Public Health, No. 83-2527 (1984), Food and Drug Administration
The full presentation appears as ANNEX VI.

AGENDA ITEM 6: STATUS REPORT ON THE FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED BY IMPORTING COUNTRIES

15. Indonesia informed the Meeting on there was no update on the progress of the proposal on the establishment of the maximum levels for cadmium in cocoa and chocolate products by European Union (EU).

AGENDA 7: REPORT ON THE ISSUES OF IMPORTANCE RELATED TO FOOD SAFETY

16. Malaysia reported on the monitoring program of cadmium in Malaysian cocoa beans, cocoa liquor and cocoa powder in 2015.  The level of cadmium in those products were ranged from 0.02 - 0.38 mg/kg; 0.02 - 0.73 mg/kg; and 0.06 - 0.79 mg/kg respectively which are complied with the Malaysian Food Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985 (maximum level: 1.0 mg/kg).

17. Thailand reported on the Sanitary and Phytosanitary requirements on cocoa beans exported to Thailand.  The full presentation appears as ANNEX VII.

AGENDA 8:  STATUS REPORT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF DATABASE ON FOOD SAFETY

18. The ACC TWGFS Secretariat informed the Meeting on the current status of the uniform resource locator (URL) for the ASEAN Member States (AMS) food safety website which can be hyperlinked from the ACC TWGFS website.  It was noted that Indonesia, Lao PDR and Myanmar yet to provide URL for their food safety website which can be hyperlinked from the ACC TWGFS website.

19. Indonesia informed the Meeting that Indonesia will provide the URL for their food safety website which can be hyperlinked from the ACC TWGFS website.

20. Thailand will provide another URL into the list to the Secretariat.

21. Malaysia reported the pesticide residues in cocoa beans from different regions of Malaysia in 2015 namely metalaxyl, chlorpyrifos, ametryne, cypermethrin I, II, III, VI, metalaxyl, triadimenol and deltamethrin.  The MRLs of aforementioned residues were complied with the Malaysian Food Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985.

22. Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand had agreed to update the food safety report database.  ASEAN Member States mutually agreed that the reporting country should be at least four to maintain the food safety database.    

AGENDA 9: KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE SHARING ON TESTING METHODOLOGIES

23. Malaysia informed the Meeting that the testing methodology of cadmium analysis had been shared with Philippines.

24. Thailand requested the AMS to assist the training of sensory evaluation on cocoa and cocoa products.  Thailand has to formally write to Indonesia and Malaysia for assistance.

AGENDA 10:  HARMONIZATION ON THE FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS OF THE ASEAN MEMBER COUNTRIES

25. The Chairperson informed that the ASEAN Code of Practice for the Prevention and Reduction of Ochratoxin A (OTA) Contamination in Cocoa Beans was endorsed by the 37th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) which was held on 10th September 2015 in Makati City, Philippines. 

AGENDA 11: PRESENTATION ON FOOD SAFETY STANDARD AND REGULATION RELATED TO COCOA AND COCOA PRODUCTS

26. Indonesia presented the Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI) as follow:

1. SNI 2323:2008 Biji Kakao
2. SNI 3747:2009 Kakao Bubuk
3. SNI 3748:2009 Lemak Kakao
4. SNI 3749:2009 Kakao Massa
5. SNI 7934:2014 Cokelat dan Produk Cokelat

27. Malaysia presented the Malaysian Food Act 1983 and Food Regulation 1985 related to cocoa and chocolate products.  The full presentation appears as ANNEX VIII.

28. Philippines informed the Meeting on the following:

1. Ongoing amendment of the Guidelines of Good Agricultural Practices for Crops
2. Ongoing development of Philippine National Standard on Cacao Grinder: Specifications and Methods of Test.

AGENDA 12: INFORMATION SHARING OF MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT (MRA) PERTAINING TO COCOA AND COCOA PRODUCTS IN ASEAN CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON STANDARDS AND QUALITY PREPARED FOODSTUFF PRODUCT WORKING GROUP (ACCSQ PFPWG)

29. Thailand presented on Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) pertaining to cocoa and cocoa products in ASEAN Consultative Committee on Standards and Quality Prepared Foodstuff Product Working Group (ACCSQ PFPWG) as appears in ANNEX IX.

AGENDA 13: OTHER MATTERS

30. The Meeting noted the Strategic Thrust 3: Ensure Food Security, Food Safety, Better Nutrition and Equitable Distribution under the Vision Strategic Plan for ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (2016-2025) is relevant to ACC TWGFS.  The AMS discussed on the Strategy Plan of Action (SPA) for the coming years.

AGENDA 14: ADOPTION OF THE REPORT

31. The Meeting unanimously adopted the Report of the Eighth Meeting of the ASEAN Cocoa Club Technical Working Group on Food Safety (ACC TWGFS) held on 18th May 2016 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

32. The Chairperson of the ACC TWGFS expressed her gratitude and thanks to all delegates for their active participation in the Meeting.

33. The delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand expressed their sincere appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for the warm hospitality accorded to them and the excellent arrangements made for the Meeting.

34. The Meeting was held in the traditional spirit of ASEAN cordiality and solidarity.