Effective management tools for participants at Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs meetings

The Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food (CCRVDF) fulfils a number of functions revolving around standard setting. The core activities of the CCRVDF include agreeing priorities for assessing veterinary drug residues, recommending maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs in foods of animal origin, considering methods of sampling and analyses, and developing codes of practice. Draft standards are developed and progress through an agreed series of steps common to all Codex Alimentarius Commission Committees. Meetings of the CCRVDF are held at approximately 18-month intervals. To ensure effective progress is made with meetings at this frequency, the CCRVDF makes use of a number of management tools. These include circular letters to interested parties, physical and electronic drafting groups between plenary sessions, meetings of interested parties immediately prior to sessions, as well as break out groups within sessions and detailed discussions within the CCRVDF plenary sessions. A range of these approaches is required to assist advances within the standards setting process and can be applied to other Codex areas and international standard setting more generally. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.