regulation on ocratoxin a in coffee in october 2004 colombia reported that in may 2004 the european communities had responded to colombias questions regarding germanys measures on ocratoxin a ota in roasted and soluble coffee see also item 176 explaining that germany was able to set maximum levels ota in coffee as harmonized ec standards were not yet established g sps gen 490 . on 1 september 2004 the european communities issued g sps n eec 247 notifying members of the ec proposal to establish levels for ota in roasted and soluble coffee. colombia continued to be concerned about the impact of the measures on the marketing of coffee in europe and had raised several questions as outlined in g sps gen 515. the european communities were asked to explain why ota levels were set for coffee when coffee contributed only 8 per cent of the intake of ota in the european diet compared with cereals and cereal products which contributed 50 per cent of the intake of ota. scientific justification for the levels of ota set for coffee was requested from the european communities as well as an explanation of the method used to determine the ota levels. the european communities were also requested to explain why the ota levels for coffee and cereals and cereal products were the same when the intake of ota was higher in cereals and cereal products than in coffee. moreover if the ota levels for beer were indirectly controlled by its main input malt why were not the ota levels for soluble coffee indirectly controlled by its main input roasted coffee. finally the european communities were asked to explain why there was a need to protect public health with regards to coffee and not beer. colombia suggested that the european communities consult studies on ota toxicology as a starting point in establishing maximum ota levels in green coffee. the entire production chain would need to be regulated when establishing maximum levels of ota for green coffee which would be both impractical and counterproductive as additional infrastructure and storage facilities would be needed. furthermore the risks of formation of mycotoxins were increased during prolonged periods of storage due to the condensation and re-humidification process in the beans. ota levels should not be set until there was scientific justification. the codex alimentarius was requested to consider the issue of maximum levels of ota in coffee in the joint fao who expert committee on food additives jecfa . bolivia brazil chile cuba dominican republic ecuador el salvador guatemala kenya and peru supported the statements made by colombia and requested a copy of the ec response to the questions posed by colombia. chile stated that the committee should include this issue under the procedure to monitor the use of international standards. the codex alimentarius reported that little progress had been made on this issue in codex since the march meeting of the sps committee. codex had not established maximum residue levels mrls for green and roasted coffee but had been working to establish mrls in cereals for several years. however this was still at the elaboration stage due to the lack of consensus on the numerical limits. the codex committee for food additives and contaminants ccfac had requested jecfa to include the risk assessments on ota for evaluation by 2006. at the last meeting of the ccfac a suggestion was made to include new work in codex on the development of a code of practice to reduce mycotoxin contamination in coffee and cocoa. this proposal will be discussed at the next ccfac meeting in april 2005. the european communities explained that once ec harmonized standards were established national standards ceased to be effective. from the perspective of the exporting country the ec harmonized standards had the advantage of being lower than the national standards of many member states. the responses to colombias questions would be made available through the secretariat and the eu