application and modification of the eu regulation on novel foods in march 2006 colombia raised concerns on the application of the ec regulation on novel foods regulation no 258 97 and with the draft project of the european commission to amend the regulation foreseen to enter into force in 2007. the amendment could directly affect the trade potential of traditional and exotic foods. some traditional and exotic products already had substantial presence in the us and japanese food markets and european consumers were now becoming interested in these food products. it was important to recall however that these traditional foods had been consumed in south america for thousands of years. this was in contrast to genetically modified products which could be considered as real novel foods. increased trade in traditional and exotic products also had important socio-economic impacts as the export of these products represented a measure to decrease extreme rural poverty in south america and had potential to address specific social and environmental issues such as providing alternatives to both the growing of narcotic crops and to the illegal felling of protected forests. colombia was aware of the importance of protecting consumer health. however the amount of information on the safety of these traditional food products required by the ec regulation and the costs to undertake scientific studies were not proportional to health risks and were excessive especially for small scale farmers and exporters. the proposed amendment of regulation ec no. 258 97 would result in a non-tariff barrier to trade with negative effects on the introduction of traditional foods into european markets contrary to articles 2.2 and 5.6 of the sps agreement. colombia requested the european communities to consider the following points regarding the amendment of regulation ec no. 258 97 i the non-application of regulation ec no. 258 97 to exotic traditional products with a history of safe consumption in their region of origin ii greater transparency and clarity in the procedures and definition giving credit to a safe consumption history of food in the country of origin requirements tests and procedures in proportion with the nature of the foods concerned and the risks they could imply for consumers and iii all exotic traditional products to remain in the public domain and no private entity to be granted privileged access to the european market. ecuador reported that the amendment would also affect the trade potential of traditional and exotic food from its country. in light of ecuadors great biodiversity over the last decade international organizations like unctad had been promoting the development of new export products bio-comercio . in ecuador the export of traditional and exotic foods also had a major socio-economic impact and related closely to efforts to overcome rural poverty. ecuador invited the european communities to carefully consider colombias recommendations regarding the amendment. the amendment of the regulation and its impact were of importance for many developing countries. peru added that currently within the convention on biological diversity countries were discussing measures and mechanisms for the preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. contrary to that approach the application of regulation no. 258 would restrict greater sustainable use of traditional and exotic products by diminishing their export potential. peru stressed the high costs and the long period of time needed for products to be registered under regulation ec no. 258 97 to allow them to enter the european market. peru also supported colombias recommendations regarding the amendment g sps gen 681 . brazil chile costa rica and paraguay reported that their exports had also been affected by regulation ec no. 258 97. benin requested more information on how a product was considered as novel. argentina and mexico both indicated that they were still in the process of analysing the imp