This informal information session is open to all United Nations and WTO member States. It is being organized alongside the next meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which has already begun discussing private standards.

The purpose of the information session is to give UNCTAD and WTO members the opportunity to familiarize themselves with different private standards schemes, particularly in the area of food safety.

• The first part of the session will give an overview of different private standards schemes
  
  
• The second part will focus on case studies, presenting different national experiences and the opportunities and challenges encountered
  
  
• The final part will address the implications for trade and development

The UNCTAD Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries has prepared about a dozen country-specific case studies and has held several regional workshops on the developmental and market-access impact of voluntary private standards.