يشهد اليوم نشر الإصدار الرابع من التقرير السنوي لهيئة الدستور الغذائي بحلته الجديدة، حيث سيكون تقرير هذا العام بعنوان هيئة الدستور الغذائي – ما هو التالي بالنسبة للمعايير؟ من خلال المساهمات التي قدمتها البلدان الأعضاء، ومنظمات المرُاقبة، ومنظمة الأغذية والزراعة، ومنظمة الصحة العالمية والخبراء من جميع الأقاليم الست لهيئة الدستور الغذائي، فإن هذه الطبعة ستقدم لمحة عامة عن النجاحات والتحديات التي مرت بها هيئة الدستور الغذائي طوال العام والذي يمتد تقليديا من هيئة دستور غذائي واحدة إلى التي تليها. قبل مارس/ آذار [...]

World Food Day 2020 under the slogan “Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together”, calls for more resilient and robust agri-food systems, and for global solidarity - both vital for our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and for building back better. World Food Day 2020 also applauds Food Heroes throughout the food supply chain who, no matter what the situation or where in the world they are, continue to provide food to their communities and beyond. This observance falls as the Codex Alimentarius Commission is [...]

With an audience again exceeding 500, the 43rd gathering of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, being held in three-hour sessions across six days, has completed its programme of standard adoption and approval of new work. Chairperson Guilherme Da Costa, Brazil, applauded once again the continued collaboration of Member Countries to build consensus and ensure valuable work can continue. “I thank you all for your support, your energy and usual cooperative spirit”, he said. The Commission adopted a series of standards from the Processed [...]

Delegations attending the 27th Committee on Agriculture (COAG), held virtually from 28 September to 2 October 2020, have agreed to support the development of a new FAO Food Safety Strategy which will contribute to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with consideration for food safety issues, as the transformation of food systems accelerates. The strategy will align with this transformation and provide advice on managing unforeseen global challenges and crises that may affect the food supply. It will also serve [...]

The Directors-General of FAO and WHO, the parent organizations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, set the stage for five days of decision-making on food standards with a message about getting ‘better’. More than 800 registered delegates joined the first-ever virtual Commission, now in its 43rd session, held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In congratulating the Commission for ‘jumping into the digital world’, FAO Director-General Dr QU Dongyu noted that science is the driving force for setting Codex food standards. “When [...]

At 12:00 CET on Thursday 24 September 2020, the Directors-General of FAO and WHO will welcome over 600 delegates to the first ever virtual session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - CAC43. Following an overwhelmingly positive response from Member Countries, the two-thirds majority required to ensure the 43rd meeting could go ahead, have affirmed their belief that Codex international food safety standards have a vital role to play for consumers in every home. The standards, guidelines and codes of practice that [...]

Usually in the build-up to the Codex Alimentarius Commission annual meeting, hundreds of delegates would be beginning to travel, sometimes halfway around the globe, to attend a whole week of plenary meetings in either Geneva or Rome. This year, as CAC43 gets underway on 24 September 2020, the logistic preparations will be more concerned with Wi-Fi access and webcams than visas and lost luggage. With an expected participation of over 600 Codex Members and Observers the pressure is on the Codex [...]

The webinar organized by the Codex Secretariat on Friday 11 September 2020 was well attended with 86 countries and the European Union, plus 34 observer organizations taking part and numbers of attendees peaking at over 300. In opening the session, the Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Guilherme Da Costa, Brazil paid tribute to the global Codex Contact Points who play a key role in managing the practical work for Codex Members. “Through them, everything happens in the organization and without [...]

As Codex Members and Observers prepare to take part in the first ever virtual session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which starts on 24 September 2020, the Codex Secretariat has organized a training webinar to prepare delegates for the online meeting. This webinar will take place on Friday 11 September 2020, at 12.00 (CET). Delegates will hear from the Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Guilherme Da Costa and from Codex Secretary, Tom Heilandt, how it was possible to arrange for [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic will have an unprecedented impact on global and regional trade. According to the World Trade Organization, world merchandise trade in 2020 could fall by as much as 32 percent. New policy guidance, part of the FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme, describes how the current economic recession is raising serious concerns about hunger and malnutrition. It goes on to explain how ad-hoc trade restrictions, including food safety measures that may not be science based, have worsened the situation [...]