Strengthening the existing regulatory framework for agricultural trade is essential to ensuring the availability of safe and nutritious foods now and in the future. Multilateral trade rules provide a framework for predictability, transparency and cooperation. They can limit distortions, minimize unnecessary barriers to trade and facilitate trade itself. Complying with international standards is also important for ensuring food safety, quality and consumer awareness. Speaking at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), an international conference on agri-food policy issues held [...]

From 16 to 18 January 2020, around 2 000 global experts from politics, industry, science and civil society are meeting at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) in Berlin, Germany to discuss global key issues and to jointly develop solutions. The forum is looking at trade for global food security from all angles and is an opportunity to discuss how to shape international trade in order for it to provide secure, diverse and sustainable food and nutrition for [...]

Gyanendra Gongal, from Nepal, has recently been appointed WHO Regional Adviser for food safety in the WHO Regional Office for South East Asia (SEARO), the first time in two decades, in his words, that someone will be working full time on food safety in the region. His new role involves providing technical leadership, supporting the Codex Trust Fund (CTF), and working on policy advocacy, Codex, risk assessment, food safety emergency and INFOSAN activities. Why are you excited about the new position? There hasn’t [...]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS), held a workshop on Codex on 16 December 2019 in Aswan Governorate, Egypt. The workshop was the third in a series of initiatives which has included events in Cairo and Alexandria to support the Codex system in Egypt within the framework of the "Improving the National Food Control System” programme. Participants at Aswan workshop December 2019 The workshop aimed to raise [...]

A consultative workshop on National Codex issues was organized on 6 December 2019 in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The main objectives of the workshop were to discuss national food control systems, including Codex, and to begin preparation of a project proposal for the Codex Trust Fund. Mr Arefaine Berhe, Minister of Agriculture, who officially opened the session, told the Ministry of Information website shabait.com that food safety was central to survival and wellbeing and that regulating national food standard had [...]

FAO, in cooperation with the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality (EOS), held a workshop in Alexandria from 25-27 November 2019 entitled "Supporting Codex Capacity in Egypt" to strengthen the structure and program of Codex in Egypt, to improve the food import control system in the country in order to facilitate trade and ensure food safety. Workshop: "Supporting Codex Capacity in Egypt" The three-day workshop took place in the context of the public/private partnership, under the supervision of the Egyptian Codex Contact [...]

In Düsseldorf, Germany an extended session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) with nearly 400 delegates in attendance, kicked off Sunday 24 November 2019. Speaking via a video message Julia Klöckner, German Federal Minister of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, said that with over 820 million people still suffering from hunger whilst at the same time almost a third of the global population is affected by excess weight and obesity, nutrition and health policies [...]

In the week that WHO urges action to increase physical activity levels in girls and boys aged 11 to 17 years and reports that more than 80% of school-going adolescents globally do not meet current recommendations of at least one hour of physical activity per day, it is timely that the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) is meeting from 24 to 29 November in Duesseldorf, Germany. Purwiyatno Hariyadi, Indonesia, Vice-chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission [...]

With new staff constantly rotating through the 189 Codex Contact Points (CCPs) around the globe, bringing a national Codex team’s skill set up to date is an essential part of a CCP’s duties if comments on Codex texts by national experts are to be submitted online and on time. The Codex Secretariat recently delivered a webinar training on electronic working groups (EWGs) and the online commenting system (OCS), catching the Australian team early in the morning just as in Codex HQ [...]

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu met today with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, together with three Vice Chairpersons – Mariam Eid from Lebanon, Purwiyatno Hariyadi from Indonesia and Steve Wearne from the United Kingdom. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu (right) with Guilherme da Costa, Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission   Guilherme da Costa said: "The Director-General expressed strong support for the work of Codex and for the importance of science-based international food standards."   Codex activities should be more visible, tangible and [...]