The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has named Dr Evelyne Mbandi as the new Chairperson of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) following confirmation by the United States Senate of former CCFH Chairperson, Emilio Esteban, as USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. As she takes on her new role, much of the CCFH work that Mbandi will be picking up will be revisions of texts that need updating, in particular a number of guidelines on the application of the [...]

Ministers and representatives of seven countries gathered in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 10-11 May 2023 to establish a ministerial level food regulators coalition in the Asia-Pacific region.  The Asia Pacific Food Regulatory Authority Summit (APFRAS) has been convened to address common challenges in the food sector such as food policy, emerging food technology and safe trade. Delegates attending first APFRAS session, Seoul 10-11 May 2023 Australia, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam and the Republic of Korea reached consensus on the [...]

By John Oppong-Otoo, Food Safety Officer at AU-IBAR and Hakim Mufumbiro, Regional Coordinator CCAFRICA The Codex Africa Think tank comprised of 12 Member States (Cameroon, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda and Zambia), Regional Economic Communities with observer status in Codex (Economic Community for West African States and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) and representatives from the African Union met from 15 to 17 March 2023 in Mahe, Seychelles to reflect on the [...]

FAO has now issued a brochure that describes its work on food safety. Safe food for everyone – FAO’s work on food safety: science, standards and good practices is available in two formats (pdf and digital) and six languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish). “FAO’s food safety priorities highlights the importance of Codex Alimentarius for food safety at a global scale and emphasizes that indeed Food safety is everyone’s business,” said Angeliki Vlachou, FAO Food Safety Officer, in unveiling [...]

As delegates gather in Hong Kong for the 53rd session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA53), which runs from 27-31 March 2023, Chairperson FAN Yongxiang, China, sat down with the Codex Secretariat to look ahead to the meeting. What will it be like returning to a physical meeting? I believe all delegates are keen to meet in person after three years of virtual discussion and the challenges of meeting across different time zones. We have to admit that physical meetings [...]

In Timor Leste a four-day mock Codex committee session has taken place this week as part of training to help the country’s Codex representatives understand how Codex works and how to participate effectively in Codex sessions. The training is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of the Timor Leste Codex Trust Fund (CTF) project. Timor Leste is the newest Member of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. The mock session saw the supposed 3rd session of the Codex Committee on [...]

By Lusibilo Witson MWAMAKAMBA WHO The African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) held a successful webinar on 23rd February 2023 in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA). The webinar was held on the heels of the recently concluded African Union Year of Nutrition, 2022 and highlighted the inextricable links between food safety and nutrition to achieve optimal health [...]

The Salvadoran Agency for Technical Regulation (OSARTEC), Codex El Salvador Contact Point, held a workshop on 20 February 2023 to plan the 2023 National Codex Programme.   Read the news on the OSREATEC web site in English and in Spanish Photo credit ©OSRATEC

On 5 April 2023, the FAO/WHO Scientific Advice Programme will release a new publication entitled “Food safety aspects of cell-based food” in a webinar that is open to Codex Members and Observers. Animal-based meat production has evolved over thousands of years to meet the demand for safe and affordable sources of protein. Cell-based food production, which is the field of growing animal agricultural products directly from cell cultures, is being explored as a sustainable alternative or complement to conventional livestock [...]

Abdoulie Jallow, Senior Scientific Officer Food Safety and Quality Authority, Gambia The National Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee of the Gambia was launched on 21st of February 2023, at a ceremony held at the premises of the Food Safety and Quality Authority of the Gambia. SPS Measures are vital instruments used by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other relevant international multilateral agencies to ensure food safety, protection of plants and animals from pests and diseases and the facilitation of international agricultural [...]