For World Food Safety Day 2022, the Mekong Institute (MI) joined stakeholders of the national food control system in the Lao People's Democratic Republic to commemorate the importance of food safety for public and economic health. In a forum aimed at strengthening multi-agency and multi-stakeholder collaboration, participants also sought to ensure enhanced awareness among consumers of the importance of safer food. MI is supporting the Lao government’s goals of advancing food safety across the country through the PROSAFE Project, a five-year initiative funded [...]

The 45th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) is less than two weeks away and it may be one of the most interesting gatherings in recent times. It will be the first physical meeting of CAC in 3 years and the first ever that has the option for virtual attendance – a major challenge for us in the Codex Secretariat. In addition, there is a huge interest in the Codex family to see how we can move forward on the MRLs for [...]

Members gathered in a physical setting for the first time since 2020 for the opening of the 83rd Executive Committee of the Codex Alimentarius Commission being held in FAO HQ, Rome, Italy from 14-18 November 2022. Online delegates are also taking part ensuring full participation. FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero welcomed delegates to the face-to-face environment which he described as “helpful when tackling the complex issues and negotiations” on their agenda. “I trust as a committee you [...]

WHO roundtable discussion in Croatia Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not only a human health threat, but also a food safety issue. Antimicrobial use in food animals – for treatment, disease prevention or, in some countries outside the European Union, growth promotion – allows resistant bacteria and resistance genes to emerge and spread from food animals to humans through the food chain. To address this issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a roundtable discussion on 10 November 2022, in close collaboration [...]

The AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project now has national coordinators in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia and Nepal. Jorge Berrios (Bolivia), Ana Carrizosa (Colombia) and Sakar Shivakoti (Nepal) are veterinarians with extensive experience in health management and inter-institutional coordination. Pisey Oum (Cambodia) brings his knowledge in biosafety, biotechnology and food assessment from different UN organizations.  “We need to know more in-depth about the current situation of the use of antimicrobials in Bolivia. This will allow us to plan better the actions in reducing [...]

From 26 September to 1 October 2022, the Codex Trust Fund (CTF), in collaboration with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) of the Republic of Korea, conducted a pilot training in Seoul focusing on good Codex practices and Korea’s experience in building their Codex system over the past decades. Fifteen participants from five CTF2 beneficiary countries (Bhutan, the Gambia, Maldives, Mauritius and Nepal) took part in the training which consisted of a combination of lectures covering key aspects of [...]

Bolivia and Colombia held national workshops to evaluate their progress in the development of national action plans for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the food and agriculture sector. As part of the AMR Codex Texts (ACT) project, the workshop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, took place on 12-14 October 2022, and 18-20 October 2022 in Bogota, Colombia. It was attended by more than 50 stakeholders from public and private sectors in both countries, including animal and plant production, food safety, public health, [...]

يزهو اليوم العالمي لسلامة الأغذية كل عام، ولم يكن هذا العام استثناءً. ومع أكثر من 450 فعالية تم تنظيمها في 109 بلدا على الأقل وإظهار وسم (هاشتاج) اليوم العالمي لسلامة الأغذية على منصة تويتر لأكثر من 800 مليون، تشير احتفالات عام 2022 إلى تزايد الوعي باليوم العالمي لسلامة الأغذية في جميع أنحاء العالم. وتضخم هذه الفعاليات والتفاعل على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي من الرسائل الرئيسية حول سلامة الأغذية وأهمية المسؤولية الجماعية عن صحة ورفاهية الجميع، مما يدل على إمكانية تأثير اليوم [...]

The 22nd session of the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean is taking place online from 24 to 28 October, 2022, hosted in Quito, Ecuador. Bernardo Manzano, Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Ecuador welcomed more than 120 delegates joining from the 33 countries in the region. The Minister underscored the mission of the Codex Alimentarius to guarantee safe, quality food for all people everywhere, preserving their health and contributing to equity in international food trade. He also [...]

At the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC), which gets underway from Quito, Ecuador on Monday 24 October 2022, the Chairperson of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Steve Wearne, United Kingdom, will describe how the Codex strategic plan continues to inform Codex responses to the new opportunities and challenges that are posed by an ever-changing operating environment.  With the first strategic goal addressing current, emerging and critical issues as identified by Codex Members, each of the six [...]