The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) has agreed to send guidelines on the control of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and on the safe use and reuse of water in food production to the next Codex Alimentarius Commission for final adoption. Both proposed Codex texts are extensive documents and although the general sections and several commodity specific annexes are now finalized, the committee will continue to negotiate on specific areas of intervention for other foods. Over 120 delegates participated in [...]

To strengthen national food safety systems and promote the application of Codex standards, there will be a webinar on basic Codex texts on 7 December 2022, 10.00–12.00 (GMT-5). This is part of the webinar series for capacity building in the Latin American and Caribbean region. “For more than five decades Codex texts have contributed immensely to the safety and quality of the food we eat. Codex standards are used as a benchmark in international trade agreements, ensuring that trade can flow globally but not [...]

Virtual meetings have given us the possibility to hop, skip and jump from one continent and one subject to another just with the right link and the copy and paste of a passcode. So it must have come as a shock to some delegates at the current session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) when they had to pack their bags in Rome on Friday as the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) ended and be 10 000 km away, bright [...]

The 53rd session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, hosted by the United States of America opened in San Diego, California on 27 November 2022, with over 200 participants from 63 countries registered to take part. The keynote address was given by Linda J Harris, Professor of Cooperative Extension in Microbial Food Safety, Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. Linking the realities of water scarcity and foodborne outbreaks in the United States to the work of [...]

On 24 November 2022, the Institutional Strategic Plan was signed by the members of the National Codex Committee (CNCA) of Bolivia. The plan aims to promote the use of Codex standards to facilitate trade and protect consumer health. It was developed by representatives from the public, private, academic and consumer sectors and was an additional outcome of a FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund Project. Read the full story in Spanish

The National Codex Alimentarius Committee of Bolivia, with the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) held a training on procedures for establishing a Codex country position and the interrelationship between the agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade. The workshop was aimed at staff of public and private institutions, as well as members of the national committee and took place in La Paz on 21 and 22 November 2022. Read the full story in Spanish [...]

World Food Safety Day messages were delivered this year by ministers and experts in Uganda, who encouraged food business operators throughout the supply chain to help improve food safety within the country. The messages were delivered through TV and print media and a three-day training course was implemented “for food business operators and regulators in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries and Fisheries”, according to The New Vision news outlet. The activities were organized as part of the [...]

At the pharmaceuticals company, Abbott Nutrition India, staff and employees celebrated World Food Safety Day this year, with a number of different activities. Over 250 team members took part in food safety discussions and listened to key messages from site leaders and messages about World Food Safety Day on the year’s theme, Safer Food, Better Health. Key staff contributors to food safety were recognized by management and a company-wide quiz saw prizes handed out to winners.  

As part of the “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” project, FAO Pakistan organized a national workshop on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on 24-26 October 2022 in Islamabad, Pakistan. More than 50 experts representing different sectors concerned with AMR human health, animal health, agriculture, poultry, dairy and pharmaceutical industry reviewed the key areas of the AMR National Action Plan (NAP).  “We assessed the progress of the implementation, as well as engaged food and agriculture stakeholders, and identified gaps and [...]

The latest edition of the Codex magazine has been published to coincide with the 43rd Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC45) taking place from 21-25 November 2022 in Rome. CODEX – a year in transition, tells the story of the core activities that take place between one Commission and the next and that lead to CAC45 being able to set over 20 standards protecting consumer health and facilitating trade. Contributions from all regions, all committees and all the people in the Codex world make [...]