Contaminants are substances that have not been intentionally added to food. They can occur naturally and enter the food while a crop is growing. They can form during manufacturing, handling, storage, processing or distribution. Or they can enter the food from the environment, through our water, the air or soil. The Contaminants Committee establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels or guidelines levels for contaminants and naturally occurring toxicants in food and feed. Nearly 50 countries are expected at this 11th session which [...]

This committee establishes or endorses permitted maximum levels for individual food additives. A food additive in Codex is defined as "any substance not normally consumed as a food by itself and not normally used as a typical ingredient of the food". Adding food and colour ingredients Additives can be added during the manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of a food for technological purposes.  This could be for example to colour, to sweeten or to help preserve the food. In the [...]

24 Jan 2017, Rome - a delegation of senior officials from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries met in Rome to enhance both sides of a strong relationship that sees Japan as FAO's number two donor to FAO's regular budget behind the United States. Japan has for a number of years provided extensive support to Codex through an ongoing programme of seconded officers to the Secretariat. The specialist background these officers bring, combined with [...]

This video report from CNBC Africa reviews the 22nd session of the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for Africa which met in Nairobi, Kenya earlier this month. Reporter Charles Gitonga highlights the main challenges regarding food safety in the region and the ongoing work of the Codex Alimentarius to ensure, through establishing international food standards, that food is safe and that it can be traded fairly.  

The 20th session of the FAO/WHO Regional Coordinating Committee for the African region began yesterday in Nairobi, Kenya. The continent of Africa consists of 54 very diverse countries covering 11.7 million square miles. Trade in region now runs in excess of 50 billion USD a year. Delegates from the 49 countries that make up the CCAFRICA region are meeting to address the food safety and trade issues most relevant to Africa. Hon Adan Mohammed opens CCAFRICA22 Hon Adan Mohammed, Cabinet Secretary for the Kenyan [...]

On December 21st, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt spoke to the Chinese National Codex Committee at the annual meeting in Beijing that brings together the numerous ministries involved in Codex work. Annual Codex Report Chaired by Dr Fan Yongxiang of The National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment and hosted by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the session heard reports on current activities and future initiatives regarding food safety and international standards. More than 20 representatives from the China Food Industry Association [...]

Meeting Announcement Date change The 40th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission will take place in Geneva, Switzerland: Monday 17 to Saturday 22 July 2017. The venue will be announced shortly. Consequently the Executive Committee will meet in Geneva from 10-13 July 2017. Photo credit (c) Codex/Sciotti

This year marks the 50th anniversary of CCNFSDU. In the very early days of Codex, in 1965, the fledgling European Coordinating Committee made a proposal to hand responsibility for a new European Committee on Dietetic Foodstuffs to the Federal Republic of Germany due to the experience in this field of the Federal Ministry of Health. First meeting The Committee on Dietetic Foods first met in Germany in May 1966. Items on the agenda included matters regarding “gluten free” foods, “foods for nursing mothers, [...]

The working group hosted by UK and co-chaired by the USA and Australia met in London from 29 November to 2 December 2016 to complete the tasks set by the 39th Codex Alimentarius Commission. Taskforce to tackle emerging global threat This work involved preparing the work for the Codex Task Force on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) which will begin its discussions in 2017. Hosted by the Republic of Korea, this body will review and revise Codex texts to address uses of antimicrobials in agriculture [...]

The Codex Chairperson, Mrs Awilo Ochieng Pernet, attended the Shenzhen China Food Safety Risk Communication Conference which took place in Shenzhen, China on 28th and 29th November 2016. Hosted by the Shenzhen Food Safety Commission Office, the Food and Drug Administration of Shenzhen Municipality and organised by the Shenzhen Institute of Standards and Technology (SIST), the Food Safety Risk Communication Conference was attended by more than 400 participants representing stakeholders from relevant sectors including government officials, industry, consumer organisations and academia. Food [...]