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 [...]

Representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reviewed the progress and priorities of the project “Action to support implementation of Codex AMR Texts (ACT)” at a consultation meeting earlier this March.   Attending the session, Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary, said: "We are happy to implement the ACT project with the support from the Government of Korea. This year Codex is turning 60. This project is one of the [...]

The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU) met virtually on 15 March 2023 to successfully adopt the report of the session, sending the “Standard for Follow-Up Formula for Older Infants and Product for Young Children” for final adoption by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in November this year. The Chairperson of CCNFSDU Anja Brönstrup, Germany, congratulated the committee on its work, the milestones achieved and the special willingness amongst delegates to complete topics some of which, such [...]

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

This International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023, the UN is calling on governments, activists and the private sector alike to power on in their efforts to make the digital world safer, more inclusive and more equitable. The Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), taking place in Duesseldorf, Germany from 7 to 10 March has much to celebrate with women the focus of a hugely successful start to the session. The first day of discussion saw the [...]

The World Food Safety Day 2023 campaign has started today, with the theme “Food standards save lives”. The theme coincides with the 60th anniversary of Codex Alimentarius this year and encourages food safety advocates around the world to focus on the importance of applying standards in every aspect of food production - from the source to the table. The launch saw the publication of this year’s guide in all six UN languages, which provides information on the theme and Codex Alimentarius, [...]

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 [...]

The Codex Guidelines for ready-to-use therapeutic foods, or RUTF, have been published in the revised format which is part of the drive in the Codex Secretariat to enhance the availability of all Codex standards, guidelines and codes of practice. By the implementation of a digital object identifier (doi) –which remains unique over the lifetime of a document, even when its location and other metadata may change – the Secretariat is aligning its texts to industry standards and taking advantage of [...]

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 [...]