The Afrotropic Cocoa Processing company based in Accra, Ghana, exports its cocoa products to many countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Here, as for every other food outlet, food safety is of paramount importance and the company held a food safety quiz to celebrate World Food Safety Day this year and to remind employees of their food safety responsibilities. Prizes were awarded to the teams that came 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the quiz, which was both fun and informative. [...]

The Jollibee Foods Corp. (Jollibee Group) organized a series of insightful activities centered around the “5 Calls to Action of World Food Safety Day” from June 1-10, 2021. Representatives from different regions, including restaurant managers, operation and support teams, and top executives participated in the activities, which were designed to help build capacities and highlight the importance of food safety throughout the organization. Under the theme “Ensure it’s Safe”, SGS Global Customised Solutions Manager Evangelia Komitopoulou, PhD spoke about “Emerging Trends [...]

As the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) continues virtually, we spoke to Xiongwu QIAO, Chairperson of CCPR. Professor QIAO is Counsellor of the Government of Province Shan, People’s Republic of China. Chairperson QIAO, thanks for your time. Let’s start with the million-dollar question. What are pesticides and how are they used?  Pesticide means any substance intended for preventing, destroying, attracting, repelling or controlling any pest including unwanted species of plants or animals during the production, storage, transport, distribution and processing of [...]

In opening remarks to the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, taking place virtually for the first time, from 26 July to 3 August 2021, Zhang Taolin, Vice Minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, P.R. China, welcomed participants recalling how CCPR has developed the largest number of standards among all Codex committees. The committee “not only has a significant influence on the development of national pesticide residues standards, but also plays an increasingly important role in strengthening exchanges and cooperation [...]

A webinar held on 21 July 2021 gave countries an update on plans for the 44th Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC44) scheduled for November 2021 and the procedures currently being developed by the Codex Secretariat, together with FAO and WHO, that are expected to be presented to the Membership for endorsement similar to the approach taken for the first virtual CAC in 2020. Speaking at the event attended by over 150 participants, Codex Secretary Tom Heilandt said that before holding a virtual [...]

As part of the global commemorations, METRO Pakistan celebrated World Food Safety Day, under this year’s theme, ‘Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow’, at its stores all over the country by building awareness on food safety through internal and external communication, organizing compliance  competition in store and an awareness session on food safety and hygiene protocols for staff. On World Food Safety Day, METRO Pakistan arranged several activities focusing food safety practices improvement or awareness among its employees and customers [...]

For World Food Safety Day 2021, Chile’s Agency for Food Safety and Quality (ACHIPIA) organized three events aimed at three very specific demographic groups: women, the elderly and children. On 7 June, Chile’s Minister of Agriculture, María Emilia Undurraga; the FAO representative in Chile, Eve Crowley; and the Executive Secretary of ACHIPIA, Nuri Gras, opened ACHIPIA’s World Food Safety Day celebrations with introductions to the first webinar, which was entitled “Mujeres e Inocuidad Alimentaria: muchas nueces, poco ruido.” The event focused [...]

On July 20 the Republic of Korea signed an agreement with FAO placing food safety at the centre of their joint agenda. The first USD 10 million project under the framework arrangement will focus on the implementation and monitoring of Codex standards to support the containment and reduction of foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Jinseok Kim, Vice Minister of the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, speaking at the virtual signing ceremony, emphasized the need for global collaboration. “It is our responsibility [...]

by Tom Heilandt Codex Secretary Like so many, I have now spent more than a year teleworking away from my office in Rome. Conversely, my meeting attendance has probably never been so high which has some benefits.  I have been able to advocate for and witness first hand so much more of our work but I have also been suffering from days overbooked by virtual meetings and the absence of “real” meetings. In addition, the insecurity of when we will be able to [...]

Hosted by the United States, the meeting is running from 12 to 16 July 2021 and has so far discussed several items from a full programme of business. The committee has heard concerns regarding carryover in feed and transfer from feed to food of unavoidable and unintended residues of approved veterinary drugs. Delegates concluded that the provisions in the current Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding (CXC 54-2004) already provide sufficient advice to Codex Members on unintended carryover of [...]